Hermosa 1

Michael Hermosa

CPMS250

7 December 2020

Scholars

The title has resonated with me since I chose the program to be my top choice when

joining the UMD scholars. I feel that media has been an important part of my life because I have

grown up with technology and therefore have always had the ability to obtain media from

various platforms. I feel that media is one of the most important things in my life because it is

how I inform myself as I grow into an adult. I have learned a lot more going through the program

especially with the analyzation of media because I truly never gave a second thought on how

many different parts go into making the news. The understanding of media that I have now has

changed from a surface level intake to a more active role in how media works. An example of a

misunderstanding of the role of media in my life has been how trusting many people are of the

internet and television news. In my time as a media scholar in class and outside of class I have

learned that paper news is a truly credible source of news, yet it is the part of news that is dying

out the quickest. The first way that we as Americans found out about the harmful things that

Jeffrey Epstein had done to so many children was through a local Florida newspaper. They broke

the story through the efforts of professional journalists. As I’ve learned how to find credible

sources of news, I have noticed that the paper news covers all their bases and credit the sources

where they learn information. When one is a critical consumer and produce of media, they are

not taking any of the media content as truth but a guideline to find out the deeper truth. I believe
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I was previously a passive consumer until I took my first media scholars’ course. I believe now I

see media through such a different lens and I enjoy critically analyzing certain pieces of

information because I believe there is always a deeper understanding that can be achieved. I

believe that I have been challenged in my previous beliefs because I was always a passive person

in many aspects of my opinions and taking this class has helped me to grow stronger and actually

stand for something. This class has taught me the tools to defend the beliefs I choose to have and

how to work media to my advantage. My first year learning about the different generations and

how they use technology and what will become of the future generations made me think of how I

want to be portrayed in the media and how to see through what is accurate and what may be

twisted to fit an agenda. I believe living in a living learning community helped me so much in

gaining confidence in my learning. I was able to recognize people who were in my scholars’

program who I met the first few days of school in my other classes. I was able to feel more

comfortable and more proactive in my assignments when I was able to talk to and learn with a

group of people that I was familiar with. I believe living in a living learning community helped

me so much in gaining confidence in my learning. I was able to recognize people who were in

my scholars’ program who I met the first few days of school in my other classes. I was able to

feel more comfortable and more proactive in my assignments when I was able to talk to and

learn with a group of people that I was familiar with. I feel that even during this pandemic the

scholar’s program has made great efforts to make us feel like a community. Events such as

watching Mulan as a group and learning how to cook due to our fellow scholars sharing recipes

online has truly done such a great job of creating a community. I believe scholars will have a

large impact in my future. I am currently taking a communication in public health which has

been a great connection between my scholars’ program and my major which is community
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health. Looking into this connection more, this is something I had thought of previously and now

seeing both connect has piqued my interest.