As a Class of 2021 graduate of the Bachelor of Media Studies, Katie reflects how the BMS shaped her academic interests and career path through the program’s unique project-based nature that allowed for the development of highly transferrable media creation skills. Combined with the media theory and knowledge that was taught, and having the opportunity to collaborate with diverse people in the cohort-based program, Katie shares that her worldview also expanded – inspiring her to create personal and professional projects that would make an impact in the community.
A Multidisciplinary Program for All Passions
Since Katie was young, she was always on the move. She has lived in over 10 cities, but the constant in her life was always filmmaking and media, as a means to document her life in those different places.
“When I visited Toronto for first time in the summer of 2012, I filmed my experience and edited a video using the iMovie templates (this photobook frame was one of the template options.)”
When Katie was researching universities, she noticed there were plenty of programs that focused heavily on individual skills, but Katie’s passions were widespread; she had a plethora of interests from journalism to computer science to filmmaking, and wanted to find a program that would combine all of her interests.
Katie was drawn to the UBC Media Studies program for its multidisciplinary approach – a cultivation of creative arts and technical courses where she would get to try many different subjects and excel in those she was already passionate about.
Gaining Practical Skills and an Expansion of Worldview
With a diverse range of classes and experiences in the program, Katie was able to discover new skills and interests. For example, in FIPR 133: Introduction to Film and Media Production, she wrote, directed, and produced her first short film. It was a major accomplishment and first-time experience for Katie to wear multiple hats in the filmmaking process and create a project she was proud of.
“This short film would not be possible without an amazing and talented team (Katherine Hsu, Amanda Keating, Lisa Matsumoto, Jaja Rattanajan, Jamie Zhao) and our professor Alejandro Yoshizawa!”
In addition to the creative arts course offerings, Katie also enjoyed the data and analytical courses in the BMS.
Katie enjoyed CPSC 103: Introduction to Systematic Program Design, where she learned about python coding, and CPSC 344: Introduction to Human Computer Interaction Methods, where she learned about UX/UI and research. In CPSC 344, Katie got to redesign the Yelp App and learned innovative tools such as Figma, a prototyping tool that she still uses to this day.
“We decided to recreate the Yelp app for our final project by adding a quiz function to help users figure out what to eat. I designed the prototype on Figma”.
As Katie started taking more BMS classes, she began to realize how much more there is to the world of media. The program expanded her perception of media through courses like JRNL 400, where she learned about feminist and postcolonial critique and theory related to professional norms and practices of journalists in North America.
Further expanding Katie’s worldview is the BMS program’s unique cohort-based and project-based nature, which allowed her to work with and learn from her peers – acquiring diverse perspectives through sharing ideas. Katie always felt proud creating projects with her peers, and she would make lifelong friends by bonding through the creative process.
Katie also reflected on how her professors have been a huge help, not only throughout her studies, but also in her personal and professional development.
Community Involvement
In her First-Year, Katie joined the Media Studies Student Association (MSSA) in a marketing role where she got to learn from, and create lasting connections with students from all the cohorts in the program.
Having learned practical digital communication and marketing skills through the BMS courses and her time with MSSA, Katie felt confident in applying for UBC’s various employment programs – Arts Co-op and Work Learn positions. Katie completed various marketing and communications work experiences. It included taking her to Toronto, where she worked at TD Bank, and locally, with the Alumni community at UBC as well as TRIUMF, Canada’s particle accelerator.
This is a video Katie made about her relocation experience to TD Bank in Toronto for the Arts Co-op program as one of her two assignments from Co-op.
“All my work experiences have tied back to the BMS program, where we learned about media and communications.”
By the time she entered her final year of the BMS program, Katie declared a minor in Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies (ACAM), and became VP in Marketing of MSSA, where she managed a team of 3 people and hosted a panel event with industry professionals.
With the support from the amazing team at MSSA, we were able to put on a successful virtual event about careers and different industries.
Through these educational and hands-on experiences, Katie was able to learn from her BMS peers and work with like-minded people who inspired her every day.
“I learned that my “little” voice can be used to make a difference in the world”
Because of her studies, Katie was able to advance both professionally and personally. Through a combination of practical skills and an understanding of theory, Katie went on to create many creative projects that made an impact in the community.
She has created a presentation pitch about Chinatown as a way to promote restaurants and invite people to explore Chinatown’s food through media forms.
This is a video recording of the pitch for Katie’s HIST 482 class and for her ACAM minor.
“My partner, Daniel, and I pitched our idea of showcasing stories of restaurants through media as a way to shed light on the restaurants in Vancouver Chinatown”.
Katie was able to channel everything she learned in her BMS classes into a workshop she hosted with Pacific Canada Heritage Centre (PCHC), where she created a three-part workshop series on how to create, film, and edit a story on migration.
Katie also created a video about her family as a part of her Media Studies elective course. The film was a personal documentation on her grandmother’s food, and the important role it played in the pandemic. This film made it as an Emerge Media Awards finalist.
This is Katie’s film, “The Cloth That Holds Us Together”.
Katie was able to funnel everything she learned in her Media Studies courses – from creative writing, to filmmaking, to storytelling in general, into every project she created.
“I used to only create media projects for my own documentation, but I learned through my BMS studies that my “little” voice can actually be used to make a difference in the world.”
Continuous Application of Skills Learned
The opportunity to pursue diverse experiential learning experiences as a BMS student allowed Katie to gain knowledge and create various communities around her. Throughout her four years in the program, Katie is thankful for the communities she has created with her BMS cohort and extracurricular endeavours.
Having graduated in May 2021, Katie feels well equipped with the skills she learned over the past four years for her future with SAP Concur, a travel company, where she is working under the marketing analytics and insights group as a data analyst.
“I’m grateful to be able to take the skills I’ve learned in the program into my future projects.”
To view more of Katie’s work, please check out her website www.katiejhoang.com or connect with her on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/katie-hoang.
“The interdisciplinary nature of this program has given me the opportunity to explore and go out of my comfort zone to get me to where I am today. For that, I am grateful for these exciting 4 years!”
