I came to Mesa State College in the Fall of 2007. I always had an interest in photography and thought marketing would be the perfect utilization of this skill and passion in a very practical and opportune field. As I began taking classes like Accounting, Business Composition, etc., I felt the desire to branch out and explore my creativity and I didn’t see that opportunity in my future with a business marketing degree.
Freshmen year, I was taking Mass Media Impact and History with Dan Flenniken just to fill a general education credit. I had expressed my interests of photography and advertising to him before and he constantly urged me to switch my major to Mass Communications. I was open to his advice, but at the time, not to switching majors. I began looking into campus opportunities for my photography. I remember looking at The Criterion and thinking, “I could do a better job.”
So I did. I became involved in the paper the second semester of my junior year. I took photos for The Crite for a semester before being named Photo Editor. That’s when I decided to finally give in to Flenniken’s advice and switch my major to Mass Comm. Unfortunately, this meant it would take me five years to graduate, as opposed to the ideal four. But I took that year to dedicate myself to my photography and became more confident and outgoing. My time in the Mass Comm department helped me realize my strengths and weaknesses and that weaknesses can easily be overcame through hard work and motivation. Now that I’m finally graduating, I’m overcome with a sense of growth and accomplishment.
I never thought this day would come. And to be honest, I didn’t prepare for it. After getting my diploma I plan to enjoy this new chapter in my life, starting with my internship this summer and an attempt to spend more time outdoors.
To CMU students who are still working towards graduation, my advice is to simply take it one assignment at a time, stay motivated, and follow your passions.

-Chrissy Anzlovar

During my two years as news editor of the Criterion, Professor Sandstrom always encouraged us to challenge ourselves and write for different sections of the paper. Well, I have dominated three out of the four sections. This is my first “opinion” column for the Criterion and sadly, my final Sunday night as news editor. So what does this mean?

It means I will have Sundays off for a while. It also means that there will no longer be bets going on in the Crite office as to how late I will be to Monday night meetings.
I started my “career” in the media by writing for Fruita Monument High School’s newspaper, “The Catalyst.” After the first quarter of my sophomore year, I became news editor. Naturally, I thought I was a fantastic writer. But now that I’m about to graduate with a degree in mass communication, I look back at my writing and scowl because I realize how much I didn’t know.

No matter how far I try and get away from journalism, I always seem to be drawn back to it. Case in point: I started college three-and-a-half years ago as an English writing major. The writing was not creative enough for me. Within a year, I found myself seeking information about mass comm.
I love everything about mass comm. I love writing, designing, photography, working with businesses, and although I hate group projects, I still love the people and professors, and will miss Denver trips and inside jokes.

But I’ve missed out on a lot of jokes as well. Graduating at age 20, going to school and working full time doesn’t allow much time for “college life” (especially when all of your friends are 21+ and you’re not.) The world is intimidating at my age, but I know there’s nothing I can’t do.

Like it or hate it, the Criterion has come a long way this year, and so have I. The experience I’ve received here is invaluable and has helped me be a better writer, editor and communicator. I’d like to thank Flenny, Sandstrom, the rest of my professors, and all of the staff at The Criterion.

-Cloie Sandlin