Back To School: MA International Corporate Communication and Media Management
One of the things I wanted to do in 2020 was to start my master’s or at least have plans in place for it. That decision was prompted by a few reasons. First, I felt it was the right time to continue my education. I wanted to get some job experience before I do my master’s. By the start of 2020, I had worked as a virtual assistant; a social media manager; a telesales agent; and a customer service representative and was about to start a career in finance. The jobs I did weren’t exactly the ones I imagined I would when I left university years ago. However, Nigeria happens to all of us. This doesn’t in any way mean that I regret any of the experiences. In fact, I’m glad I had them. Each of the jobs opened me up to several versions of myself that I never knew existed. Most importantly, they were learning opportunities.
Asides from feeling that the time was right to get into a graduate programme, I missed classes. Like we said back in university, ‘school sweet na exam spoil am’. I always enjoyed learning. I love the routine built around classes. I enjoy the interactions between a tutor and the students. I wanted to have the rush and pressure that came from deadlines and school tasks. I also hoped that at the end of my master’s that I would be able to start a career in communications. I mean I studied mass communication for my BSc and I’m currently pursuing an MA in corporate communication and media management.
With the reasons for pursuing a master’s established, the decision about where had to be made. I only knew that I wanted to do my master’s abroad. I also knew that I wanted the programme to be somewhere in Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure where, but I had a list of a few places that I didn’t want at all. To be able to make the decision, I had to do extensive research. And I tell you, that choice didn’t come easy. But finally, I settled to study in Germany. After the decision was made, it was easier to check for programmes that I liked. But there was a pandemic which stalled things and made me decide that it was best that I held off and focus on starting my master’s the next year.
So sometime in 2021, I did some applications and then eventually received some offers. The MA in International Corporate Communication and Media Management at HNU appealed to me the most. Also, I discovered that The programme offered more flexibility. Unfortunately, I couldn’t travel to Germany at the start of the programme in October 2021, so I had to settle for joining the classes online. That didn’t give me the class experience I was longing for.
However, two semesters later and I’m now in Germany and could join physical classes. The first day in class was the experience I was yearning for. I was super excited that I couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful the experience was.
It’s almost impossible how I detest online classes. It doesn’t feel real to me. I find that I have to constantly motivate myself in online classes. Motivations come easier in physical classes. I also find that I’m easily distracted in online classes. I still struggle to accept that there are people who genuinely prefer online classes to physical classes.
No thanks to the pandemic, my master’s ended up being a hybrid programme (a huge chunk has been online) as opposed to the physical classes I imagined. However, I’m going to do my best to enjoy every moment I get to spend in physical classes. Also, as I did during my exchange semester, I would try to write about the new things I learn in class. Hopefully, someone could find them helpful. Most importantly, it would be me documenting my MA in the best way I know. Let’s do this!
