As many of you know, since I had an actual baby two years ago the blog has received less attention than in its heyday. Gone are the days of a new post every. single. day. But you know what is not gone? New categories for the blog! That’s right! I have more categories on here than I can possibly give attention to, but that has not stopped me from adding another! The new category being unveiled today: MINOR MATTERS! Da da da daah! Many of our Communication Studies majors are involved in all sorts of interesting minor programs from departments all over campus. I thought it would be interesting to share some of them here on the blog and learn from students why they chose the minor they did. First up is senior Communication Studies major and Lambda Pi Eta Vice President Tina Celani who is minoring in Child and Youth Studies. Here she is:
COMS major and CYS minor Tina
“Hello, everyone! My name is Tina Celani and I am currently a senior COMS major with a Child and Youth Studies minor at USF. With the array of minor options offered by USF, I decided to pick Child and Youth studies as my minor because I am really interested in learning about the development of children, in particular the how the development of children is effected by education. I grew up in a family with a strong emphasis on education, particularly educating children and adolescents. My grandpa and grandma built and developed a preschool, Glendale Preschool and Kindergarten, in Glendale, CA and my mother has since taken over the business as the director. I have always been interested in education and working with all types of people, but in particular learning and working with children and adolescents. Therefore, I picked this minor because it provided elements for me to learn about the general psyche and development of children and adolescents as well as educational structures and family structures that effect a child’s development, either positively or negatively. With all this said, I took on this minor.
Since I’m in progress with taking my final major and minor requirements (SCARY, RIGHT?), I believe this minor was the perfect fit for me. It taught me the general development of children and youth, from the cute and adorable babies to the “angsty” teenagers, through General Psychology and Child Development. It taught me how different types of families, through the Diversity of American Families class, affect children and the overall perceptions of the “American family.” Lastly, it taught me how education plays a huge role in the development of children to young adults, by either increasing or decreasing the achievement and/or opportunity gap between students (which you will definitely learn if you take Sociology of Education). Overall, I love this minor and all the components that it makes up.
The Child and Youth studies minor adds to my COMS major by taking on a specific area of interest within the COMS major and really honing in and learning more about it. Through my COMS studies courses, I learned the value of “communication in everyday life” (yes, I quoted your class, Professor Doohan) and, more specifically, communication between family members and communication within interpersonal relationships. It provided me with a valuable set of knowledge going into these courses that I would not have known about otherwise. Just to let you all know, the COMS major is an awesome major, prospective and current students of USF. [Ha ha, I added the bold, underline, italics, just for emphasis.]
One of my favorite classes taken for my minor would definitely be Sociology of Education. First off, Professor Milman is a baller teacher who is passionate about the material she teaches and is passionate about her students in her class. I would definitely recommend taking her. Sociology of Education serves as an analysis of the education system put in place for kindergarteners all the way to college and graduate students in the United States. It talks about various topics such as tracking to cliques and race to gender and the implications and critiques of them. It also, in our ending weeks, teaches students educational reform measures taken. It is an amazing class that incorporates both COMS major elements and Child and Youth studies minor elements and I would highly recommend taking it.”
Thanks, Tina, for sharing your experience with the Child and Youth Studies minor! It is a minor that does nicely complement the interpersonal and family communication courses that our department offers. Fun fact, our own Professor Thorson is on the Child and Youth Studies minor committee and COMS 306: Family Communication is one of the minor elective options.
Are you involved in an interesting minor that you want to share with us here on the blog? Contact me at edoohan@usfca.edu.
