Battling Through Bootcamp 2016
During the summer, graduate students begin their journey with a six-week program called Bootcamp that serves as a crash-course for their time at Newhouse. Here’s what five of this year’s students had to say after becoming Bootcamp survivors.
Elliot Williams, Magazine, Newspaper and Online Journalism
Bootcamp was definitely a worthwhile experience because it took me out of my comfort zone as a reporter. I was used to doing simple stories in college with maybe one or two sources, but Bootcamp taught me to go beyond the surface, fact check and work on a deadline. We learned to work under pressure, ask the right questions and to not be lazy journalists. The graphics class helped us stand out from other writers, and I now feel like I can at least make significant contributions to conversations about design at my future job.
Jaime McClennen, Public Relations
I really enjoyed Bootcamp this summer and was pleasantly surprised at how relaxed I found it to be — not at all what I was warned about. It was a great way to refresh and get back into school mode before the fall semester. One piece of advice that I would give prospective students would be to take advantage of all of the opportunities offered during Bootcamp. Go to every sponsored event, movie night, etc., and use this time to research fall positions and opportunities around campus because once fall semester starts, you will be scrambling for time.
Laurie Silverstein, Advertising
Bootcamp is much more than just a flippant nickname. In less than six weeks, I designed an entire strategic advertising campaign from research to pitch and learned an alphabet soup of software in graphic design. I did all this while working with the Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of MLB’s Washington Nationals. Time management skills are not optional at Newhouse. I spend my time with fifteen other possibly crazy but equally driven Advertising majors, and I’m grateful for their support and endless sense of humor. I’ve never been more tired in my life but the experience was so worthwhile. Two classes down, eight more and a capstone to go.
Christian Beltz, Arts Journalism
Newhouse Bootcamp was an immersive experience that allowed me to sharpen my tools as a writer and reporter. I came into the Goldring Arts Journalism program after three years of working in the nonprofit sector. Although I have always been a strong writer, Bootcamp got me back into the practice of writing for AP standards and deepening my research practices for stories. Diving headfirst into the field eased the transition back into journalism school and helped get my mind focused for the coming year.
Mary Johnson, Public Diplomacy
As a Public Diplomacy student, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Bootcamp. I knew other programs would certainly be more rigorous, but what about PD? Well, it wasn’t as bad as everyone hyped Bootcamp up to be. Don’t get me wrong, the graphics course definitely had its challenging moments for me.
But overall, Bootcamp was more of getting my feet wet to know what to expect going forward, readjusting to being in school — I took a year off after graduating in 2015 — and getting to know the environment that will be my home for the next two years.
What I liked most about Bootcamp was getting to mingle with other programs, specifically speaking to the graphics course most of us had to take. It was a chance to get outside of my Public Diplomacy cohort and make new friends, because there are people outside of your program and you never know who can help you during your graduate journey or even when we’re all out in the real world. I felt better prepared going into the semester, too, because a lot of what I went through in Bootcamp has already come up in my classes, making it all worth it.
