The Digital Bullpen

The news site of the USF School of Mass Communications, covering life on and around the University of South Florida campus

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Dominique Lewis

My name is Dominique Lewis. I am 22 years old. and a Senior at University of South Florida studying Public Relations. My likes include sports, music , and traveling. I am military brat, I lived in Germany for most of my life and cant wait to go back. I am also fluent in German. I can't wait to get my career started.

Dominique Lewis has written 3 posts for The Digital Bullpen

There’s just no escaping the paperwork

Posted by Dominique Lewis ⋅ November 28, 2011 ⋅ Leave a Comment

Officer Mark Ariztizabal doing paper work after issuing a citation. Is there a glamorous side to being a Police Officer?

USF student’s ambitions intact after shattering knee

Posted by Dominique Lewis ⋅ October 26, 2011 ⋅ Leave a Comment

Torn anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, patella tendon and shattered kneecap were injuries that Cierra Long suffered while playing a pickup game of basketball.

Believe it or not, this freak accident happened due to an untied shoelace. “My parents always told me to tie my shoes. I never thought that anything would come from not tying them,” said Long.

With nothing to do, Long and some of the neighborhood girls took to a game of basketball in the driveway. As she was going up for a routine lay-up, she stepped with her right foot onto her left shoelace, and subsequently tore her ACL, MCL and patella tendon. All of her body weight came crashing down on her knee, completely shattering the bone.

“At first I was shocked, then I was scared. I was thinking, oh, my God, they are going to have to amputate my leg. It was just hanging there. My dreams were taken away from me, just like that,” said Long.

She had a full scholarship from the University of North Carolina for volleyball. Within two weeks of hearing about her injury, the university decided to take back her scholarship.

Because she is nearly six feet tall, Long had the height to be a dominant volleyball player. She was in the top 10 in kills in the state during her junior year.

She now sports an inch long scar on her right knee. “My knee has never fully recovered,” Long said. It has been nearly five years since she has played a game.

Throughout the years Long has tried to maintain a positive attitude. She now lives by the saying she has tattooed on her shoulder blade, “Everything happens for a reason, I am right where God wants me to be.”

“I wasn’t supposed to go to UNC I guess, but now I am at USF and couldn’t be any happier.”

USF’s Department of Criminology cancels job fair

Posted by Dominique Lewis ⋅ October 26, 2011 ⋅ Leave a Comment

TAMPA, FLA— The University of South Florida has decided to cancel this school years’ Department of Criminology job fair.

“The job fair was the first thing that got me into the criminology field,” said Cierra Long, who is currently a criminology major. “When I found out last year’s event was cancelled, I was shocked. I was trying to find an internship for personal experience and a résumé booster.”

Students attend colleges and universities for numerous reasons. The main one is job preparation. Without a college degree, finding a job in this market is almost impossible.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, nationally only 27.5 percent of people over 25 have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. Florida comes in just below the national average at 25.6 percent.

While having a college degree does not necessarily guarantee a job, it does separate you from the rest of the pack, which is crucial in a slumping economy.

Full-time undergraduate students at USF pay upwards of $20,000 annually. They believe that having a degree benefits them in the long run.

The networking tool in question is a career fair. For years the Department of Criminology has been putting on a career fair in the Sun Dome for its undergraduate and graduate students. On several occasions, Florida State University has canceled its own career fair to take part in USF’s.

John Cochran, the associate dean for faculty affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor in the Department of Criminology, said the fair “was larger and more successful than the entire university puts on for all its students.”

“The dean of student affairs played a key role in cancelling last years and this year’s fair,” said Cochran. The dean of student affairs declined to comment.