Spotlight: Class of 2022 Bachelor of Media Studies Graduates



Our warmest congratulations to the Class of 2022 Bachelor of Media Studies graduates!

To celebrate our graduates, we’ve established this spotlight page where some of our graduates have shared what the importance of Media Studies is, what they will take from the program, how the program influenced them, and their most meaningful memory from their time in the BMS!

Gabrielle Pabalan Bonifacio

My favourite work was for Dr. Nijdam’s German Media Studies in 4th year. I animated and wrote a video titled ‘nosebleed’ exploring colonialism in the Philippines, and my personal experiences with language and identity as an immigrant living in the diaspora.

I think that Media Studies is incredibly important because it connects to so many sectors of our lives:  politics, social justice, personal relationships, and more. The program has influenced me both in theory and practice. Throughout the years, I have learned to be really critical of media pieces and platforms, and of what goes on behind the scenes of the corporations that hold so much power in society. Media Studies has also pushed me to take my art seriously! Lastly, Media Studies has shown me that we do have power to resist and use technology and art to fight for not only a better future, but a better present as well.

Even though everyone says this, I’m going to say it again: my best memory was all the times I spent with my friends and our entire cohort. Whether it was sharing our art, bouncing ideas off each other,  stressing out about exams, or talking about other random things in the group chat, I’ll always be grateful to have gone through my undergraduate career with such inspiring, cool people.

Adam Campbell

Communications and Media Studies are of vital importance for our personal and societal development, and being able to understand the context of media and having the knowledge to interact with its several fields can provide endless professional opportunities worldwide. Professionals in Media Studies hold a great responsibility that is often overlooked, since they’re responsible for constantly revolutionizing the
landscape and developing ways to make transmission streams more efficient and varied. Furthermore, the biggest takeaway I have from the BMS program is the wide range of fields and abilities that I’ve been trained with for the past 4 years. From areas that I had no experience in like Visual Arts, to fields that I was somewhat fluent in like Creative Writing; the BMS program opened many doors and provided me with sufficient knowledge to confidently pick what area I wanted to pursue in the future.

More than just a single memory, I believe the most meaningful highlight of the BMS program was the small but yet diverse group of students that made up the program and my class. The variety of backgrounds, disciplines and the small number of students granted me a great amount of exposure to different perspectives on media and the world. As a consequence, this ensured that I remained inspired whilst in UBC and also
gave me the opportunity to forge various friendships and meet very interesting people along the way.

Priya Chacko

It’s sometimes easy to treat media as completely new and unfamiliar since digital technologies are constantly evolving. However, the ways we interact with media are often not new at all.  One idea I will take with me is that old concerns about technologies like the printing press, television, and even writing have a lot in common with conversations we’re now having about digital media. I think media studies can help us make sense of these patterns and become smarter producers and consumers of media.

In addition to media theory and history, courses in film, creative writing, and digital art have been some of the most influential for me. They gave me both technical skills and opportunities to explore media topics through art and storytelling. I know these experiences will be valuable as I begin a career in videography in film.

One of my favourite class projects was in our media history class in my third year. We had to choose an obsolete technology, find a way to use it, and reflect on how it related to theories we’d read. For my project, I made a mixtape, and along the way, it led me to explore why old technologies like vinyl, cassettes and old cameras appeal to younger generations who have access to newer technologies. It was also an interesting way to see what my ideas and technologies my classmates were experimenting with when we were apart for online classes.

Virginia Fawkes

I loved the interdisciplinary nature of the Media Studies program and how I was pushed to take courses that I likely wouldn’t have otherwise taken. I learned highly valuable skills from our courses and the various collaborative projects. The experience I gained in the program helped me get my first professional work opportunity at the UBC CCEL helping support community engaged learning for the BMS program. I wouldn’t have had this amazing opportunity without being in the BMS, so I am extremely grateful to have been a part of it!

I’ve made some amazing friends and I’ll really miss spending time with them between our classes doing work, hanging out, and laughing together. J It was also such a great feeling to work on class projects with friends and see the final product that we had all worked so hard on come out well.

Congrats to everyone graduating! Wishing you all the best with whatever comes next!

Kenzie Hoffman

Film still from FIPR 133 class, titled ‘About Last Night’ (2019) with Josephine Jiang and Halle Lewis. Taken by Colin Herrington.

Today we cohabitate with, in, and around media, so to study media is to understand people and our everchanging world just a little bit better. There are many different aspects which make studying media important, such as the different effects it can have on humans throughout development or the messages conveyed by the mediums themselves, but my main take away is more general – that media is in fact important and should not be overlooked. After studying media it can be surprising to see how you can connect with people from vastly different programs or jobs because it is relevant and intertwined with them. This program encouraged me to not only practice creating media, but to consider the ramifications and benefits of doing so.

My best memory, which has been the same for a few others as well, was when we filmed a short film in our FIPR 133 class. It was quite the process, but it was just so satisfying and fun to be able to create it with friends and then watch the final screening. Within my cohort, I was always so inspired by and in awe of my fellow peers and what they were able to create in and out of the classroom. It was cool to see how everyone used media in unique ways!

Bryan Huang

Our cohort organized an event to watch Eternals together. We even bumped into Dr.
Richard Arias-Hernandez at the cinema, which was fun!

My main takeaway from the program would be the expansion of my understanding of media. Media are more than digital but are inclusive of the social, built, and “natural” environment. Our lives can also be understood as media- from our choices, our identities, our interaction with
human and non-human actors, to the environments we find ourselves in. This newfound paradigm will influence how I choose to live and make use of my life going forward. Legacy is media we shape in the present.

I will always remember all the extracurricular activities we organized as a cohort, including watching movies together, going on hikes, visiting the MacMillan Space Center, and the memorable house parties. Getting to make meaningful connections with everyone was the best aspect of my time in the BMS.

Samiha Joshi

Over these past four years studying different disciplines in our interdisciplinary Media Studies program, I have learnt that media literacy truly enables us to understand the world around us. What I love most is that it’s a degree that has brought the best out of my analytical and creative sides – it has not only prepared me to think critically about the influences of our rapidly growing media landscape today which is especially important as I enter the industry, but also encouraged me to bring my unconventional ideas to life with the projects we’ve had.

I loved our film production class because both the short film projects helped me bond with people from my cohort that I hadn’t had the opportunity to get to know before. It was so fun to brainstorm ideas for our script together and spend a whole day of filming together! I also appreciate that we were able to form friendships beyond just working with each other in group projects.

 

Ky Kim

The Media Studies program was a dynamic experience that crossed a diverse range of media-related disciplines, all of which I had learned so much on. The past four years have been a delightful time to focus on everything I became increasingly passionate about—visual arts, film studies, information studies, photojournalism, and documentary production. In particular, exploring qualitative content analyses and new media methodologies that encompassed media theory, practice, and research were essential and worthwhile as a media creator.

Above all, the most memorable moment for me was being able to produce a number of short films and documentaries that would help amplify community voices and build cross-cultural rapport. Participating in these projects has broadened my perspective and perception of diversity, solidarity, and intersectionality. Moreover, I’m more than grateful that these experiences were rewarded by many unexpected opportunities such as internships, scholarships, and awards. As the influence of media on our society is ever-growing, I hope to continue creating visual storytelling works that could make a positive contribution to our community and beyond.

 

Sonia Kung

Sonia and her crew for their FIPR 133 film project 

 

One of the highlight projects of my BMS journey was “Absence” my FIPR 133 film project I worked on with my BMS cohorts.

I would say the Media Studies program is important in today’s society due to encoding and decoding being one of the key areas of study. It’s very important that we realize the message we send in our works. There is so much involved in the process of us creating the media and to the receiving end. All of us as creators should understand what we have done in our works. After I graduate, I will apply what I have learnt in BMS to my interested area and continue to create more works!

My favourite moment in my BMS journey would be the in-class screening that we had in FIPR 133 class. It was such a wonderful moment to witness all creative ideas turn into incredible films. When we were working on this film, we solved many challenges, and the experience of filming this work is unique and irreplaceable. I’m glad that we got the opportunity to make this film before the start of the pandemic. It was very nice to have a chance to watch all the awesome works in the class, one of the fondest memories of my college life.

But now, it’s time to start a new journey! All the best to my BMS cohorts, and happy graduation 🙂

 

Lua Rocha Presidio

Lua’s art piece, an installation digital animation piece called: No words needed (being a woman)

When people ask me why UBC? Or why Canada? The answer is always the Media Studies program because it allowed me the opportunity to not have to choose one thing to specialize in. The BMS program fostered diversity in my passions and I feel I have become a more well-rounded individual because of that. I’m so grateful I have so many different opportunities in front of me because I was never led to choose one thing. I’m taking so much from this program, but above all is the consistent reminder that there are incredible people out there combining disciplines that I never thought were related and having multiple passions can be incredibly fulfilling.

Something that I will take with me was my professor’s compassion and understanding as soon as COVID hit. I heard multiple horror stories from friends about how their classes were going, and I can only be grateful for the patience and support all BMS professors showed their students.