Mary Schwalm reflects and discusses her experience as she prepares for graduation this May from the School of Graduate, Online, and Continuing Education. 

Learn more about this program here and watch the webinar here.

Schwalm said that she heard about the Applied Communication graduate program with a Social Media Concentration at Fitchburg State University from a friend who had a brother in the program.

“I chose the Applied Communication graduate program because I liked the 7-week one class at a time flow and no obligation for group work,” said Schwalm. 

Schwalm mentioned that she additionally chose this program because, “I liked that it was taught by Fitchburg State faculty, but my favorite class was Social Mobilities taught by a visiting professor, Charles Ecenbarger.”

“The accessibility of the professors was exceptional.” Schwalm said that she really appreciated that the final paper topics for each class could be shaped to her own interests. 

“Professor Lorencova was a wonderful advocate. As my advisor, she really helped keep me on track and validated and addressed my complaints and concerns. In her classes, she provided thoughtful and relevant feedback and really challenged me to bring my best,” said Schwalm. 

She added that her favorite assignment from this program was her final paper for Quantitative Research Methods.

“The class was a total struggle, but it all came together in the end for my final project looking at gender bias in photography bylines,” said Schwalm. 

Her advice to future students going into the graduate program is to remember that you get out of the program what you put into it, she said. 

“The course is designed for as much discovery, challenge, and learning as you allow yourself,” Schwalm added. 

When asked about her future Schwalm said, “My future plans are in flux, but I sought the Masters degree to better position and qualify to teach at the college level. I'm currently teaching a class in Digital Photography at Merrimack College and another in darkroom photography at Middlesex Community College. Ideally, this degree will help me in securing full time work at Merrimack College to help build a journalism program.

“I had never taken an online course before diving into this program. It was a real challenge to embrace the flow, but in the end, I not only devoured the coursework, but built up some valuable skills for time management and problem solving too. It certainly wasn't a frustration-free 18 months, but overwhelmingly, it was a positive learning experience,” said Schwalm.