Student Profile: Matthew Milo

By: Anna Mishonova

Photo Credit: Matthew Milo

What is your favorite MCS class and why?

MCS 222- History of Communication with Loviglio, first and foremost because at 8 am the first thing needed is the energy he brings to the classroom. Moreso however because the content gave me an appreciation for semiotics and how universal communication is to the entirety of humanity, as well as how many things we take for granted with the amount of information we both consume and produce.

What is your favorite experience in UMBC? Why?

My favorite experience at UMBC has been getting to take the African American literature courses, the other English courses for poetry and lit., and the anthropology courses for human evolution and other human interest matters. These things have taught me to think and appreciate at a deeper level past what I am and what I experience; the ability to appreciate so much culture has changed me and I really appreciate it.

What are you looking forward to after graduation?

Going fishing for a week and not doing anything lol.

Can you describe your path in UMBC and MCS specifically?

I ended up swapping into Media and Communication Studies after coming to a crisis of identity and purpose while drawing towards the last semester of my senior year. I realized that none of the careers available to me were anything I wanted to pursue, and I decided I was going to follow my heart and passion, and that at my happiest throughout my life I had always been interacting with media on Reddit, movies, memes, games, anything in general. Although it seemed ethereal, I realized that one of my biggest strengths in life was communicating and using electronics, usually for gaming, building computers, and repairs, but it turns out they all marry well into something that makes me feel driven and happy. 

What made you choose MCS?

Quite simply: I love memes, cartoons,  video games, music, and more so, I love how they bring people together. No matter what is going on in the world, they give people an avenue to express themselves, have fun, share their experiences and cultures, and (hopefully) make the world a better place. When I returned to finish my degree, I knew creating a culture that makes people happy was the goal, and MCS seemed like the way.

How did this major prepare you for the future? What skills did you gain?

This major connected all of the skills that I gathered from English and preparing technical documentation, and breathed a new form of life into it that I was desperately looking for which involves a lot of creativity, interpersonal connection, psychology, and such a wide interdisciplinary focus that I cannot do it justice in one sentence. Not only did it expand the way that I think about the media I engage with, but it gave me real avenues to careers and skills with things like Adobe, Blender, animation, design, and much more.

What do you do in your free time?

A lot of my free time for the last 10 years has gone to fighting cancer, which I am blessed to be in early remission after a long trial of two years.

When I have free time, I like to hang out with my cat and play video games at home as I am a homebody tried and true. I like to cook, fletch [to fit a feather on an arrow, for the RuneScape game], build computers, paint, garden, go hiking, fish, and do anything outside in general.

What internships did you get while being an MCS student? Did you enjoy them?

While being an MCS intern I have worked for two separate companies: one performing social media and training duties for human resources at a health insurance company, and the other doing content design for an ethical hacking and information security company. Most importantly, they were both paid, so I enjoyed that very much. Onto the actual experiences themselves, the people that I worked with and the challenges and adventures I got to experience are something I would never replace. Although the internship component is a bit daunting, it is well worth it.

Do you have any advice for people starting their student paths?

Follow your heart and be honest with yourself. You are going to have to live the life you create, view that as a blessing, and don't turn it into a curse by doing things that don't make you happy. Do what you love and the money will come, and you will never work a day in your life.

What is your favorite place on campus?

AOK library 7th floor towards the presidential room, you can see the Key Bridge and Baltimore in the distance.

What would you like to see more of on campus?

I love the Nerf wars but pick up your darts when you're done! lol Also feed them squirrels they’re my homies.

Seriously though, nothing, this place feels like home and I appreciate the people who make it that way.