Alix Bryant has never been afraid of a challenge, something she found incredibly elusive at the university where she began her academic career. Making the switch to URI after her sophomore year, Bryant based her decision to transfer on a multitude of criteria. “I was looking for a university with challenging classes,” she says, “and I wanted the best college experience I could get. When I toured URI, I thought the university was amazing, the campus was beautiful, and the people were really nice.” 

Making the move from her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, to Kingston, Rhode Island, Bryant opted to study Journalism, one of six majors offered within URI’s renowned Harrington School of Communications and Media. “I had only really been good at reading and writing in school,” Bryant explains, “I wanted to become a broadcast journalist at the time because I love to communicate with others and I’m very comfortable on camera.” While she seemed set in her journalistic ways at the time, the winds of change blew once again to steer Bryant down a different path. After enrolling in a Public Relations (PR) course her junior year, Bryant noticed her interest peaking in the subject. “In journalism classes, you’re always taught to write and communicate with the story at the forefront at all times,” she states, “Taking classes in other fields of communication changes your thinking, and I could really see the different realms of thinking.”

With a new interest in PR under her belt, Bryant continued on the path she had set for herself upon initially transferring, graduating in 2018 with a B.A. in Journalism. Bryant, however, is living proof that one’s major does not set their future in stone and that a strong interdisciplinary foundation serves one well after graduation, as she now works as a public relations and marketing associate at North Shore Medical Center in her hometown of Salem. She says URI is to thank for that: “URI definitely gave me the skills I need due to the flexibility of the curriculum and the ability to take all different classes,” she states, “Taking courses in the Harrington School helps advance you as a communicator, and it trains you to really think critically. Writing an article for a newspaper takes one mindset, while marketing materials take a different mindset. It forces you to take a step back and be adaptable, though whatever you major it helps you build on your skills.” To new students interested in the Harrington School–or even transfer students like herself–Bryant has three words of advice: “Definitely do it. It’s an amazing program with lots of resources and experienced professors to learn the tricks of the trade from. Take a class in every area, too, because a change of heart is okay. Having a little bit of experience is always helpful when going to interviews in different fields that interest you.”

~Written by Chase Hoffman, Writing & Rhetoric and Anthropology Double Major, URI Class of 2021