Meet Hailey Fowler, Class of 2025

• Hometown: Wallingford, CT
   
• Program of Study: Journalism major, Advertising and Public Relations minor.
   
• Co-ops and Internships: Connecticut Public Broadcasting Incorporated WNPR summer internship, Marketing and communications co-op with RIT College of Liberal Arts.  
   
• Research: Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). 
   
• Campus Involvement: Music Chair and President of Ukelele club for four years, Orientation Leader, and Teaching Assistant in the RIT School of Communication for three years.
   
• Civic Engagement/Community Service: Habitat for Humanity volunteer.
   
• Award and Honors: Frederick Doublas and Susan B Anthony Award (University of Rochester 2020), AAPPL BiLingual and BiLiteracy Award for English and Spanish, 2020; Dean’s List (RIT’s College of Liberal Arts);  RIT School of Communication Excellence in Journalism Award, 2025; Inducted into Lamda Pieta.
   
• Future Plans: Seeking employment communication industry.

What’s one thing you did while at RIT that you’re really proud of?

The RIT Ukulele Club, because the club was in a really rough place when I originally took the role [club president and music chair] in my freshman year because we were coming out of COVID.  I had heard a bit about what the club used to be before COVID hit—60 plus members putting on gigantic performances. Then COVID demolished the club because it was very, very hard to do virtual meetings and have it be engaging and fun. 

I'm really really proud of what we, the board of Ukulele Club, were able to accomplish. We made a lot of connections that I'm hoping are going to continue, and as we're graduating, we're leaving the club in very good hands. Today we have a solidified relationship with the RIT Library, which has invited us to play during every Destress Fest, and we perform at the Relay for Life every year. 

What’s your favorite memory from your time at RIT?

My favorite personal memory is from last year during Freeze Fest when my roommates and I went to College Night at the Strong Museum of Play. It was such a fun window of time in my life, because I was moving into a brand new apartment, and while I had begun to get to know my roommates over the winter break, we had only been living together for about a month. I think that was the night that we really bonded, and after that we were just kind of inseparable.

My favorite academic memory was during Foundations of Communication my freshman year when I had to do a group project, making a video to showcase why you should get a communication degree at RIT. The professor, Keri Barone, purposefully didn’t group us by major, but she kind of suggested that the journalism majors should work together. It was just me and the other three journalism majors in the class. We worked on this project together, and it was so much fun—recording the scenes and editing the video. Professor Barone absolutely loved our video, because of that she ended up offering us teaching assistant positions.

Advice for younger you—​​If you could go back and give your first-year self advice, what would you say?

I would tell myself two things. One, that you have to have more confidence in yourself and your abilities. When I came here, I was just so nervous, and I think I kind of felt overwhelmed and like everyone was smarter or more talented than me. I don't know if I necessarily felt that I belonged at RIT for the first several months. There were a lot of fears that I think most freshmen have when they come in. 

I wish I could just go back in time and tell myself “Everything's going to happen naturally. You're going to meet those friends. You're going to find those job opportunities. You’re going to find your niche. It just takes time, and it takes confidence.” 

I would also tell her that everyone feels like they're making mistakes all the time, and college is about making mistakes and growing from them, so don't be afraid of making mistakes. 

What was your favorite class and why?

I loved Theories of Communications last year with Professor Neumann. That one was a lot of fun. The class was always engaged, and it was just so interesting and really fun getting off topic with him or even staying on topic. 

Also, Digital Design in Communication is a favorite of mine because it covered so many of the skills that ended up being extremely helpful for both of my co-op/internships. Having Photoshop, design skills, and Adobe skills already made a big difference for my Connecticut Public Broadcasting internship. 

I also loved Campaign Management and Planning with Professor Cameron, which was an immersive experience in putting together an advertising campaign and gave me the chance to go on the New York City trip with the School of Communication. 

How has studying a liberal arts discipline at a technical university prepared you for your next steps? 

I would so much rather go to a tech school that has tech resources than go to a liberal arts school that doesn't because the future of any industry is paved with tech. I feel like if I had just gone to a liberal arts school, I would have been playing catch-up instead of already having skills that I’ve learned. 

When I interned for Connecticut Public Broadcasting, I was praised multiple times for my videography and editing skills, and simply for understanding how to use the equipment. 

While there are a lot of [journalism and communication degree] programs out there, I do think that RIT is unique. For starters, I took photojournalism classes during which I got to use equipment from RIT's amazing Photo Cage. Having just that resource alone, I think, is really defining. 

But also, you can take classes within the School of Communication, within the College of Liberal Arts, and within the College of Art and Design. I have a friend that is a communication and multimedia major at a different college, and I was telling her about my experience taking multi-platform production with Professor Tom Dooley and how he integrated the use of  360-degree cameras into that class for visual storytelling in journalism. She was not learning anything like that at her college. 

How has college shaped who you are today?

I think when I first got here I was very timid and shy. It's just truly a “night and day” difference with how much living in Rochester and going to RIT has opened me up to new experiences. I grew up in a very small town. While I was fortunate enough to have parents who exposed me to different places and cultures and opportunities, I do think I grew up in a little sheltered bubble.

Since I came to RIT, that bubble has kind of popped and opened me up to a lot of new experiences.​​

What’s one skill you gained at RIT that you think will be most valuable in your career?

Actually, it’s hard to nail down just one because there's so many. The most obvious one that comes to mind is the videography dexterity. The classes that I took at RIT required learning editing skills and technical skills for creating video content. I was praised a lot in my co-op at Connecticut Public Broadcasting for that. The interns they’d had before me primarily came from liberal arts schools and didn’t have the same level of skill as me. In fact, one of my co-workers even told me that they've since changed the requirements on the co-op application so they can attract more co-op applicants from more tech schools in the future. 

Another key skill I developed at RIT is interpersonal communication—learning how to communicate effectively with people whose brains are just wired differently than yours. RIT is definitely a place where majors mix. Between my classes, living with STEM majors, and being a Teaching Assistant for a class that is almost completely STEM majors, my interactions are never limited to just liberal arts students. I think learning how to communicate information effectively across all boards is something that I learned here, and I don't think I would have had that same experience if I went to a solely liberal arts focused college. 

What internship/co-op, research opportunities, or experiential learning options did you have at RIT and how did they impact your career path?

My first internship solidified for me that brand journalism and marketing is absolutely a field that I could comfortably go into. My second co-op definitely focused my goal on public media, because I absolutely loved making content that was educational and community-based. 

My freshman year, I took a class called Community Journalism. The class was 50% journalism majors and 50% photojournalism majors, and it worked as a functioning newsroom. Journalism majors are partnered with PJ [photojournalism] majors, and you go out and report on an assigned part of the community. I was partnered with a PJ student named Marilee Vaca, who at the time was a fourth year, and we were both interested in the Latin American community in Rochester. 

Marilee was an amazing person—so patient and kind and really appreciative of what I brought to the table, too, which I cannot express how much that helped build my confidence as a freshman. We wrote some really awesome stories for that class—a profile, a story about School 12, and another about a Latin American Motorcycle Association in Rochester. Both of those stories I still use as writing samples when I'm applying to jobs today. 

For supporting you along your RIT journey, is there anyone you’d like to thank? 

Generally, the entire SOC [RIT School of Communication] feels family. From the team at the ECC [Expressive Communication Center] to all of the faculty and staff in the office, everyone is just so warm and kind and supportive. There are so, so many SOC professors that I want to thank! 

Professor Tom Dooley has taught me so much and has been so supportive. He's just an endless fountain of information on the very specific fields that I wanted to work in, so it was really great    having him as part of my academic journey.

I want to thank Professor Hinda Mandell, both for endlessly fun classes where she was always able to incorporate crafting and for giving me an awesome opportunity to do a research fellowship with her. 

And, I want to thank Professor Keri Barone and for Professor Susan Quatro for hiring me to be a teaching assistant for their classes and for always being so appreciative of my help.  

I want to thank COLA’s Director of Marketing and Communications Kim Walters for hiring me to be a COLA Student Reporter, which helped me get professional experience, skills, and work for my portfolio.