Research Journey

I was not excited for this research paper at first when it was announced. I had no clue whatsoever what I was going to do, and was not excited to try and come up with something. Once we were given a more narrow scope to focus on I began to think, what was something that I liked a lot that has been affected by new media? Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, college athletics and more specifically college athletic departments have definitely been affected by new media in the past couple of years. Because I have been working with the athletic department with my committee, I have seen first hand how the BYU athletic department is using new media to operate more efficiently.

So my research question to start off this whole process was how did new media affect the way athletic departments operated more efficiently, and how did it help better communicating with the fans and recruits.
So I went into the first library session excited to see what I would be able to find on my topic. Well as we went throughout the databases that were on the Harold B Lee Library, I was not finding anything. I was getting discouraged because it was really hard to even find how athletic departments worked, let alone communicate and market their sports. I left that library session now more confused than ever because did I need to pick a new topic or try one more library session to see if I could get any sources at all.

This last library session had tons of progress for me towards my research topic. Halfway through class I began noticing that a lot of the sources I was finding were more related to one specific point of my original topic. Recruiting in college sports and the use of new media by athletes has had both positive and negative impacts on college athletics. As I delved into this more specific point, I found a lot more sources and found my new research topic. Now my new research topic is What effects has new media had on college recruiting and the college athletes? Any thoughts or help with my research?

Standing Alone

General Conference this past weekend was such a blessing in our lives, to hear from the servants of God. We got to hear exciting news like a new temple in Provo, and new temples throughout the world. One talk that stood out to me was President Monson's talk in Priesthood session. He stressed about being an example of our faith, even if it meant standing alone. His first hand experiences on the subject mixed in with his humor really helped me connect with what he was talking about. We must have courage in standing alone, even if it is lonely and scary to us. And this seemed to be mentioned a lot in conference, being an example of the believers. All in all, I was very grateful to hear from the Lord's servants this weekend.