Utica University is now offering a new club called Communication Club for prospective students that is open to any major and will explore the world of communication. The club will observe different career opportunities, all while creating a social network for students who share common interests.

On Wednesday, March 2, students and faculty from the communication and media department met together for the first meeting of the Communication Club. The club’s feedback was well received as about 25 people attended the organization event to try and work on getting the club off the ground and recognized.

The advisor and creator of the club is professor of public relations and management Patricia Swann.

“The Communication Club was created because there was no club organization available for the communication-related majors,” Swann said. “Students who are interested in learning more about the world of communication and its varied career options all while creating an opportunity for students to get together outside of classes.”

Some students within the major were excited to see this sort of club finally start up, seeing it as a way to not only learn more about their career field but also as a possible point of interest on their resumes and build a sense of community within the CMM major.

“What interested me most about the Communication Club was seeing students wanting to meet and share their interests and passion for communication and media,” said Thomas Caputo, a senior CMM student who has a concentration in journalism. “A lot of CMM students tend to stick with either print, broadcast or theatre, and we all tend to stay in our own groups, so it’s really nice to see all of us breaking out of our spaces and coming together.”

Secretary Corrine Bush explained how it is helpful to be surrounded by like-minded individuals as the club allows for that to come to light.

“I think because we’ve all studied communications in some form, we were able to connect better and set goals before our next meeting,” Bush said.

Some students who aren’t even a part of the communication concentrations joined the club out of curiosity.

Kevin Chambers, an English major, said he saw the club as a great way to expand his knowledge on another major he thought was interesting.

“I think this club is going to do well,” Chambers said. “It’s a club that is not only for a specific major but it’s also accepting of letting anyone from any major join in to be a part of it.”

For the rest of the spring semester, several trips and networking opportunities have been scheduled with multiple alumni and local businesses that relate to the communication discipline, such as the Cooperstown Hall of Fame and the New York Power Authority Interactive Visitor Center.

Bush was happy with the turnout of the first meeting and event and looks forward to the future of the club.

“Even from our first meeting I was really excited to finally get the majority of our communications people in one room, from the people I see on a daily basis, to those I’ve heard about but never met,” Bush said

For more information on Communication Club and how to become a part of it, students can reach out to Swann through her email, [email protected].