On November 14th, 2014, Mr. Beno’s Multimedia Journalism students welcomed University of Delaware students Natalie Hines, a Padua graduate, and her friend, Keri Betters, into their class for one of their 80 minute periods. Natalie and Keri began their visit by being interviewed by the class about their own personal experiences with Communications presently and throughout their lives before college.

Growing up, Natalie’s watched her older sister attend Padua and always saw how involved she was in it’s student life. This influenced her to want to attend Padua herself, where she took Mr. Beno’s Publication Design class, working on the 2010-2011 yearbook and was generally shaped into the leader and people person she is today. “Padua helped me feel so prepared,” Natalie said to the Journalism Students. “You’re so advanced here and you don’t even know it. Going into college, I felt like a walking genius!”

In contrast to Natalie, her friend Keri was home schooled all of her life, taking some classes at Red Lion Christian Academy. Even though she didn’t attend a traditional high school with hundreds of people like Natalie, being home schooled taught her how to have great time management skills as well as how to maintain independence. “My dad actually wanted me to go into nursing too,” she said. Science was not her forte though, which she realized as she ran her own personal blog and was influenced by her mother who was a big “people person.”

As students of University of Delaware, both Natalie and Keri immerse themselves in the endless opportunities they are offered for their mutual love of Communications. When first going into Communications, they were both taught only mainly its theories, which they said was almost like taking history classes. “You have to learn the basics first, but then you can pick your niche and get more into the specifics of your interest,” Keri shared. After learning the basics and taking a few steps up, Natalie interned at the Junior Achievement of Delaware, writing their blog, taking photos, and fundraising for the organization. Keri interned with Delaware River and Bay Authority, helping market and promote the organization through social media. Keri also began working as a sports events field reporter for STN 49, University of Delaware’s student run TV network, which she still does today.

When it comes to taking a the next step of their lives and graduating from University of Delaware, Keri wants to pursue her love of sports and communication skills through Sports Public Relations, reporting and writing on the sidelines of games. Natalie is still open to future opportunities, wanting to pursue anything communications related. These bright women are both excellent examples of how differing backgrounds can still intertwine into having a strong college career and successful futures ahead.