Rocio Martos Roberts
“I knew I wanted something creative,” says Rocio Martos Roberts, describing her search for the right college course.
Rocio describes herself as a “very visual person” who also loves writing and reading. She chose her course at DCU because “I think the Communications Studies degree kind of had it all.” It was broader than some other degrees and offered “a really good base of understanding communication in general.”
Originally from Argentina, Rocio moved to Naas, Co Kildare during 5th year. And while she found secondary school too structured, DCU was a different story. “When I got to university it was so refreshing because I was actually doing something that I was interested in.”
In first year, the focus was largely on theory while second year introduced more practical work in areas like radio, podcasts, video and photography. “I was surprised about how much I enjoyed learning about the theory behind things,” says Rocio. “In second year, I was able to make the connections between what I had learned in first year and the practical things that we were doing.”
One of the team assignments was to create a three-minute video, which was an eye-opener for Rocio and her classmates. “Three minutes sounds so short, but the amount of work that goes into it is insane.”
For her radio project, Rocio created a “sound walk” which involved capturing a soundscape from a specific location. The project is being published on the Communications Undergraduate Journal website.
Throughout her time at DCU, Rocio says the teaching staff were hugely helpful. “I would reach out to them if I had any questions at all, and they would always help me and they're also just such nice people to talk to. They're so open.”
Rocio threw herself into the social side of the University experience as well, getting involved with groups including DCU Photo Soc, DCU Drama Soc and Her Campus. “I liked having a mix of different friends from different courses because then you got different perspectives.”
In third year, she worked as a Student Ambassador, which “didn’t even feel like working” and led to some lasting friendships with people on the team. “We still meet up once a week or every two weeks, just to go out for drinks or food because we just became such good friends.”
Rocio has just started a new job working as a customer relationship management executive with Buymie, a subsidiary of Dunnes Stores.
“I'm very excited about it,” she says. “It's so dynamic.”
Reflecting on her time at DCU, Rocio believes the Communications Studies BA is a great course for people who are creative and curious.
“You're going to learn a lot about why people communicate a certain way, what messages are effective, what messages aren't, and why.”
“I loved it because I just love understanding how people work. And that's basically the core of communication, just knowing how people work and what they respond to.”