Digital Media Stories F/19

My love of reading began when my parents read to a younger me most nights before bed. Eventually, the bedtime stories ended, and I began reading by myself. What followed was years-long love for reading, and I had my nose stuck in a book from elementary school through the beginning of high school. As I’ve gotten older, I unfortunately haven’t prioritized reading as I once did. I do miss getting lost in words and other worlds like I once did, and I hope someday I’ll pick up the books waiting for me on my shelf.

Sara Qualley

I utterly love hats; I actually have 6 hats, and have lost three - including my beloved Fedora Cowboy Hat. The shirt is made in a fabric called “KITENGE”; one of the formal and traditional Fabric in Africa. Other than being a significant aspect towards my culture, it is the ‘only’ gift I got from my big sister - she gave it to me in on our way back from Tanzania, we were on a choir trip. 

Gelase Magnificat

I chose to bring my Gibson Les Paul 2016 studio edition electric guitar for my personal item. This guitar holds a special place in my heart. Not only is it a professional quality instrument with gorgeous features, it's also very sentimental to me because my brother gifted it to my when I graduated high school. Ever since I received it, I’ve been trying my best to learn the ropes. At times it's challenging to keep the motivation to push forward in learning the instrument, but I find the guitars beauty and its meaning to me help me to stay focused. The shiny blue coat it has was also one of the major reasons I brought it in to be photographed, as I figured it would look very good with the lighting setup.

 

                                                        Christopher Campbell

The personal item I brought to class with me last Thursday was a gay pride rainbow, inside of the state of Iowa. This shirt is important to me obviously because I identify as gay, I live in Iowa, and my parents got it for me. Coming out as gay in a small town was hard, so to be able to wear a gay pride shirt proudly is a huge deal for me, coming to college at UNI makes it easy as everyone is so accepting. Moving to Iowa, not everyone was so accepting, but when Iowa passed the law to allow same sex couples to get married, that was a huge deal for me and I became very happy to call Iowa my home. Lastly, the fact that my mom and step-dad gave me this shirt is huge. It shows that they don’t care who I love, as long as my partner treats me with love and respect, my parents will always support me and my choices.

Patience Kauzlarich 

This summer was truly the best time of my life. I met my amazing boyfriend Danny, got to see my favorite artists in concerts, and traveled to Wisconsin Dells. My best friend, step-sister, boyfriend, and I stayed in a run-down, super cheap motel right on the main street in the Dells. We spent our days at a huge waterpark, went to water-ski shows, toured downtown at night time, and tried unique foods. Wisconsin Dells has a lot to offer, but I know I had as much fun as I did because of the people I was with. I will never forget this trip and I am so glad I have a shirt to remember it by… and an awesome bumper sticker too.

Zander Ketchum

As can be seen my choice of team gear, the Chicago Blackhawks have been an important part of my life since my affection for sports began to strongly grow in fourth grade. Since those days, I have become both a hockey player and a passionate fan of Blackhawks hockey. I watch as many games as I can, often with full attention. I have attended just under ten games in person for the Blackhawks. My idol, Marian Hossa, was a member of the Blackhawks for over half a decade. He was inspiring to me because of his strength and determination he demonstrated on and off the ice. Some say his passion for the game and hard work is unrivaled. He won three championships with the Chicago Blackhawks, and was a major factor in all three of those wins. Through the ups and downs, wins and loses, I have and will continue to support this NHL team for as long as I live.

Jake Hayes

The object that I decided to wear was my Tampa Bay Lightning shirt that says Defend the Bay. I decided to wear this because when I was growing up in Cedar Rapids, I played hockey at a young age, so the sport has always been important to me. I became a Lightning fan because when I was young I was obsessed with the color and the style of the jersey and the first year I started watching the NHL, they won the Stanley Cup. Ever since I have been a huge Lightning fan.

Patrick Hanson

The item I brought with me is my stuffed otter. Otters have been my favorite animal for as long as I can remember, but this otter is particularly special to me.. Around Thanksgiving last year I was having a lot of issues with insomnia and not getting to sleep most nights. At this same time I was making the flight to California to see my boyfriend for the first time in 7 months. When I stepped off the plane in San Diego my boyfriend greeted me with this little otter. He had got it two weeks prior and spent every night sleeping with it in the hopes that once I took it back with me it would remind me enough of him to sleep better. It was a pretty cheesy moments but a very thoughtful one, and for that reason this stuffed otter means a lot to me.

Kirsten Mull

My personal item, a sweatshirt repping the Boston Celtics logo, is probably my favorite piece of clothing I have. I love watching basketball and for as long as I can remember, the Celtics have been at the center of it all. Ever since I was young, seeing highlights of Larry Bird, to my days of being amazed by Rajon Rondo, to now, I have loved Boston and try to never miss a game. At some point in time this love for the Celtics spread to my younger brother and this has led to many trips to places like Minnesota, Milwaukee, Chicago, and Indiana to see them play, along with one spring break trip to Boston to see them at home. Everyone loves to rep their favorite sports team and that’s what I do with this sweatshirt.

Paul Pease

Hi my name is Trenton Meggers and my headshot item was my Iowa State sweatshirt. I chose this because I have gone to Iowa State football and basketball games ever since I can remember. I know, I am a student here at UNI and I do love my Panthers, but I did not grow up going to UNI football games on Saturdays. My mom has always been mad at over this. She went to UNI several years ago and has always had the Panthers as her number one team. A couple years ago, my family started going to the ISU vs. UNI football game every year. It has always been a fun time because my father and I would cheer for the Cyclones while my mom and my brother would cheer for the Panthers. Iowa State has had some luck beating the Panthers but every once in a while, UNI has been lucky and beaten them. I love the bond my family has of going to ISU games together and I wouldn’t want it any other way. We also go down to Kansas City most years to watch the Cyclones in the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament which is A LOT of fun, especially because ISU has won the tournament a couple of times the last couple of years. I love being here at UNI, but sports wise, it’s a Cyclone State!

Trenton Meggers

My name is Laura Buffington and for my special item I wore a fall sweater. The fall sweater is special to me because fall is my favorite time of year.  My birthday is in the fall, Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I live for cold fall weather.  This sweater was also special because it was part of my Halloween costume, I dressed as an old lady and handed out pumpkin candies from my purse.  Sense my birthday is close to Halloween when I was younger all of my birthday parties were Halloween themed.  Fall has always been my favorite time of year because it holds a lot of good memories for me.

Laura Buffington

I chose to bring a volleyball because it is my favorite sport. I loved playing when I first could in 7th grade and joined a club team from another school. I was then a part of my school’s first Club Volleyball team in high school, the Wildcats. I have enjoyed intramural volleyball both last year and this year here at UNI.

Kirsti Eberhardt

This item is very special to me because I got it sometime in the fall of 2018 when I was studying abroad in Oviedo, Spain. I made a group of girlfriends while living there and we decided to take a Halloween trip to Madrid and spend a couple days there. One of the days we decided to do some thrift shopping and that is when I came across this light blue and dark blue jacket. I loved it and it was on 12euros! Although I had no need for a jacket, I believed this could be a representation of that weekend along with the endless amount of memories we all made together.

Chelsea Beas