Advice for IMM Students — From A Student
As graduation quickly approaches, my mind is racing between the immediate future, the long-term future, and the past. This must be one of life’s crossroads, where it feels important to stop, turnaround, and reflect on my experience as an Interactive Multimedia major at The College of New Jersey. I want to specifically address my senior thesis process. Hopefully this helps an IMM student in the future.
The past few years of IMM have flown by. The first time I realized I needed to do a senior thesis project, I was pretty intimidated at the thought. The senior showcase sounded like an alien planet that I should avoid at all costs. And that’s honestly the best way to describe my feelings about it during those days… alien.
But something happened as this two-semester long journey got closer and closer. I realized that this isn’t designed to force you into making something that doesn’t align with your hopes and dreams. The project is meant to highlight your hopes and dreams. In this sense, it is the opposite of alien. This realization put me at ease, and allowed me to think freely about ideas.
I began to think about websites I could make for my project. I wanted the site to be feasible, impressive, interesting, unique to the world, and most importantly, provide value to the world. In my mind, providing value to any aspect of the world, online or physical, is the most fulfilling work, and is an investment in yourself. A unique project is an investment that can’t be taken away, and you can always look back on it, improve upon it, or simply bring it up in job interviews.
Make a project related to your hopes and dreams for the future, but also dig deeper, pivot slightly, and really find that niche that no one has ever done….ever.
When you find that idea that is 100% in its own lane, it will motivate you to work harder. It will become your teacher. And you will become its student. You will feel an intrinsic desire to research, to soak up knowledge. There will be days where it feels like homework, but this is also the case for all positive investments (working out, learning piano, etc.).
If something about your project intimidates you, ask yourself why. I have found that often times, when I ask myself why I am scared about something, it forces me to literally explain to myself what to do. Don’t let such feelings slow you down, and try to think about your project everyday. Thought is the first step to action, or the process of guilting yourself into action, if need be. Of course browsing YouTube and Netflix is fun, but do your best to focus on investing in yourself.
If something stumps you, talk it out in class, or to your family/friends/random person. Even if they are not equipped to help. Scream your problem into the wind, for real. Minimize how much it consumes your inner thoughts, and maximize how many other people know about it. This practice will likely lead to the resources you need.
While at TCNJ, I have tried my best to practice similar versions of what I have just described, but I would be lying if I said that it was always the case. Sometimes you have to learn things the hard way, and that’s normal. I don’t know any IMM senior that would say they took the most optimal and logical path for every assignment throughout their college career. We aren’t robots, so don’t expect that everything about your project will go as planned. Expect that it will be human, and therefore it will be great.
Once you graduate, you should frame your IMM degree in the light that provides the most value to the company you are interviewing for, relating to the skills you’ve acquired. This is because the major encompasses so much, and these days, very few employers have an ideal grasp of how cutting edge the degree is. This can be used to your advantage during the job hunt, because you can sound like a genius when someone asks about your major. And they will realize that they need someone like you at their company.
Most importantly, don’t take the major for granted. The skills that are taught in IMM will change the world in so many ways, and please understand that you are at the forefront! Thank you for reading and good luck :)
-Will Franklin, Class of 2020
