What Was Your Favorite Course in College?

Dan Kehn, President: “I had a lot of wonderful classes and professors at Siena College, but one of the most challenging (and rewarding) courses I took was a Virginia Woolf seminar. I had a difficult time adapting to her stream of consciousness style, and I wondered if I was going to enjoy it. But my professor made it accessible by asking us to thoughtfully consider the sometimes complicated story lines and encouraging spirited discussion among our small group of students. My favorite Woolf novel: Mrs. Dalloway.”

Darcy Sokolewicz, EVP: “At SUNY New Paltz, The Art of Negotiation was my all-time favorite course. It’s where I fell in love with the skill of negotiating which has become one of the most important parts of my job. It has also helped me in life—buying cars, my house, etc.”

Karen Dolge, Media: “I was a broadcasting/mass communication major at SUNY Oswego; my goal was to be the next Katie Couric ;). My favorite course was Broadcast Production, where I learned to enjoy the behind-the-scenes work more than in front of the scene. From camera person, to technical crew, filming the college basketball games live… so cool. (Oh, and I did have a short stint as anchor woman on the college TV station, but I was no Katie Couric.)”

Kayla Germain, Account Supervisor: “My senior year at Fredonia, I took the Public Relations Capstone class. This was my favorite class… but not for why you might think. This was the moment I decided, after four years of majoring in Public Relations, that PR wasn’t for me. It really was a fantastic experience; I learned that I loved certain related aspects of the PR world. But without this experience, I would have stumbled a bit more early in my career. Instead, I learned that marketing and advertising was the way for me to go.”

Lauren Herrington, VP of Client Services: “I’m torn between two at SUNY Oswego. Senior Broadcasting Lab: We spent three hours a week working with the cameras, lighting, and editing equipment to make our own commercial and news segments during our last semester. I loved the collaboration and camaraderie among us broadcasting communication nerds! Also, History of the Third Reich: I’m just a real, REAL WWII nerd.”

Meghan Kiely, Account Executive: “A favorite of mine was Multimedia Storytelling taught by Liz Richards at The College of Saint Rose. We had to create an inflatable art installation that helped tell a story. We all took on different roles: build the inflatable shapes, film the footage projected onto the shapes, and create the promo materials for the grand opening. The class was challenging, but I learned so much about how to be creative in new ways.”

Melissa Fiorenza, AVP of Content: “It’s a tie between two classes I took at Tufts. The first is Hitchcock: Cinema, Gender, Ideology. I thought I’d just be watching movies, but it ended up being the hardest (and most interesting) class I took. Professor Lee Edelman was so enthralling that people applauded at the end. The other was Making a Magazine, taught by Michael Blanding. We each had a role on the masthead and actually made a magazine. It prepared me so well for my editorial career.”