communications

From Ice to Academia: A UFV Student’s Journey Beyond Hockey

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Ice hockey player on hockey field

by Matthew Michaud

A former competitive hockey player transitions to university life at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), bringing the discipline and resilience from the rink to the classroom. Enrolled in communications and philosophy, this student is on a quest to explore a broad academic landscape without rushing into a major. The early university experience is marked by the application of lessons learned in sports—such as teamwork and time management—to academic challenges. In CMNS 125, the focus shifts from physical agility to the art of concise and clear communication, reflecting a new kind of strategic thinking. This story is about leveraging past experiences to navigate new beginnings and the pursuit of personal growth in an unfamiliar field.

 What are you studying at UFV?

 For my first semester at UFV, I was able to enroll into both Communications 125 as well as Philosophy 100. With life, hobbies, and work evolving rapidly, I haven’t yet declared a Major. This gives me time to try out an array of courses and gain as much knowledge and experience; without having to tie myself down to anything before I’m ready. Overall, these first couple months of my university career have been exciting, fast, and engaging – and I look forward to many more to come!

Tell us about yourself

 Prior to my UFV journey, my life revolved around school and sport. For the past thirteen years, I have played hockey at a competitive level. Throughout this journey, I had learned many valuable lessons from an early age. These include discipline, time-management, work ethics, grit, and passion. These are some key words that I carry with me no matter where I go, or what I do; core values so to speak. It was an absolute privilege to play such an exciting game for as long as I did.

As I reflect on my career, the highs and lows of it all, here’s what comes to mind: as a nine year old – born and raised in Langley, I had the ability to watch The Langley Rivermen play. I continued my early days in Langley Minor, honing in my skills as a young goaltender and learning every day. In my early teens, I had the chance to join an academy team in their inaugural year – St. George’s Hockey Academy. Not only was this a private, prep school, but it was also a school run much differently than the other academies in the league. Hockey was either before or after school and was never in conflict with a school day. School was the priority, and it was up to the athlete to effectively manage their time to stay academically focused.

St. Georges is located by UBC, and I lived in Langley. The next three years of my life were a cycle of early mornings, long days, and late nights. For example, a morning practice would occur before school hours. This would be a 6am start. Living sixty kilometres away, I would be up bright and early at 4:30 am sharp. Once practice wrapped up, I would complete a full high school day, and head home. The bus ride home allowed me to complete school work, catch up on sleep, and prepare for a night of homework and studies – and I’d get home around 5-6pm. Some days, we’d have no morning skate, but a workout, video, and skate after school. On these days, I was able to sleep in until 5:45 am, bus to school and complete the day, then take a team bus to the rink. Our “hockey day” would begin at 4pm and go until about 7:30 pm. Once completed, I would head home and sleep in the car or complete homework if possible; all to repeat the same schedule for the next day, and the day after. On top of all this, we would travel by bus or plane for our tournaments, games, and showcases.

From grade eight to ten, I learned some of my most valuable traits. I was able to practice them daily and had no choice but to be at the top of my game both on and off the ice. After my academy career, and when COVID struck, hockey and school both took a dramatic turn. Asynchronous classes took over, and hockey would have to wait. This gave me time to grow, train, and take some time away from the busy life I had come to know. The season after, I had the chance to try out for the team I grew up watching, the Langley Rivermen. As a seventeen-year-old rookie, junior hockey was a huge step up from academy. I had the ability to play both with the Rivermen and Trappers in my first year and develop my skills with both teams. During my year with the Trappers, I was able to be one of the top goaltenders in the regular Season, only losing one game in fourteen starts – posting a .930 Save Percentage during that time. Playoffs came and I was the youngest starter in the league. In these playoffs’ games, our team reached new heights and went on a “Cinderella run”. During this time, I had the honour of setting a playoff record, posting a .946 Save Percentage across thirteen games. We’d go on to win our League and Provincial Championships – and it was an absolute privilege to do this all in my first year Junior Hockey. After a great and productive summer, filled with training and fine tuning, I was ready to make the full jump to Junior A hockey. I was so excited to play for the team I grew up watching, and couldn’t wait to start the year.

Unfortunately, a concussion in the last game of preseason would take me out for the first half of my season. Now, concussions have been the only injury I encountered in my years of playing, and this was strike four. After making a long but full recovery. I was able to return to action. This year was full of ups and downs, and unlike the year prior, this would be a more realistic “Rookie Season”. I had a lot to learn about the game, playing against college commits and NHL Prospects and draft picks nightly, all in front of 1,000-4,000 people on any given night. I learned a ton about both myself and the game that year. Once the season concluded, I knew I faced a decision. After four concussions, I knew that, on March 25th, 2023, I had played my last game. After various chats with our trainer, specialists, and family, I had made the decision that the risk of long-term effects of repetitive concussions was not worth it. I value my quality of life and would hate to take that away from my 60-year-old self. My career wrapped up last season, and I now find myself pursuing other things. I started working for a gym in June and have been a consistent top salesman for the company in consecutive months. I now have the opportunity to take on a management role and look forward to a new chapter in my late teen life.

What was your overall impression of taking CMNS 125 in person at UFV?

 As I progress through the term, I have been introduced to a variety of topics in regard to writing. The main takeaway from this term has been profession vs academic writing. CMNS puts weight into writing professionally, and that has been something we continue to work on as we progress. I enjoy our structured writing, and the format that comes with it. We are learning to apply precise structures to our work, and this allows me to be more professional and clearer when it comes to my entries.

Since I started in this course, I have really enjoyed learning how to format different styles of text. From Reference lists to letters of bad news, I have found an interest in the art of formatting words. This has allowed me to further build my skills in the workplace and deliver more articulate responses to my team and clients in my workspace. Additionally, CMNS 125 has challenged me to work on being concise. I have always enjoyed writing, and lots of it. I do find myself going over word counts and having to edit my papers to make them more concise, and CMNS has challenged me to do that. It’s a great way for me to work on this, and I have enjoyed the challenge of writing more clear- and thought-out entries. Think – “Less is more”…sometimes.

 

“I feel like you aren’t hearing me.”

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“I feel like you aren’t hearing me.”

By Hannah Celinski

Have you ever found yourself saying this during a conversation with a colleague or a friend? In recent months, I have sat on a variety of committees and panels where I have experienced or observed obstacles to communication. I have also found myself misunderstood on occasion, and I’ve realized that part of the issue is not being clear, it’s being heard.

I facilitate 3-day sessions called Instructional Skills Workshops. I often run an exercise on the second day, where I have people pair off. First, they sit back-to-back and Speaker A tries to tell Speaker B a quick story. The room is loud, they can’t see each other, and the message quickly becomes garbled. When the pairs debrief, only small sections of information are retained.

Then they switch partners and Speaker B tries to tell a story, while Speaker A does everything they can, short of leaving the room, to avoid what they have to say. Again, not much is retained, and Speaker A often admits that they were so busy trying to get out of the room, they didn’t pay any attention to what Speaker B was saying.

Finally, the speakers sit face-to-face and engage in Active Listening techniques. The message clears up immediately, and information is exchanged fluidly.

The next time you find yourself sitting in a meeting, thinking only about what you are going to say next, consider doing this instead:

  • listen carefully to what the other person is saying with no judgement one way or the other
  • carefully consider their point, shelving the potential bias of your own opinion
  • reflect on how their input might be useful with regards to the topic at hand
  • clarify any points the speaker made that might seem out of place, or perplexing
  • speak their points back to them to be sure you have understood their intention and nuance
  • share your own perspective while building on their offering

Use Active Listening to Coach Others

Another way to foster success during meetings is to prepare a living document that identifies how the group wants to work together during the session, or over the course of the committee duration. Identifying strategies to navigate difficult subjects or dissent is paramount to success in these instances.

Consider adopting practices like “ouch,” “oops.” If someone says something hurtful, you acknowledge the moment by simply saying, “ouch.” The person who was speaking says, “oops,” then a conversation can unfold around the issue by addressing it before the meeting is derailed through misunderstandings or microaggressions. (You can find more about ouch/oops here: https://www.diversityinclusioncenter.com/archives/ouch_files/Archives/Ouch_Vol5No1.html )

Finding ways to communicate effectively is vital. I was reminded of the importance of these practices recently, as I found myself disengaging from a discussion to temper my anger. This resulted in a lack of engagement on my part, and I know I missed valuable information while I was bringing myself down to a workable mental space.

We expect our students to listen actively, but sometimes it is important to remind ourselves of the tenants of Active Listening, so we don’t end up tuning in for, “I feel like you aren’t hearing me.” You probably aren’t. Let’s instead aim for: “That was productive. Thank you all for listening.” I know I’ll be going into future meetings with this as my goal.

I’ve included further resources for Active Listening from The Centre for Creative Leadership here: https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/coaching-others-use-active-listening-skills/

You can find more about Effective Listening through the UFV Student Services here: https://ufv.ca/media/assets/counselling/Learning+from+Lectures.pdf

Interested in learning effective ways to communicate better> At UFV, we offer a Professional Communications Certificate. To find out more information, go to ufv.ca/communications.

Back for season three: The Riverdale Universe: Ride or Die conference returns

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Back for season three: The Riverdale Universe: Ride or Die conference returns

Jess Wind
Photos by Sarah Sovereign Photography, used with permission from Raspberry.

Academics, nerds, and fans alike will gather on March 13 for the third annual Riverdale-themed semi-academic conference about the Archie Comics adaptation and its expanding universe.

What started as a joke on Twitter in 2017 quickly ballooned to an interdisciplinary, multi-year conference and accompanying anthology (Riverdale: A Land of Contrasts due out in 2020), that explores and critiques themes represented (or lack thereof) in the CW’s Riverdale, Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and other Archie Comics content. Previous years have featured a body-positive, feminist photoshoot, tales from a casting agency, cross-property conspiracy theories, and an annual Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-style interactive fanfiction, along with a healthy dose of academic critique.

The Riverdale TV show is the latest in an expansive property featuring America’s favourite blundering redheaded teen, the two women that fight over him, and his burger-loving best friend. Though many scholars and critics have pointed out this contemporary adaptation bears little resemblance to the “All-American teen” on which it is based.

What we’ve come to refer to as the Riverdale universe is an ever-expanding media-verse, including now three TV shows including Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix), and Katy Keene (CW), and tie-in comic book series.

Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina are both filmed in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver areas, giving the show a strong sense of place for those of us that drive past Rocko’s diner in Mission, or the Fort Langley Community Hall regularly. Riverdale is not just “anywhere USA”, but also distinctly BC’s lower mainland. One thing continues to be true as we prepare event logistics for the third time: this “semi-academic” conference made up of fans, industry professionals, and scholars, could only exist here.

“What we’re doing is not quite academic, and not a fan convention, but something weird, and strange, and fun — fun being the key thing” says Heather McAlpine, conference organizer and associate professor in English at UFV in an interview with Raspberry last year.

What this have to do with communications?

In communications, we spend a lot of time talking about people. We talk about audience, and the relevance of purpose. We talk about inclusivity and barriers. We talk about stories.

The Riverdale Universe: Ride or Die conference breaks these conversations out of the classroom and gives them more real world significance. Engage in the public exchange of ideas in a laid back atmosphere that does away with long-held stereotypes of the stuffy academic lecture-style presentation.

That said, Riverdale itself doesn’t always burden itself with questions of audience relevance, inclusivity, or storytelling, and past presentations have critiqued how, why, and what we expect of our entertainment. McAlpine explains the relationship between audience and content in Riverdale.

“Audiences are totally starving for better, more thoughtful, more inclusive representation in our media,” she says. “And we get so excited when we’re promised that kind of representation, but in many cases we’re let down by tokenism or representation that actually ends up reinforcing negative stereotypes.”

Whether Riverdale is “good” television (it’s not) isn’t a question. It is, however, exceedingly enduring (Archie first appeared in Pep Comics in 1941), problematic at times, campy and nostalgic at others. It fails (often) and gets back up (always). And it’s these in-between spaces that offer rich ground for critique and push boundaries, and where we situate the third annual Riverdale-themed semi-academic conference.

The conference is an interdisciplinary effort made up of faculty from UFV Communications, English, and elsewhere across the College of Arts, as well as UFV alumni. Presentations this year include the return of Citizen of Riverdale, a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-style fanfiction, staged readings and new conspiracy theories, a preview of the upcoming academic anthology: Riverdale: A Land of Contrasts, and a fresh dose of scholarly criticism.

The Riverdale Universe: Ride or Die conference takes place on March 13, 2020 in the South Asian Studies Institute (F Building) on Abbotsford campus with panels beginning at 9 am. The building is accessible, registration is free, and anyone from UFV and the public is welcome to attend.

See you there!

Communications Opportunities in the Fraser Valley

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Communications Opportunities in the Fraser Valley

By Jennifer Barkey, UFV practicum student

Living in the Fraser Valley is desirable because of the beautiful setting, easy access to recreation activities and exercise, and its wide variety of opportunities for healthy living.

Wouldn’t it be even more attractive if we were able to work in our community as well?

Armed with this idea, I hit the internet to find out how many job opportunities there are within the Fraser Valley that also involve excellent communications skills and perhaps advanced communications schooling. I was not disappointed with the myriad of postings scattered across the information highway; I found a plethora of them quickly and easily through popular websites such as indeed.com, ufv.ca, bcjobs.ca and abbotsford.craigslist.org.

Sifting through the postings, I quickly realized that excellent communications is highly sought after in almost every industry out there. I saw postings for web specialists, marketers, managers, cooks, dispatchers, sales associates, and many more, all listing excellent communications as a required skill. A few postings required detailed working knowledge of communications practices and processes. The individuals these companies seek are able to discern which type of communication is most effective for the situation. Some prestigious postings also required a bachelor’s degree in Communications.

So how do we do it?

The best answer I can offer on how to acquire these exemplary communications skills is this: education, of course!

Thankfully, The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) is conveniently located here, with campuses in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, and Hope—and can meet your educational needs in this area. Want to advance in the workforce? Enroll in a communications program at UFV: UFV offers a professional communications certificate, as well as a communications minor.

It will change your life for the better by giving you an advantage over other candidates, and open the door to opportunities in the Fraser Valley that are waiting for you.

Talk to an advisor today, or email cmns@ufv.ca.

*Photograph by Jennifer Barkey

Catching up with public speaking award winner, Liz Power

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By Jess Wind

Every year one student from each section of CMNS 235: Public Speaking is nominated by their class for the Rise and Shine Toastmasters award at the end of the semester. These nominees present an acceptance speech as their entry for the award and one exceptional speaker is chosen for the annual $600 prize.

Our most recent winner is Liz Powers, a Bachelor of Arts student with plans to major in psychology before moving on to a Masters in counselling. She’s prepared for it to take longer than the average four-year degree because on top of being a student and server, Liz is a mother of three.

Liz came into every class with a smile and enthusiasm that radiated to everyone around her. Liz’s speeches were relevant to her life, and that of her audience with a healthy dose of humour to draw her listeners in. Most memorably, Liz taught us how to bake cookies for her demonstration speech, and there were plenty of samples to go around.

I caught up with Liz to find out what it took to earn the nomination from her classmates, and the mark Public Speaking has left on her.

Talk to me a bit about your decision to take the class and your journey throughout the term.

So I took the class because I was told there was no final exam. I was just trying to balance out my course load and figure out how to do that with kids and going back to school because I was still really new to the process.

And then the process of learning how to write a speech and then how to execute it was actually far more interesting than I thought it’d be.

What did you think about being nominated, and then about winning?

I was actually very surprised. And then I was grateful and also ungrateful in that I was like “I don’t have time to write another one of these and memorize it,” but I thought, it’s good practice.

Winning the award was a nice confidence booster. It was almost necessary at that stage. When I got the email that I won, it was at a really difficult stage in my life personally with my kids and what not and that was just like a nice moment in what was a really chaotic couple of months.

How’d you plan for the final speech?

One of the memorization techniques that was mentioned in my psychology class was the memory palace. And so I used that to memorize my last speech which was so helpful.

I memorized the speech walking through my house from room to room and each space in my house had a different component of my speech. So when I was giving my speech it was a lot easier because it had a flow to it … I feel it made the process far less nerve wracking.

Do you find you’re more aware of speaking skills in others now?

I am more aware of my hand gestures when I’m talking, because when I started I looked like an aerobics instructor from 1980. Which is really appropriate being the size of my hair typically.

I went to the Tedx Chilliwack, and it was very interesting watching the different speakers because they work with coaches and some of them were so on point and I can tell [they’ve] really dialed this down. I was so impressed — things I probably wouldn’t have noticed before … but now when you understand the number of things that need to go into that. And then the moments where they would forget you could see them stop and close their eyes and look for it in their mind … I know what that moment feels like.

Do you have any tips for the next round of public speaking students?

In terms of memorizing, the memory palace was key for me. And the other thing that I think helped was … I practiced in front of my video recorder … and then I would watch it. And then I would do it again and I would watch it. I would see where I stumbled or where I missed and then I would try to make those pieces more memorable.

And I would also practice in my car, anytime I was driving anywhere, it was repeat, repeat, repeat.

Looking toward the future, Liz dreams of opening a bed and breakfast one day and possibly combining that with her counselling focus into a retreat centre.

I actually just love making people’s beds and cooking them breakfast and telling them about the community and all the cool fun things there are to do.  

 

Puzzling over a Career in Communications?

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Are you interesting in taking communications courses but not sure what you could do with them? At UFV, we offer both a Minor in Communications and a Professional Communication Essentials certificate. Completing a program in communications will teach you how to make and move messages within or between individuals, organizations, companies, NGOs, charities, societies, cultures, and media.

Professionals in communications learn to deliver ideas to public or private audiences.

What industries are looking for communications professionals?

Any organization that communicates with the public, clients, or businesses (such as corporate management, governmental management, policy producers, political and charitable interests) all connect with, influence, or inform individuals, clients, and strategic partners (often through the media).

Most large industries or corporate entities communicate internally, between departments, offices, or branches. Corporate communications and organizational communications professionals shape and move this kind of messaging.

What does a communications career involve?

Communications careers typically involve shaping the public or private/internal voice and identity of an organization through writing, webpage design, Audio/Visual, social media, and public/media engagement. If you’ve ever interacted with a company, a charity, a government, or an NGO, a professional communicator created the pathways, messages, materials, and the themes for that communication.

Communication professionals develop a “voice” for brands, products and companies. This voice is specifically developed to be appealing to the particular demographic that these brands, products and companies want to engage.

In what career field or industries do communications professionals work?

Here are some examples of various roles communication professionals find themselves in:

Business

Public Relations        

Advertising    

International Relations and Negotiations

Broadcasting 

Journalism (Print or Electronic)          

Theatre/Performing Arts       

Government/Politics

High Technology Industries  

  • Television / Film Producer / Director
  • Systems Analyst
  • Technical Copywriter

Communication and Health Care / Social Services

Think you like what you just read? Check out our communications course offerings by viewing the UFV timetable. For more information about the Department of Communications, visit the Communications website.