Meet exceptional graduates from FGCU who are combining their university education with passion and determination to excel in their careers.
Their inspiring stories are telling examples of the varied success that can be achieved with a degree in philosophy, communication or journalism.
Communication/Public Relations Major: Trish Robertson, Election Communications Coordinator
I always enjoyed writing and knew that a communication degree was probably the best fit for me. Then, learning a bit more about individuals who are PR professionals, I was able to get an idea of how diverse the profession is and knew I could never be bored in making a career in PR. Being the “communications/PR person” in our office, I serve to support all of our departments. Currently, I am working with our Outreach Department helping them wrap up an art contest we just conducted, and I also am working with our Training Department to recruit and schedule election workers. I enjoy working in such diverse roles. When I first became employed with the elections office, I wasn’t sure what I would do every other year when there wasn’t an election scheduled. I quickly learned that working in the elections office is a full time job and I find myself just as busy (if not more busy) during the years where there are not any elections scheduled. I continue to face new challenges every day and that’s what keeps me interested and motivated.
Journalism Major: Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News Digital (Photo: Attached)
My time in Florida Gulf Coast University’s journalism program gave me the skills I needed to be successful as a reporter on the national level. As a reporter at NBC News Digital, I still use tools I learned while in the J-program, like how to pull records, conduct strong interviews, and turn my cellphone into a mobile newsroom. The hands-on guidance I received from my professors helped focus talents I already had and sharpen areas where I needed more work. Today, whether I’m reporting from my desk or out in the field, I’m using those skills on my beat as a staff reporter covering youth and activism for NBC News.“Philosophy is the perfect major for law school." Those words were handwritten at the bottom of my acceptance letter by the Dean of Admissions at the Emory University School of Law. As a bit of a background to myself, after FGCU and law school, I spent the beginning of my legal career honing my trial chops and prosecuting serious felony cases as an Assistant State Attorney. Subsequently, I moved to a civil firm where I represented a multi-national Fortune 100 company in various complex civil litigation matters. Now, I work at a major downtown Miami law firm representing commercial lenders and some of the largest financial institutions in the country. None of this would have happened without the FGCU Philosophy Program. With philosophy, you learn to analyze complex texts and ideas and compartmentalize those to see "the big picture," all while utilizing skills in logic, argumentation, and reasoning. That's law school in a nutshell; instead of reading Kant and Heidegger and instead of tracing the history of ideas, you're reading learned treatise and judicial opinions and tracing the history of law. That's not even touching on the fact that the LSAT, the admissions test for law school, is comprised of questions involving logic, reasoning, and reading comprehension. Philosophy prepares you for all that. It really is the perfect major for law school.
