On November 2^nd, 2021 Sacred Heart Academy welcomed formal alumni, Danielle Filardi, and Professor Rousch from the Communications department at Quinnipiac University (QU). The two spent their time visiting Mrs. Badore’s Journalism class, and they stayed after school to talk to our Alethea staff about journalism and the communications department at QU.

As we approached fourth period after a long rainy Tuesday, Mrs. Badore’s Journalism class walked into a bright and energized room, where the two stood. Filardi was full of energy, and it was her who made everyone so interested in their discussion. You could tell that she loved what she was doing, and she wanted everyone to feel that same joy. Filardi shared her own experience at Quinnipiac University, and her transition from Sacred Heart Academy to all of us. We became happy to hear that SHA made things a lot easier when the transition came for college. Filardi talked about her experience in sports journalism, and how she never would have thought she would be doing it if she hadn’t of given it a try. She emphasized the importance of going outside of your boundaries and trying new things, as well as making connections, and not being afraid to reach out to people.

Through both Filardi and Professor Rousch’s discussion, we learned how important connections are regarding journalism. Knowing people gets you places, and useful information. Use your connections to your advantage! When you are gathering information, whether it be to write an article, create a video, or just discuss a common story or fact, you want to have reliable information. If you can trust your source, then you are headed in the right direction. What better way to do this then to directly connect with someone you know and gain this information. Professor Rousch told his listeners in his journalism class that he always tells his students that a friend of his is a friend of theirs. He explained how he encourages his students to use him as a connection to people. Use that relation to help yourself get places.

Though Professor Rousch and Danielle Filardi’s presentation, both Mrs. Badore’s Journalism class and the members of Alethea were able to hear about journalism and the events that they have taken part in. It was especially interesting to hear about Filardi’s article “How Ragaini’s #1 Fan become the 12^th Man.” When talking about her article, she really emphasized what Professor Rousch explained earlier, which was about connections. She reached out to someone who she had not talked to since high school, and asked him questions to write her article. This was incredibly interesting to many and inspired others to do the same possibly in the future. It shows how you can use these connections to your advantage and write something great.

The visit to Sacred Heart Academy greatly impacted the students, and their ideas for what they may want to do in the future. People who came to listen may not have had any interest in the communications department, but by the end they were sure to be intrigued after learning all about it. Students learned so much in this quick visit to SHA, and their conversation will surely impact others future decisions down the road.