Graduate Admission Blog http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/ en Copyright 2009 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:43:23 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Staying Warm in Boston Upon making the trek up from sunny, warm Atlanta to Boston, my initial reaction was...this place is cold. It was March, and I expected a nice breeze coming off the ocean, but not the 30 degree weather that I was experiencing. I was asked several times if my winter coat was the one I was wearing and was disappointed when I was told I'd need much more to get me through the brisk Bostonian winters. I loved Emerson, but how was I going to love living in Boston?

In May, I finally made the decision to enroll in Emerson. My first concern was finding a place to live, and Emerson was great about sending out information about off-campus housing for graduate students. I decided to prioritize what was important to me in a living situation, and I set out on my search! I had three requirements for a place to live or my ABCs to living in Boston as a graduate student:

Affordable
By the T
Calm and Cozy

Affordable because, well, I am a poor graduate student.
By the T because I wanted to sell my car. Boston is a great walking-city and has great public transportation.
Calm and cozy because I like to be a homebody, and also because I knew that grad school would require more concentration than undergrad.

Perhaps your ABCs to living in Boston are not quite the same, but the important part is that you decide what you need/want in a living situation and go with it! I spent a month looking over prospective living situations before I settled on my apartment in Brookline which I love. I'm five minutes from the T and I have a quiet and courteous roommate. I know there are several ways about finding roommates, but Emerson has a great housing workshop held in the summer that is helpful. I also recommend using Craigslist and the Emerson tack board where students can post available housing.

Boston has something for everyone when it comes to neighborhoods--Somerville, Brighton, Back Bay, Brookline, Jamaica Plain. They all have something unique to offer. I suggest you look into the neighborhoods online or talk to people. One area is bound to draw your interest. A few of my classmates live in Davis Square where they are within walking distance to great bars, restaurants, and places to hang out. I live moments away from Coolidge Corner which is a great place for a college student. There is a Panera where I can go and do homework, a great local bookstore, and a Trader Joe's. Most importantly, I have an apartment where I can relax after class with my dog and some good television. This is how I stay warm is a city that can often be very cold.

]]> http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2009/10/staying-warm-in-boston.html http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2009/10/staying-warm-in-boston.html Health Communication Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:43:23 -0500 The Body Project: My ALE Experience The Health Communication Program at Emerson College requires a final "capstone" project that encompasses everything we have learned throughout the program. It's called the Applied Learning Experience (ALE for short). Basically, we are each individually assigned to create a health-oriented communication plan as a consultant for a nearby organization.

As I am finishing up the last few weeks of this project, I can honestly tell you that it definitely lives up to its name! I have referred back to almost every single one of my notebooks from past courses that I have taken throughout the program in order to successfully research and produce this project.

The project, which I chose to undertake last November, is creating a Positive Body Image campaign for a nearby all-women's undergraduate institution. The purpose of the project is to reduce the negative body image the women at this school possess, and transition it towards positive thinking. Negative body image is incredibly harmful, and has been known to lead to eating disorders and disordered eating, depression, and low self-esteem. Specifically, I am creating a planning document that will be executed during the 2009-2010 school year.

]]> http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2009/04/the-body-project-my-ale-experi.html http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2009/04/the-body-project-my-ale-experi.html Health Communication Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:00:00 -0500 Emerson Librarians: Above and beyond the call of duty... In my first semester at Emerson, I was assigned to research the thought processes and lifestyle habits of an extremely specific and distinct population in order to design a health campaign that would appeal to their interests. After being presented with this task, I immediately assumed I could just find this information on the internet, as with several of my other research assignments. Unfortunately, after several days and frustrating hours of searching, I came to the conclusion that this task was impossible. If I couldn't find this type of information on the internet, where else could I find it? When I consulted my program director, he immediately suggested for me to approach Emerson's librarians assuring me that they would be able to assist me with this information.

]]> http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2008/12/above-and-beyond-the-call-of-d.html http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2008/12/above-and-beyond-the-call-of-d.html Health Communication Programs Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:14:19 -0500 From Michigan to Boston It wasn't until I was twenty-three years old and had made the decision to attend Emerson College that I moved away from my small "bubble" of southeast Michigan. Not only had I never ventured out geographically, but I had also been in school with most of the same people from first grade all the way through my undergraduate career. It was to the point that I felt as if my friends and I had developed our own language that I assumed other people would never understand or accept. As you can imagine, I was extremely anxious about whether or not I would be accepted by my new classmates at Emerson, and curious as to how I would be able to connect with everyone.

]]> http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2008/11/from-michigan-to-boston.html http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2008/11/from-michigan-to-boston.html Health Communication programs Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0500 Health Communication: My Passion As an undergraduate student, I think I may have been my advisor's worst nightmare. I was always that student spending the majority of my time sitting in her office asking for insight on what I should spend the rest of my life doing. Like I said before, my two primary passions were science and public relations, and I couldn't seem to put one above the other. Plus, how do you combine two subjects that seem to be located on complete opposite ends of the spectrum? It was then that my advisor informed me about the Health Communication graduate program, and that's what landed me here.

The one thing my program director, Tim Edgar, is constantly instilling within all of our minds is that we are here to make a difference. As cliché and overused as that saying may sound, it is truly what this program means to me. I am learning the tactics, strategies, and language that will lead me to better the lives of others.

]]> http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2008/11/health-communication-my-passio.html http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2008/11/health-communication-my-passio.html Health Communication Programs Sat, 08 Nov 2008 14:27:46 -0500 Get Away From All the Bustle... Hello Everyone!

My name is Ashley, and I am the current student ambassador for the Health Communication Program at Emerson College. After officially living in Boston for one full year, you would think that I have exhausted most of the new and exciting things to do in and around the city. The truth is, I am constantly being bombarded with new discoveries and fun ways to celebrate the weekend and/or take a break during the busy week! You will soon learn that I am a major fanatic when it comes to outdoor activities. Now that fall (my favorite season!) is well underway, I am attempting to take full advantage of the beautiful foliage that comes with the crisp weather.

]]> http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2008/10/get-away-from-all-the-bustle.html http://blog.emerson.edu/graduate_admission/2008/10/get-away-from-all-the-bustle.html Health Communication Student Life Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:41:38 -0500