Story by Meridian Pearson, Reporter

Photo courtesy of @fae_wildlife on Instagram.

This January marked the beginning of the third semester for Aquinas College’s social media course. The first iteration was a special topics course for the communication department, and it went so well that it has continued since then.

The class is taught by Dr. Ian Borton, who also teaches the departmentally-famous “gamified” interpersonal communication course. Beyond teaching about social media history and its best practices, Dr. Borton integrates a real-world application project into the course. In small groups, students create social media campaigns from scratch based on their passions and spend two months running them, using skills and knowledge they gained from the class.

I am happy to say that I am in Dr. Borton’s social media class this semester. My favorite part is the social media campaign project. It’s so fun to apply our class concepts to a project and see an immediate effect. My group and I have worked hard on our campaign by putting together a release schedule, organizing weekly meetings, developing SMART goals, monitoring statistics, and investing a lot of love and time. I’m so proud of how far we have already come with our campaign, FAE! 

Other groups in the class are running amazing campaigns as well, covering a wide range of topics. I have never been in a class where I could see the product of everyone’s hard work as much as I can in this one.

It takes hard work and dedication, but you can get a lot out of it, especially when social media is becoming such an important part of our world today. What I am learning in this class applies to my academic, personal, and professional life. If you have the chance, add this class to your college plan! 

If you want to support the campaigns, check them out on Instagram!

@uncovergr seeks out the best spots, sights, smells, and eats in Grand Rapids.

@fae_wildlife is fighting animal endangerment and extinction by bringing animal facts straight to you! They can also be found on Twitter @faewildlife. 

@peasbehealthy provides college students with the skills and knowledge to live healthy lifestyles. “Healthy starts now.”

@fight_4_better creates motivational and helpful posts centered around mental health. “You are not alone.”

@htqofficial is a safe place for queer identifying Muslims, Christians, and anyone else with intersecting religious, gender, and sexual identities. “Hear the Queer.”

@mhm.wellness is here to normalize mental health issues and promote body positivity. “Mental health matters.”