A development communication student is many things; they are a writer, a speaker, an active community member, and sometimes a struggler. They encounter hardships and trials that will take them out of their comfort zones and bring them face to face with the world and its problems. Here, I will talk about 5 things development communication students should have.
The first tip I can give is that you need to steel yourself. Development communication is not an easy course, and the tasks that you will undertake will challenge you in many new ways. Prepare yourself for sleepless nights on the first month and a blinking cursor on a blank paper for many times to come. These are parts of the journey that will always be with you.
Secondly, you need to have enthusiasm for reading. To write well is to read well; expose yourself to many types and styles of literature and it will shape you as a writer. It will shine through your style of writing, and how deep your pool of knowledge is on several topics.
Following that up, you can’t just say “no”. You need to have a go-getter attitude especially in UP’s Devcom course. If you aren’t adept at talking to people and getting to know them and their environment, if you aren’t into reading boring and long texts, you have no choice but to tackle them. You will get used to it the more you say yes to the act, just keep on keeping on.
Aside from these, you should have technical know-how on writing and many important editing softwares. You are both a media writer living in the age of the internet where audio-visual stimuli is the key to capturing audiences. Crafting well-made articles and visuals to complement these is essential to making sure you succeed in university and the industry.
Finally, you should have the mindset that there are no shortcuts. Easy data is not good data, and the same goes for the quality of education and work. There are things in the course where you won’t be able to find on google so easily and certain things that require arduous amounts of research and study. You have to go through all of these, but it will be worth it. They are meant to mold you into an amazing product of passion, hardship and determination that ultimately only you can create. Godspeed, development communicators.
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