Graduated College.... Now what?

I sit here, on the eve of graduation... Like most, I'm sitting here trying to wrap my head around what I have accomplished; the memories I have made; the challenges I have faced; and the incredibly scary, looming thought of what comes next...

In my four years in college I have experienced a wide range of things: good and bad.  I've had bad roommates.  I've had great roommates. Let me tell you - having bad roommates really teaches you to appreciate the good ones.  I've made friendships, I've lost touch with people - some of which I've reconnected with.  Others, its like we never missed a beat.  I was in a car accident (during finals week none the less).  I lost family members due to death, but gained new ones when I was welcomed in by my aunt's loving sisters and their families.  I learned that I could work under pressure, stress, and deadlines.  I solidified my hatred of group projects, but came to terms with the fact that the work place is a group project, and you've gotta get over it at some point.  I faced rejection, as well as success.  I had not one, not two, but three internships, in a field I never thought about going into upon entering as a freshmen: radio.

So, what did I learn from college?

1. Always expect the unexpected... and usually at the worst time.  Life happens.  You've gotta roll with the punches.  Sometimes, good things happen! Sometimes, not so good things happen.  Take things as they come, the reason life is so good is because the hard times make the good things as great as they are.  Embrace the unexpected - in the end, things work out!
2. A closed door means another one is opened... you just have to find it! If you would have told freshmen me that radio was what I wanted to do, I would have laughed and said you were crazy.  Sports was my world.  After facing rejection, I took a desperate leap to find something, hell, ANYTHING, that would accept me.  I was beaten down, lost, confused, and had no idea where to go.  Someone was kind enough to give me a chance, and I somehow built up enough strength to give something unknown a chance... And I LOVED it! 
3. Get out of your comfort zone... sometimes, its not so bad! Sometimes, you've just gotta try new things.  I don't mean go shoplifting.  I mean new experiences! Try new foods, talk with people of different opinions, try a new religion, go crazy.  You can always go back :)
4. The best things come in small packages... this is not a joke. Sometimes, look past the big and glamorous! Great things can come from the most unexpected, overlooked areas.  And sometimes, bigger isn't better.
5. Travel any chance you get... there is a great big world out there! Need I say more? Explore! Find new places. Who knows, it could be you're future home!

There is a lot more I could talk about... College went by in the blink of an eye for me.  I moved 3,000 miles from home, lived on my own, and experienced so many things.  I made new friends, expanded my network, and learned who I am as a person.

You'll never be able to keep in touch with everyone you met, but hopefully you'll be able to remember the times you spent together, and look back on college as a great experience.  It was a lot of work, and a lot of stress, but it was also a lot of fun and something I'll never forget.

I leave my fellow graduates with the following.... It may be an old song but I feel the message still applies...

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger

May you never take one single breath for granted

God forbid love ever leave you empty handed

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance

"I wouldn't have nothin' if I didn't have you."

James Patrick McGill, 21, is a senior at Slippery Rock University studying Music Education.  He was born on May 10th, 1992 in Washington, PA to James and Nancy McGill, and has one sibling, Megan McGill.  What makes him stand out from most music students, is that he auditioned and received a contract to sing with the Pittsburgh Opera.

PMEA Region I Choir 2010.  (Left to right) Pat McGill,
Ben Bugaile and Sarah Boice.  Sarah and Pat went to
Washington High School together and performed
together frequently.  Ben is a friend of theirs from
church, community theater and PMEA.
(Photo courtesy Pat McGill)

McGills's singing career began early in life, and it in part because his mom, Nancy, is a music teacher and pushed him to sing at a young age.  He would sing at church events, and his first musical, Annie, was in 5th grade.  That following summer he began performing with his local community theater.  While in school he attended a number of Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) events, where he met a number of professionals in the field.

In the August of 2010 shortly after graduating from Washington High School, McGill auditioned to be in the music program at Slippery Rock University.  This is when he first met his voice professor Dr. Colleen Gray.  When asked in an email interview about McGill's voice development since he began attending SRU, Dr. Gray responded "A bass voice takes a long time to mature, reaching its peak when the singer is nearly forty.  As an 18 year old, Pat already had an unusually resonant, beautiful instrument, but he needed time for his interment to grow as he developed his singing technique.  Now, his voice is fully resonant and expressive throughout his range.  Pat loves his big voice, but sometimes he pushes the instrument a little too hard.  Pat's strength, beyond the fact that he has a wonderful instrument, is that he is very musical and expressive."  His first paid singing position came on his first day of college after his first meeting with Dr. Gray.

SRU Marching Pride Saxophones 2011. Pat can be located on the left hand
side, third person down from the top. (Photo courtesy Pat McGill)

Students in the music department are required to take lessons to help improve their singing/playing ability throughout the course of their time at SRU.  They are also required to attend events and participate in ensembles as well.  While attending SRU, McGill has been involved with numerous ensembles, including SRU's Marching Pride, and performed in a number of settings, both educational and professional. Fellow student and friend Eric Garber, a senior music performance major at SRU who has known McGill since high school, commented on his dedication to his fellow classmates.  Garber also discussed the music program and the amount of work required for an education major.  By the end of a music education major's four years at SRU, they will have taken a total of 84 classes (Note: As a journalism major with two minors, I will have taken a total of 48 total classes in my four years at college. Just to put that into perspective for you).

Slippery Rock University students and alumni who performed
in the Pittsburgh Opera's Aida in October of 2013.
Left to right: Eric Garber, Zach Wood (2010), Bob Simoni (1973),
Pat McGill, and Kevin Adamik (2013).

In May of 2013 McGill, Garber and two female SRU students were given the opportunity to try out to sing with the Pittsburgh Opera.  The auditions were held in Pittsburgh, and they were done with Mike Trawka, the chorus master with the opera.  Dr. Gray has performed with the opera before, and scheduled the auditions for her students.  She had the following comments when asked why she chose McGill as one of the students to attend, "I have sent a number of students to audition for Pittsburgh Opera over the years.  Since I sang with the opera, I am friends with Mark Trawka and I know what voices they are looking for and what kind of preparation the students need.  I sent Pat and a few others to audution when I felt the voices were sufficiently developed and their technique was strong enough that they would not hurt themselves singing such demanding, big music.  They also needed to have a sufficient study in the Italian, French and German language diction to independently learn the opera parts.  Pat had all of those qualities.  I knew that Trawka would love his full bass notes."

Both McGill and Garber were contacted shortly after the auditions, and informed they had a spot on the roster.  That means that they could get a show contract for future Pittsburgh Opera shows.  According to Garber, they do not contract out for a whole season, they only contract out individual shows.  Garber and McGill both got positions for Aida, and McGill got a second position in The Magic Flute.

Pat singing during the classical portion of his
senior recital on November 2, 2013.
(Photo courtesy Pat McGill)

For some people, being a full time student on top of singing professionally could be an overwhelming amount of work.  McGill on the other hand, said he enjoyed the experience and he was able to handle it because he likes to be busy.  He said that they had rehearsals two to three nights a week, and he would typically leave Slippery Rock around 5:30, and some rehearsals would go from 10:00 to 11:00 at night, which meant he wouldn't get home until around 11:00 pm or 12:00 am.  "Most people would find it very challenging to keep up with," he said. "But for me, I tend to thrive more when I'm busy.  I like to be involved in a bunch of things at the same time because it keeps me from getting bored.  I really like doing a lot of things at once, but believe me, it is nice to relax once its all over!"

On top of his opera preparations and classwork, McGill decided that he wanted to do a senior recital, which is not a requirement for music education majors.  He also decided to add a twist to the line up, by performing some of his favorite movie tunes for the second half of the evening, on top of the classical performance he did at the start.  This is something that is not commonly done in a senior recital.  Typically, a student performs a handful of songs that they have done successfully over the course of their four years at the university.  Dr. Gray commented "I typically do not allow students to devote so much for their senior recital to more popular music, but this project was so close to Pat's heart.  He sang the film music quite well."




In his time at SRU, McGill has been a very dedicated and hardworking individual, and on top of all this has spent time giving back to the community as well.  He works at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Butler, PA singing with the chorus there.  "Pat always looks to take on new things.  He's active with the church choir and he is also an active member in Mu Phi Epsilon, and is always looking for more performance opportunities," Garber added.

So what comes next for McGill? As of right now, he will student teach for his final semester at SRU.  He is expecting to graduate May 10, 2014, and then move onto the next stage of his life.... Whatever that may be.

J. Pat McGill - A Musical Timeline on Dipity.

Biography Proposal - Life with a Musical Twist

Pat McGill, September 2013 photo shoot.  Photo courtesy
Heartfelt Memories by Heather

For my biography assignment I would like to do a biography on Pat McGill, a senior music major who is currently singing professionally with the Pittsburgh Opera.

Pat is a music education major at Slippery Rock University, and grew up in Washington, PA.  I intend to document milestones in his singing career, and highlight achievements that have gotten him to where he is today.  I plan to use a combination of videos and photos, and if possible would like to use the Dipity Timeline program used in the "When You Wish Upon A Star" assignment I did earlier in the semester.

Pat's current position with the Pittsburgh Opera was recently covered by the Rocket, and I feel like a multimedia piece like this could accent the article written by Rebecca Marcucci very well if done properly.

Pat McGill, September 2013 photo shoot.  Photo courtesy Heartfelt Memories by Heather

I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night!

Photo courtesy: SRU's Up 'til Dawn
Facebook page

Slippery Rock University is one of 230 colleges that participates in Up 'til Two (or in this instance, Up 'til Dawn) for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  This year's event was held in the Aebersold Student Recreation Center from 12:00am-6:00am on November 9, and students were allowed to sign in at 11:30pm (November 8).  The event was preceded by Azucar Salsa Band and Dance, which also collected donations for the event.  Students who did not register prior to the start of Up 'til Dawn were allowed to register on the spot.  Many organizations had teams who registered together, and would be participating in various events throughout the duration of the event.



Environmental Science major Shannon Wright said that this is not the only event that will be held to raise money for St. Jude's on campus.  Currently, they have over 350 participants, and have raised around $25,000, and their goal is $75,000.  The Up 'til Two organization, which became an official campus organization in November 2012, has raised over $70,000 in both 2010 and 2011.


You could search #stjudeutd at any time during or after the event and see all the tweets and photos that students were publishing about what was going on throughout the morning.

Athletic Training students Sara M. and Kristen Zaitz talk about their expectations for the event and what they did to prepare for it.

Students meet up in their teams or as individuals and begin the sign in process. 
The far table on the left was for registered teams, the table in the middle was for registered individuals, and the table on the right was for people who still needed to register.

Students who did not preregister were allowed to register before entering the event.
Student workers had laptops available with the registration site already open and ready for
 students to use.  Once they registered, they went to the team sign in or the individual sign in.

Your Home of a Rock Solid Education

 

Slippery Rock University held their first Saturday Showcase for the Fall Semester this past Saturday, October 12, 2013.  The showcase gives prospective students an opportunity to tour the campus, meet current students and faculty, and explore programs they are interested in.  Senior Communication-Public Relations student, Hannah McLaughlin, took time to tell us how she felt the showcase went for the Comm. Department.

Lambda Pi Eta Beta Upsilon Wants You!

The best part about the Lambda Pi Eta Initiation meeting was the cake of course.

Microphone check, test, test, test.

The group I interned with this summer on the 93.3 KZOZ
morning show, Jeff and Jeremy in the Morning.

My name is Heather McClure and I am a senior at Slippery Rock University studying communication with an emphasis in journalism.  I have a passion for football, hockey, photography, and music in almost any form. Currently, my career goal is to work in radio, and have my own show of some sort.  This summer I interned on the morning show of a radio station in San Luis Obispo, California, and I realized the impact that blogging and social media can have on a company.  I saw how using social media can create a new level of interaction from the listening audience, and creates a 24/7 presence that would otherwise go unnoticed by a segment of the audience.

I have always been an active member of the social media networks, some would even say too active.  I am constantly updating my Facebook with news events, concerts or sporting events I'm attending, along with other things that happen to me throughout the day.  My Twitter feed is not nearly as polluted, but I do get on it frequently to see if I can catch any breaking news that may be going on in the world or in sports.  I have also joined the likes of Pinterest and Instagram, but never have I attempted a blog.  I have considered writing one on numerous occasions, but never have due to a fear of not knowing what to talk about.  Today, I put an end to the fear, and begin creating my blog, The Keyboard is my Microphone.

This semester I enrolled in a New-Media Journalism class, which will teach me how to become a better "backpack journalist".  I hope that this course can provide me with some more insight on the effectiveness that new-media can have in the journalism field, be it print or broadcast, and will help improve my ability to use these tools to their fullest potential.  All of the class blog posts can be viewed on our class Facebook Page, or by searching Twitter for the hashtag #nmjatsru.

A photo of my grandfather, Tom Schell - Reporter for ABC Los Angeles.

My interest in the journalism field sparked from my grandfather, Tom Schell, who was a reporter for ABC News. ABC is a traditional media outlet that was created far before the creation of the internet, and covers not only national news, but also covers local news with its affiliate stations.  They have been a news organization that I have enjoyed and respected my whole life, but this may be in part because of my grandfather.  They now use the internet and social media to not only inform citizens about national news stories, but their affiliates cover local news stories as well.



A non-traditional news outlet that I frequent is Yahoo! News.  What I like about Yahoo! is its wide coverage of topics, ranging from world news, to United States news, to local news, as well as sports, entertainment and weather.  I also like the set up on the Yahoo! Homepage that allows you to scroll through anywhere from 15 to 100 headlines, which is typically the headline accompanied by a photo that is meant to grab your attention.  I like this because I can scroll through rather quickly, find articles that catch my interest, read them, and move on without having to sort though numerous articles that I would have no interest in reading, similar to what some people go through when they read a newspaper.

I think that should be enough information on my first blog post to get you started.  Start following my blog and feel free to comment on any post you find interesting! Here goes nothing!

-Heather