Alumni Profile: Johanna Alonso

By: Ellen Kim

Photo Credit: Sophie Lasher

Please introduce yourself! (When you graduated, how you identify, etc.)

My name is Johanna (she/her) and I graduated from UMBC in 2020. I double majored in MCS and English literature, with two minors in music and writing, and was also very involved in the student newspaper, The Retriever, and Musical Theatre Club.

What inspired you to choose MCS as your major?

I started at UMBC as an English literature major but was worried about whether that program would give me the right skills and be the right credential to make myself appealing to the jobs and employers I was interested in. In the end, I do think the English degree would have been enough on its own for the career I found myself in, but I really enjoyed elements of the MCS major, such as reading and discussing mass communications theory and learning software like Adobe Premiere Pro.

What was your most memorable moment(s) during your time at UMBC while being an MCS student or in general? (Class or professor? Maybe both?)

It's hard to think of one memorable moment, but I do have very fond memories of chatting about books and TV shows (and occasionally musical theatre, when I got off on a tangent!) in office hours with Dr. Loviglio, who was my MCS advisor and my professor for MCS 333.

What is something you would have done differently if you were to travel back to when you were a student?

One of the best decisions I made was to take a journalism class on a whim with a friend. I was reluctant because it was at 8:30am... but I tried it and am (obviously—see info about my current job below!) so glad I did. My parents had always tried to get me interested in journalism, as they knew I loved to write, but I had resisted, nervous about whether I was capable of doing things like conducting interviews. All that is to say, the one thing I wish I could have done differently is start looking into journalism as a career earlier, even though it intimidated me. 

What topic did you write your MCS capstone project on? Why did you choose this topic?

As a child, I was a dedicated Tumblr user and very involved in fan culture, so I wanted to explore that field in some way. At first, I wanted to write something comparing fan analysis to academic literary analysis, as I saw a lot of parallels between the analyses I had read throughout my teen years and the articles I read for my English lit classes. But, reading through the existing literature on fan culture, I noticed tons of writing on topics like fan fiction, but none about that analytical fan writing (often called "metas"), which made it difficult to tackle my original topic. I decided my capstone would instead attempt to fill that gap. My project ended up defining the term "meta"  in the context of fanworks and outlining their key characteristics, and I analyzed about fifty "metas" posted on Tumblr across various fandoms to do so. It was super fun—though I procrastinated more than I should have! It was during lockdown, so that's my excuse.

What job position are you in right now? What do you do in this position? Why did you choose this job? How do the skills you learned in MCS help you in this position?

I am a student life reporter at Inside Higher Ed, a 20-year-old online-only publication covering U.S. higher education. In this role, I write about two to three articles about the happenings of U.S. college campuses each week, each one in the approximately 800-1,600-word range. The topics are incredibly varied, as are the formats; lately we've been writing more explainers and Q&As, on top of our regular analysis and news stories. 

In my previous role, as a business reporter at The Maryland Daily Record, I wrote about higher ed frequently, and doing so was one of my favorite parts of my job. When I saw there were openings here at IHE, I wanted to apply but couldn't find the time to do so, until, eventually, I was on vacation at the beach for a week. Luckily, there was still a position open!

The main skills I gleaned from both of my majors were critical thinking and research skills. Each and every one of my classes strengthened those muscles, making it easy for me to draw connections, ask important questions, and explain complex topics effectively. Plus, every essay I wrote (and especially every essay I procrastinated on until the very last minute!) made me a faster writer, which is an incredibly valuable skill as a journalist!

What do you like to do in your free time?

I have way too many hobbies—I love crocheting, writing music on my guitar, playing board games, listening to podcasts, going to see local theatre and comedy, exploring Baltimore with my friends, and more. I also take improv classes with the Baltimore Improv Group and am a member of the New Choir of Mount Vernon.

What would you like to say to current MCS students?

One thing I'm really glad I did in college was throwing myself into my extracurriculars—clubs and internships that nourished different parts of my brain and allowed me to put to task those critical thinking skills I'd gained in my classes. I think it's important to find a way to balance the many things you might want to take on and give them your all.

I also advise you to take advantage of office hours way more than you think is necessary (or even normal). As a student, I liked to talk through my ideas (or, sometimes, entire assignments) with my professors before the due date, and on more than one occasion was told, 'this way off base. You need to make major changes before you turn this in.' Sure, I shed a few tears hearing comments like that, but it was much better than turning the assignment in blind and getting a poor grade! (It's worth noting that not every professor will look at a completed assignment before you turn it in.) I also built great relationships with many of those professors from doing this!