Hello everyone, my name is Liliana and today we are interviewing Joe Murphy who is the current… I'll let him I'll let him explain. So what do you do for the Department of Communication?
Hi, Liliana! Yes, my name is Joe Murphy. I am the academic advisor for the Department of Communication, so I work with all declared majors in communication and also journalism.
Okay, so my first question for you is: how did you become involved with the UAlbany's academic advising program?
Yeah, so I actually applied for a job here back in 2016 as an academic advisor for that before I was working in residential life for eight years at Skidmore College and was looking to get more into the academic side of working with students than the housing / student affairs side of it and so I saw the job posting here, had been looking into academic advisor positions for a couple years looking at a couple universities and applying to some other spots that weren't really a great fit. And then when the University of Albany one popped up and talked with a few folks thought that would probably be a good a good way in there. So I joined the Academic Support Center as a general advisor working with primarily first year sophomore students and transfers as they come into the university unsure of what they want to do or at their intended majors before they actually get declared into things I did that for a couple of years, then worked with Honors College students for a couple of years as well. Went back to working with just a general population. And then the communication department advisor was leaving and I was like looking for a change or with a different different genre of students generally, the best word but looking to work with more junior seniors kind of more focused in on specific programs. Having been a communication major myself when I went to SUNY Plattsburgh, I thought this would probably be a good fit was communication students here so I was able to take all the information I learned over the years working with intended students as they're trying to map out what they want to do looking at different opportunities, possibilities and kind of taking you know my general knowledge of so many programs and like fine tuning it into a lot of knowledge of one smaller program in that sense, but the great thing of that is that I had five years of training about university policies and all the different majors and minors that there are here so I've been able to work with our students in the department to kind of help them navigate and find what's going to be the best route for them academically. Is it adding a double major? Is it adding multiple minors? What are going to be specific classes that they take that could help them build their transferable skills and such going forward into their next endeavors? Whether that's graduate school, whether it's into the workforce, whether that's just to a job or starting out their actual career long term as well.
Nice! So um, I guess the reason why you're choosing to advise journalism and communications students is because of your background as a communications major at SUNY. Plattsburgh compared to other majors like business or public policy, stuff like that. Okay. I'm sorry. So, what types of jobs given that you work with juniors and seniors a little more now than you did in the past? What types of jobs do you see your advisors usually getting post graduation? Or what types of internships Do you see people getting at around this time in their academic life?
Have been with the population long enough to see the actual jobs folks are getting, usually by the time usually when we're meeting we don't usually meet there last semester as people are looking to go to graduation. So I don't know everything unless they come and chat with me or fill me in or ask questions on where they're going to. I know that we have a list of things that departments put together over the last decade of jobs and employers on the students have gone to I know a lot of our students are looking to go into sports marketing, sports, communications, sports management area. We have a lot of students who enjoy the sports arena. In that sense. We have students who are looking to go into public relations and marketing as well, which is why we've been trying to tailor some alumni panels of folks who work in a sports route work in the public relations while we had that, that event coming up here and then hopefully next year, we'll do something with both working in the marketing realm for that, so you know, these are the types of jobs that students are looking to go into for that. As far as internships, it's a little bit of everything. So Professor Huston works a lot more with those. I think as you get an interview with him, he's going to have a lot more insight in the internship side of things. I really just kind of want to let people know what kind of credits they'll be getting. He's the actual internship coordinator, and he's the one who received tons of information from different folks with different employers looking for internships and whatnot and worked with students on kind of locking that down. As soon as it's shared to me, they've done tons of internships across campus, we have students who are doing it in the actual Department of Communications for you all B'nai so you know, the department is putting out all messaging and marketing and all that kind of stuff, working with local media. We have students who are working in athletics and their communications department kind of helping them with their social media and everything and game day events. For different teams. We have since we're working with the Office of Sustainability, kind of building up their own communications that they're sending out to the campus figuring out different ways to be more interactive there. I've had students who have gone over to I believe Albany College of Pharmacy, and they're working for their athletics program, doing communications work over there, as well. So we've had a lot of people we've had students who've done the Senate and Assembly internship as well with the state right down to state offices here. We've had some students who have gone down to Washington DC and do the DC internship program as well because communication is it almost any job out there it's all about the messaging, working with people what being shared was being interpreted. One on One work, group work, presentation work, I mean, everything we're learning in our major and skills is going to be applicable to any job out there. So so it's hard because we are in such a broad major and can go into any realm possible. Some people like more finite lines and directions to go but really, you know, we can go into any internship, any job out there and be successful because we're focused on the people and the messaging.
Okay. Good answer. So you're in a unique position where you studied communications as a student in college and then you went on to academically advise students who are studying the same thing. So just from your standpoint, why communications like, why did you study it in college? What did you hope to get out of it? And why should other students join the Department of Communications if they're undecided about what they want to study?
I think it's perfect if they're undecided what they want to study. So when I started out my freshman year, I was actually a business management major. And that was at Ramapo College in New Jersey. But I wasn't feeling as connected to the campus. wasn't living on campus, you didn't have the full first year freshman type experience for that. So I was actually already planning to apply to transfer my sophomore year. And I had friends who had gone to SUNY Plattsburgh. So I was visited them I was like, hey, this will be I think this will be a better fit live on campus. I have a friend group up there and everything. But I just wasn't feeling as connected either to business management. The whole reason I did that there worked at McDonald's was a manager was like, Oh, I'm gonna get a management degree and I'll just get a higher management position. Once you stop working in McDonald's, you realize you don't want to go back. So now it's like, well, is management really for me? And in all honesty, I mean, my one close friend who was going to room with a class Berg he was a communications major, but also one of the few friends I made. At rainbow she was also transferring and to another school somewhere. And so we were talking about like what we were going to be focusing on if there's other schools and she's like, I'm gonna do communications. It's really easy. That was like, Okay, I think my roommate is or my future roommates communications too. So Alright, sounds good to me. And that was literally how I came up with communications. So it is so simple. So base it is so it is such an 1819 year old mentality. Like let me just do something that's easy. It's not always easy. I'll put it that way. So the program at Plattsburgh was very much more of a audio video, media production type program. So I actually focused more on audio radio production in my first few years ago, I got more into the communication theory persuasion side of things in my senior year, which I found I enjoyed those classes so much so but doing those doing those production classes. I mean, you don't realize you're going out and actually like recording concerts, local concerts at elementary schools on the campus, anything that like the music department's putting on and whatnot. So I mean, your Friday and Saturday nights are gone like so. Maybe easier and assets, but you're losing those party days and social nights and stuff to for that. And then when you're sitting in the audio lab working on a project for hours and hours on end, yes, it may be easy and fun, but it's tedious and long, in that sense. So and there were it's very much project and paper base as I'm sure you and everybody else in the major realizes communication is not a test base when I focus on vocabulary and and memorization certain points were were focused more on the written and oral expression of things for that so I'm glad I went into because I learned so many aspects of working with people from sales and just that one on one interpersonal communication, and how to listen to folks as well.
Yeah, I think a lot of people underestimate how difficult communications can be or they just think it's one thing when it's so many things. But I also think that's what makes the department and the study of communications so interesting is like you can do so many things with it because almost every job out there requires some level of like, okay, interaction or, you know, some sort of just communication with customers or whatever, whatever be it so, I think that's what makes it very multifaceted in a sense and that often gets mistaken with, oh, it's easier with the symbol, but it's not.
And I appreciate that we're not a major so focus on a concentration and classes and just one area. And I see students have a struggle with this too. It's like well, what do I pick? What do I pick? Pick one of everything like, this is a smorgasbord. This is a buffet, like learn a little bit about all of these topics, so you can work your way into anything in the future of able to work with anybody in the future.
Right. So what does it look like? I know I'm sure that every toward the beginning of every semester, it's very busy for you and very chaotic. So about how many students do you see yourself advising and do you find that to be a bit overwhelming or challenging at times?
Yes, so I would say almost any advisor on campus would say that. Right now we my technical caseload, if you want to say as I have 360 students that I work with, but everybody needs a different level of support and care, so any, any educator, any teacher is going to tell you they spend 90% of the time on 10% of the people and they spend 10% of the time on 90% of the people. So there are students who I see regularly almost every week or at my door and there are students I see once a semester they just want to come chat about classes get their ABN number and that's all they need for me with that when again, I want to meet students where they're at, that's all they want. I don't need to push shared a little bit about what's going on. Let's check and make sure things are good. But hey, here's your info if you're feeling good. If you're on track and it looks like you don't need further direction, then by all means, you know you got what you need, but others who need some more reassurance, more confidence building, really mapping out laying out different possible whether it's graduation timelines, whether it's possible, like what careers do I look at what grad schools do I look at? What are very specific classes because I'm this type of student like Who wants this who's looking for this professor one night, you know, having those talks and everything for that and in this semester, kind of ebbs and flows to the falls a little busier than spring usually have more advisors and I have to meet with more of them for registration. When you get to spring you have so many who are graduating that you typically don't need to meet with unless they want to, you know, meet for things so, but it really starts out as a kind of first week or two during the add drop period. I mean, it's just anybody stops in because, you know, they're trying out classes realizing they might not want this, they want to try something else. They're still finishing their schedules. So it's just a lot of what I like to call triage. And those first two weeks, you know, let's let's help, let's work. Let's get you set for the semester. The next couple of weeks, then week three and four. I'm meeting with anybody who, who's on like an academic standing so like academic warning, probation type period to kind of do like an intervention chat check in talk about what happened with the grades of courses last semester, kind of map out what this semester is looking like so far and strategize ways for success this semester. With that, then kind of have like a week or two, maybe a little bit of kind of random check ins with folks but you jump right into registration for the next six weeks and just back to back to back to back meetings. Probably one of the most tiring times for that and repeating myself 250 to 300 times in those six weeks, but hearing 250 to 300 different stories to write with that so and that's the interaction with the people that I enjoy so. So going over that point and then after you get past that, you spend the next couple weeks kind of a little bit quieter period, starting at that point to kind of double check. Alright, the people register. People are coming in and kind of freaking out about finals and final grades like holy crap, I should have dropped this class or can I ask you what before the SU deadline, she should have happened, right, the end of registration, so it's a hard time there. And in the last like week to the semester again, it's really checking in like, Hey, did you guys get registered? Or did you all get registered for that? Do you need help while you're still here on campus happy to do so we don't do like do it over zoom, you know over the break or whatever for that, but it's a lot of that last week or two? A lot of lot of meetings and people like just reassuring. We coaxing that like oh my god, I just failed that test. What's going to happen? It's like, well, let's wait and see the test is one part of your grade. How was the rest of the semester? You know, we may still pass this. Oh, no, we didn't pass it. Okay, what's our plan B and C do we need to end up adding a summer class now let's look at what the options are. We're sure we'll be adding like a sixth class in the fall. So it's a lot of puzzling and problem solving. And I love doing that stuff.
That's good. But it sounds like you have a lot on your plate. nonetheless.
It was ebbs and flows. Not many quiet weeks, these days anymore. So
let's move on to some more fun questions. So what is your favorite place in the capital region? What do you like to do outside of work?
It's a great question. Favorite place? Well, I love going up to the Adirondacks or down to the Casco mountains I love to hike. So for that and that do not have far drive by any means there. I do have a part time job as a bartender at June farms which is over West Sand Lake so outdoor venue outdoor pizza oven or woodfired pizza stuff and, and then specialty cocktails, but that animals do you got Shire horses, Highland cattle glycosuria pigs, I forget the technical term for them. We got miniature goats and stuff. So just working on a farm but not like farm work, but you know, create more of the social atmosphere there for folks. So so that's a good spot. Enjoy going there, take my dog loose there as well, to run all around. So that's usually what you find me during the summer time on Thursday, Friday, Saturdays, Thursday, Friday nights after work and then Saturdays and stuff too. So this place June farms in farms.
That sounds fun.
Yeah, definitely. Um, gosh, I have a favorite restaurant or something in the area that I love so many different spots. It is so hard to pick a favorite. I mean, it depends what I'm just in the mood for if I just want comfort food. Tipsy mousse is pretty good druthers. You always get you know you're getting right when he goes for that innovo kitchen up in Latham they're really good as well. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So I love going to places got a good deal. So I'm usually shooting for like Happy Hour spots and you know, like specialty nights and everything to add places.
Okay, we're gonna have to check those out for sure. And what do you need in your refrigerator at all times? What's like the staple thing you need in there?
These are fun. And hard questions. Pizzas my favorite foods. So but pizzas out of my my fridge every day? I do. I do make it once a week at home now for that but I would say milk but I go in and out of spurts of like vegan and vegetarian and all that stuff. I always have to have like bananas or trail mix around.
Yeah, anything wrong with those?
No, those are staples, Seltzer, lime, polar lime Seltzer, or like Hannaford storebrand lemon lime seltzer like I need to sell. It's got to be lime or lemon lime.
All right. Thank you so much for your time, Joe. We're just out of time here. It was very nice.
It was great talking with you, too. You need anything else? Don't hesitate to reach out. All right. Thank you. Thank you.