The Transfer Student Survival Guide — Figuring Out Life Inside UF’s College of Journalism and Communications
Written by: Swami Hinojosa
Walking into UF as a transfer student feels a little like showing up late to a movie that already started. The lights are off, everyone else is comfortable and you are standing there squinting at the screen, trying to figure out who the characters are and why they all seem to know each other.
It hits fast.
You step into Weimer Hall, and suddenly everyone looks busy on purpose. People carry cameras, laptops covered in internship stickers and iced coffee cups the size of their heads. Someone is interviewing. Someone is editing audio. Someone casually mentions they have a meeting at The Agency, like that is completely normal.
Meanwhile, you are just trying to find the bathroom or the right classroom.
Maria Fernan Trujillo, a fellow PR student who transferred into CJC last year, laughed when I asked her about her first week.
“I thought I made a mistake,” she told me. “Everyone already had internships and clubs. I felt like I showed up two years late. But then I realized transfers aren’t late. We just take a different route to get here.”
That line stuck with me: a different route, not a wrong one.
Being a PR major here is exciting and low-key terrifying.
Public relations at UF is not chill. It is not the kind of major where you sit quietly and take notes. It is hands-on from day one. You are writing campaigns, pitching ideas, designing content, working with real clients and somehow expected to sound professional at 20 years old.
The first few weeks feel like everyone else speaks a secret language. People casually mention PRSSA, The Agency, The INC, Alpha PR and WUFT like these are everyday things. You nod like you understand. Later, you Google everything.
But here is the thing: Once you get involved, the intimidation fades pretty quickly.
“CJC moves fast, but it’s not exclusive,” Maria said. “People will help you if you ask. You just have to stop being scared to look new.”
Honestly, that is the biggest lesson: Ask questions.
If you are a transfer trying to “catch up,” this is where you start.
UF PRSSA and Alpha PR are where you meet people. Networking sounds corporate and annoying, but it really just means making friends who care about the same career stuff. Suddenly, you hear about internships, events, scholarships and opportunities you would not have found on your own.
The INC and WUFT are where you learn fast if you care about storytelling or media. You are thrown into real production environments. You mess up. You fix it. You get better. From television to podcasts to news and weather, it all starts to click.
The Agency at UF is a real, student-run PR and advertising agency. You work with actual clients, not fake case studies. It feels like a job, which is kind of the point.
So how do transfers actually “catch up”?
Not by doing everything. That just burns you out.
It is about being intentional.
Show up to events, even if you only know one person. Talk to professors after class. Apply for positions, even if you feel underqualified. Save every project for your portfolio. Spend time in Weimer instead of rushing home.
Little things stack up.
Maria said something that made me laugh because it was so simple: “Just be around. Half the opportunities I got happened because I was physically there.”
Being present sounds obvious, but it works.
By the time you realize it, you are not the confused new student anymore. You are the one explaining things to the next transfer, telling them which door to use in Weimer, which clubs to join and which professors to talk to.
Somewhere along the way, you caught up without even noticing.
And honestly, that feels pretty on brand for us.