You know how parents say they love all of their kids equally? I try to tell myself that I love all of the majors on campus equally, but I would be lying. For anyone who doesn’t already know about my obsession with the journalism program, here is my formal “word vomit” about why it is so great.

To start off, I would like to explain to you all what the journalism program entails. I have worked so many Nevada Bounds as well as explained to every member of my family what we do here at the Reynolds School. I like to compare it to medicine. Yes, I know — two very different things. But medicine is an umbrella term. Think about how many different things you can do in medicine. You can be a nurse, you can be a doctor, you can be a pharmacist, you can be a technician or you can be a number of other things. Journalism is the same. You can work in broadcast, advertising or public relations. You can write for a newspaper or a magazine, work in social media, or be a photographer. There are so many options, which is what makes it so fun.

Not only is the Reynolds School of Journalism the only accredited journalism program in the state of Nevada, we are also the only school in the nation to partner with National Public Radio for a boot camp every year. Ninety percent of our students graduate with a job, we have six Pulitzer prize-winning professors, and we have won on a regional and national level multiple times during the national student advertising competition. In addition, students from our program are constantly being featured online for their amazing work in media, writing, creative and broadcast. It amazes me that my (about) 500 peers can do what they do. And, to top it off, the Reynolds School hosts some pretty fancy dinners each year — one of which includes handing out over $100k in scholarships to our students.

We have class with people who share our interests and motivation in our desired track, while also being fortunate enough that our professors also act as our mentors. Fun fact: there are no professors (to my knowledge) in the journalism program that are referred to as professor. Every teacher I have had has been referred to by their first name — Bob, Todd, Caesar, Alison, etc. There is something special about that. They talk to us in class like we are on the same level as them. They encourage us to do our very best work — and when we aren’t doing our best work, they tell us so we can work harder.

Students and professors of the journalism program pride themselves on being able to work with real clients. Not only does every student have to complete an internship before they graduate, but each student gets to work with REAL clients. You may not understand how important this is. When journalism students graduate college and want to find a job, almost every time the company advertises that it is looking for an employee with one to two years of experience. If our professors did not have us work with real clients, then we would not have that experience. Since starting at the University of Nevada, Reno, at the Reynolds School, I have had the pleasure of working with Two Chicks, the Sierra Nevada Ballet and Snapple. Boom, a year and a half of experience.

I think about the last three years I’ve spent here and I, just as well as my peers, can agree that we have all come a really long way. I had no idea what to do in Photoshop or Illustrator when I started, and now the Creative Suite is one of my best friends. My external hard drive is always within reach, AP style is the only style, Prezi is not an acceptable way to present material, Dean Al is one of the most friendly people at the university and everyone knows everyone. And to my fellow RSJ class of 2016-ers, you know we are going to be the most prideful group on graduation day.

Sadie Fienberg studies journalism. She can be reached at alexandraschultz@unr.edu and on Twitter @TheSagebrush.