Photo courtesy of Marlena Titus
Junior mass media studies major Marlena Titus is grateful to study what they are passionate about, but their interests and passions extend beyond their studies.
“I wanted to be a chemist when I grew up, which I think is super funny,” Titus said. “I grew up with my mom going to nursing school and she had a lot of chemistry books laying around, [so] I just took them and read them. Other than that, I grew up around my dad, a massive video game nerd. I would play a lot of Sonic and a lot of PlayStation 2 games.”
Prior to transferring to Hofstra, Titus spent time as an animation major at their previous college before having a change of heart. Influenced by the video games they played with their dad, Titus once felt a calling to digital art. At the outset of the pandemic, Titus began to see a change in their desire to draw full-time. “I ended up being stuck in my room just drawing all the time,” Titus recalled. “I love drawing, but that drove me to knowing that I can’t do this every day.”
Inspired by the digital realm as a whole and how it is such a polarizing part of our everyday lives, Titus saw promise in the mass media studies field. “I decided that I wasn’t really interested in drawing as a career. Instead, I wanted to study media in the larger scheme of things,” Titus said.
Hofstra’s diverse curriculum stood out to Titus when they were looking for colleges to apply to. “I found that Hofstra had a major that fit exactly what I wanted, which was great,” Titus said. “All the professors that I’ve had are very nice, and all of the classes I’ve taken have been tailored to what I’m studying.”
Titus also noted that the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication (LHSC) provides them with a community to belong to. With mixers for students, as well as encouraging and thoughtful faculty, the LHSC made the transition between colleges much easier. Additionally, they found that living on campus was a welcome adjustment from the mix of commuting and virtual activities during the early stages of the pandemic.
“This is the first time I’ve ever ‘dormed’ at a college,” Titus said. “And it’s weird, in a good way, to have people to talk to face-to-face, instead of having classmates on a screen and not having neighbors. Having a pandemic really messed with my social life and my social skills. When I see [Pride Guides] going around on campus, I’m glad they are able to show what’s here and not just show a slideshow on Zoom.”
Outside of the classroom, Titus has become very involved with various organizations that align with their interests, such as the Hofstra English Society, Hofstra Bread Society and the Queer and Trans People of Color Coalition. These organizations, among others, provide Titus with even more opportunities to connect with fellow students. Additionally, like many people over the course of the pandemic, Titus picked up crocheting as a new hobby, as well as falling back in love with writing. “I like to write,” Titus said. “And I have two notebooks with a few different stories that I’ve been working on. I’ve been working on one since middle school, but I haven’t put it on paper until now.”
When looking back on their academic journey, Titus notes that making big changes has paid off in the long run. “It took me almost until I graduated [from] my previous college to change my major,” Titus said. “If you end up graduating with something you don’t want, you’re not going to be happy until you find a way to tailor that to your interests. You’re not going to be the same person when you’re 20 that you were when you were 17. Your interests are going to change.”
