Starting from the same foundation

Every first-year and incoming student at Moody College of Communication participates in the Communications Foundation course, which is designed to help them think about why they selected their major and research more thoroughly how they will engage with curriculum in the coming years.

"It really gives you a broader sense of what communications is, the different aspects of it, and the different things you can experience and explore in the college," said Marissa Salazar, a second-year student who was in the Fall 2020 section.

Maddie Redlick is an assistant professor of instruction and program manager for the Interdisciplinary Education Initiatives. She leads the Communications Foundations course, and with nearly 1,000 students, it is among the largest on campus. Because of this, it was always designed to be online.

Every Monday and Wednesday, students are invited to participate in the live broadcast component, or they have the option to view the recording on the Canvas course page. The broadcast generally consists of Redlick interviewing a variety of topical faculty guests from each of the college's seven major areas of study. Students are invited to ask questions.

"These are casual opportunities to interface with our faculty, a really cool opportunity to visit office hours with a professor, and I'll do the awkward work of asking them the question, and you can just sit there and watch," Redlick said.

Said Ivy Fowler, a journalism major: "It gave me an idea of Moody’s culture. It's friendly, approachable, and chill, and I can speak with these people who are important."

Ultimately, Redlick's goal for the class is that everyone connects through shared experience and commonality, as well as receive an early chance to look into the fields where their work will come alive.

"(It) made me more passionate about this field, because I didn't know until I took this class that communication can transcend so many aspects of our everyday lives,” Salazar said.