Meet Kayli! You may have seen her on the SFU CMNS discord server, or heard her perform at various events around campus! Kayli is in her last semester as an Honours SFU Communication major and is hoping to pursue a Ph.D down the line. With a passion for music, she shows us there is more to University than just going to class and has helped bring the music culture on campus back to life!

Tell Us About Yourself

K: “Hello, I’m Kayli, an ENFJ and Libra! I’m in my final semester of my Honours CMNS Bachelor’s at SFU and also finishing up my Business Minor. I’m also the Co-President of the music club SFU Peak Frequency! When I’m not working at my part-time jobs (Burnaby Public Library, Indigo Books, & being a Research Assistant), I’m often curled in my reading chair, listening to podcasts, or wandering around Vancouver doing photoshoots! Music and songwriting have been consistently important to me as an outlet for most of my life, and I love singing and playing guitar/ukulele.”

Why Did You Decide to Pursue CMNS?

K: “Initially, I was majoring in Criminology, but I was unsure as to what I would do with it after I graduated. I ended up finishing enough credits for a CRIM Certificate, then decided to make the switch to CMNS (since I had a taste of it after taking some courses as electives). At the time, I was looking for a major that would not only cater to my intrinsic motivations but would also enable a broad scope for finding a job after grad. Little did I know that the theoretical and research aspects of this degree would be much more appealing instead. My favourite part of CMNS courses is selecting a paper topic I’m extremely passionate about and then going ‘all out’ in reading entire books and following related scholars’ current research on the subject.”

“Essentially though: considering you are investing so much time, money, and stress into your degree--it may as well be something you are terrifically proud of and satisfied with. “

Tell Us About Your Journey Getting Involved at School

K: “Way back in my first semester I knew that I wanted to hunt down the main music club on campus. I knew that if I planned to make connections in my next 4-5 years at SFU, it would definitely be through school clubs! This was how I found SFU Peak Frequency (which was called SFU Recital Society at the time) during the SFSS Clubs Days. After attending their icebreaker, I decided to apply to be an exec, and the rest, as they say, is history.”

How Do you Manage to Balance School and Extracurriculars?

K: “I honestly would not recommend to the average person that it would be a good idea to attempt three jobs and several courses, but it certainly is not impossible. I’m also the personality type that likes to ‘busy’ myself and feel productive at all costs. Some tips I have given in the past is to make effective use of your planner and to constantly make prioritized lists of tasks to complete. Another strategy is ‘maximizing the little moments of time’, even if this looks like multi-tasking or spending less time doomscrolling on Twitter.”

What Has Your University Been Like During the Pandemic?

K: “I don’t think it’s ideal for anyone right now, but we are making the most of what we can in these circumstances. A few ‘positives’ out of these virtual Zoom lectures include the chat-box, where classmates have a lot of fun chatting and sharing useful resources or even laughing along with the prof. Seeing these organic reactions is not only entertaining but heartwarming, in a way. Of course, it isn’t the same as getting to meet my classmates in person, but it’s certainly not impossible to make friends still! However, I dearly miss all the little moments on campus--running into friends, listening to my favourite songs while strolling to Cornerstone to grab food, and impromptu hangouts. It’s like we have been robbed of these moments. You never know when you’re doing something for the last time.”

What are Some of Your Favourite CMNS Classes and Why?

K: “CMNS 240 (Political Economy of CMNS) was extremely influential to me early on in my degree as I fell in love with the theories and concepts discussed. I think it provides the best building-block to go off of when progressing to the upper-division CMNS courses.”

“My other favourites included CMNS 331/431 (News Media Analysis/Research) where we carried out cross-national comparative news analysis projects on international issues, CMNS 432 (Political Communication), and some special topic courses. I bet you can see a theme here with what courses I prefer since I appreciate the intersectionality with political science and history. I highly encourage CMNS students to check out the ‘Special Topic’ course offerings every semester since they are always changing! For example, I recently took CMNS 487 (Social Media & Politics) and CMNS 486 (Historicizing Big Data & AI), and both were extremely fascinating and went very in-depth. “

What Do You Aspire to do With Your CMNS Degree?

K: “It is quite a bold and difficult goal, but I aspire to receive a Ph.D. in CMNS eventually and pursue research work in this field. I’m currently waiting to hear back if I got into the Master’s Program, so fingers crossed! It’s certainly going to be a long journey to become a professor, but I’m so passionate at this point about diving into academia and conducting further research in news media analysis, East Asian studies, disinformation, and networked activism (particularly in studying Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement on a local and international scale).”

What Advice Can You Share with Other Students Right Now Who Either are in CMNS or are Wanting to be More Involved at SFU?

K: “Right now during this pandemic, it’s extra difficult to maintain that same level of motivation as a student, and I get that. “

“Remember to be kind to yourself during these times and ensure you’re treating yourself fairly in the circumstances.”

“If you can, I highly encourage all to be involved in a school club, or even participate in/attend events held by SFU clubs! Hanging out on Discord servers is a great way to meet others in your program, including the CMNSU Discord--the ‘SFU CMNS Hub’. Also, no matter what stage you are in your degree, I also encourage you to consider applying for a co-op, as this will be greatly advantageous to building up work experience. My last tidbit of advice is to let your professors get to know you: be a standout in class! This doesn’t have to mean your work is the best in the class. Connect with your profs by allowing your interests and eagerness to learn strongly evident by engaging with them and the course. They are there to help you and I haven’t come across a single ‘bad’ CMNS prof that doesn’t want to see their student succeed and learn.”