Suck It, Meiske!

Hello fellow classmates! My name is Jessie Spence, and I am a senior at Trinity University. I am a Communication major and a Spanish minor. I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and I have never lived anywhere else. I am grateful to this city for exposing its inhabitants to a wide range of cultures and fostering a sense of appreciation for those cultures. In an ideal world, after I graduate in May, I will enter the work force in this city. Although I am particularly interested in Public Relations, I am not picky when it comes to the type of job I acquire post-graduation. Far too often, graduates limit themselves in regards to the jobs they will and will not accept after graduation, when, in reality, any job is a good job, especially when the opportunity to advance oneself in the respective company is available.

I describe myself as an avid reader and pop culture devourer. In terms of literature, I appreciate a wide variety of works, from Jane Eyre to The Hunger Games to Harry Potter. In first grade, I had a teacher called Ms. Meiske. Ms. Meiske was convinced that I had a learning disability based on the fact that I did not participate in class. However, I did not participate in class because I was far too busy fantasizing about the imminent demise of Ms. Meiske. Now, when I read a particularly complicated novel, I think, “Suck it, Meiske.” In terms of pop culture, I love television, i.e., Breaking Bad, Friends, The Blacklist, Gilmore Girls, Modern Family, etc., and film, particularly horror films.

One thing that most people do not know about me is that my grandfather, James George, competed on behalf of the United States in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Rome, Italy, respectively, as a weightlifter. He competed in the light-heavyweight class and won the Bronze medal in Melbourne and the Silver medal in Rome. He was favored to win the Gold medal in Rome, but as he was lifting, his right knee buckled and he won Silver instead – the Gold went to Ireneusz Paliński of Poland. In addition, my grandfather acquired two world records whilst in Melbourne, for the Snatch (137.5) and the Clean and Jerk (176). After his Olympic success, he obtained his DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) degree from Ohio State University and now owns his own dental practice in Canton, Ohio.

My grandfather, James George, with his Olympic treasures.

In regards to my relationship with the web and to the broader Internet, I must say that I am extremely grateful to each for the ease with which they allow me to do schoolwork. In all honestly, I feel incredibly bad for the generations of students before me who did not have access to the web and to the broader Internet. However, although I enjoy each of these technologies, I have absolutely no idea how they function and/or how I can manipulate them to further accommodate my own needs. This is the main reason why I enrolled in COMM 3344: Interactive Web Design, in addition to the fact that it relates to my intended Capstone project. My main anxiety in relation to these technologies is the ethicality (or lack thereof) associated with it. As these technologies become more advanced in the future, I worry about the ways in which users will manipulate them due largely in part to the fact that, in my opinion, these technologies will only become even further imbedded in our lives.