The First Draft

I started my master’s degree at the University of North Texas in the Spring 2022 semester. At the time, it was the end of my first year teaching high school journalism, and I was definitely questioning my decisions.

However, pursuing a graduate degree is the best thing I’ve done for myself. When I graduated with my B.A. in Journalism in December 2018, I knew I would be back eventually. After all, I wanted to be Dr. B when I grew up, and that meant a PhD and becoming a professor.

Consider this my (academic) resume!

If you’re interested in seeing some of my work from my master’s degree, scroll through my list of classes! Some course names will contain links to my projects.

Thesis Research Proposal:
For my thesis, I will be conducting a content analysis of the framing of online newspaper coverage on mifepristone, an abortion medication, from a red-state/blue-state/swing-state viewpoint. I will focus on how different news organizations from different parts of the country are framing this issue. I will be looking at articles from April 1, 2023, to August 31, 2023. I will also be conducting interviews with female journalists, asking them to share their experiences about how abortion coverage has affected them, how they feel about the coverage at their publications, and how they put their feelings aside to cover this topic, when they may not agree with the position that they must take on it. In the in-depth interviews, I will be focusing on themes surrounding journalistic objectivity and feminist perspectives. You can read it here!

Certificates (Received Upon Graduation):
Graduate Certificate in Narrative Journalism
Graduate Certificate in Public Relations

Academic Awards:
2022-2023 Mayborn Graduate Scholarship Recipient; Quantitative Research (Statistics) Tutor
2023-2024 Mayborn Graduate Scholarship Recipient; Quantitative Research (Statistics) Tutor

Graduate Teaching Assistant:
Part-Time, October 2022-December 2022; Media Literacy
Full-Time, January 2023-Present; Introduction to Media Writing, News Reporting & Writing

GPA: 4.0

Courses:
Spring 2022
– Qualitative Research
– Quantitative Research
– Media Management
Summer 2022
– International Mass Communications
Fall 2022
– New Technologies of Mass Communication
– Strategic Social Media
– Media Ethics
Spring 2023
– Magazine Writing & Publishing
– Media Studies & Theories
– Strategic Persuasion & Media Effects
Fall 2023
– Advanced Multimedia Storytelling
– Problems in Public Relations
– Master’s Thesis
Spring 2024
– Narrative Journalism
– Advanced Public Relations Campaigns
– Master’s Thesis