Why I Study Multimedia Journalism at Concordia

Josh Quatier ’22, Rosholt, S.D.
Major/Minor: Multimedia Journalism; Film Studies

Going into college, I had almost no direction of where I wanted to go. I knew I loved media, music, games, and movies, but I had no idea how I could make my passion for these things into an actual career.

I didn’t know much about what Concordia could offer me until I was given a big sheet with a list of all majors. I studied that sheet for quite a long time, yet I wasn’t coming to any conclusions. I was desperately looking for any way to get as close to an industry that interested me as possible. Then I finally saw the multimedia journalism major.

I looked into what the requirements for the major and almost every class sounded like something I would love. I had no idea Concordia offered any classes that were like that. I had finally gotten a glimpse of the direction that I wanted to go in my college career.

As I’m now completing my first year at Concordia, I’ve already gotten so much more out of my college career than I could have imagined when I was graduating high school.

One class that I absolutely love was New Media with Dr. Greg Carlson. I was totally enamored with his history of writing film reviews and his extensive viewing history. In the small town I came from, there was almost no one that shared the same interests as me when it came to entertainment and media. Now, it was my professors! Greg’s teaching style of very laid back, conversation-based lessons was very much appreciated and very effective for my learning of the subject matter.

Another class that I found informative and entertaining was COM 111 with Dr. Aileen Buslig. I didn’t really have an idea what a communication class would even consist of, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out how interesting it was to study how communication works and how it affects things within everyday life.

Two moments from my first year that stick out for me are when I learned about the opportunities within the MMJ program at the beginning of the year and going to a talk with Richard Edlund.

When I was first learning about what I could do at Concordia, some professors talked about how they would often take trips to the Sundance Film Festival and how even some of Concordia’s students were featured there. I was immediately blown away. Never had my dreams seemed so tangible and attainable.

This spring, the Fargo Film Festival invited Richard Edlund to speak at the festival. He is an industry legend with four Oscars under his belt and worked on the special effects for many beloved films, including the original “Star Wars.” He came to Concordia that morning to speak to some students about his career. His talk gave me a huge feeling of inspiration and respect for the art of filmmaking and special effects.

Just within the first couple months at Concordia, I realized how good of a position I was in. My fears from the end of my senior year of high school were starting to disappear. I was more confident, less confused, and finally happy with where my future would take me. All that, and I was barely through the first year of college. I can’t say with 100 percent confidence where I’m headed next, but I’m so grateful to have an outline.

^{Published May 2019}