Advertising is a billion-dollar industry marketed globally to millions and is often the reason why people want the newest, trendiest, or most expensive luxuries and experiences in life.

Popular products extending from fashion and technology, to food and culture, are displayed everywhere throughout television and social media for the sole purpose of selling a product.

Many believe that the influence of advertisement on a population even plays a large role—consciously and subconsciously—in molding our personal principles, perceptions, and opinions.

After speaking with several NECC students, most have expressed both positive and negative positions concerning the influence of advertisement in the entertainment industry.

“To me, an advertisement is an announcement or notice via any media to promote a product or event.” Said Isa Grullon, 34, a journalism and communications major from Lawrence who is also the editor-in-chief of the Observer.

“I definitely think that advertisement helps to shape our consciousness in everyday life. It is a very strategic pursuit and there is a whole psychology behind it. They [advertisers] don’t tell you what to think, but they can tell you what to think about,” said Grullon.

She further explained how, in her opinion, certain advertisements may also lead to cultural appropriation — in which trends are stolen, distorted, and Americanized from the form in which they were originally derived (i.e., Boxed-braids, Chinese food, slang). When asked about the impact of advertisement regarding social media platforms, Grullon stated, “I’m personally fine with social media apps marketing to me because I’m not going to fall for it. But there are people out there that are more naïve — especially young teenagers or older people — who have no idea how social media can target or place them in a certain category. I feel that in general, social media is not the greatest for society.”

Grullon’s evolved understanding of advertisement, she says, has enabled her to feel less inclined to buy or need the products advertised to her through the entertainment industry. Despite this understanding, however, she also confessed that the advertisement of Snickers candy bars does occasionally take advantage of her perception. “I can’t lie, sometimes when I see a Snickers commercial, I’m like I want a Snickers bar now. And that’s how they play with your mind.” Said Grullon.

According to Serai Bogran, 19, a film major from Haverhill, “advertisements are often used in a negative way and can cause more harm than good.”

Bogran further expressed how she personally doesn’t feel the need to buy what she sees on television, despite knowing that many others struggle with this compulsion.

As various social media platforms (i.e. Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, Twitter) incorporate ads throughout their app’s feed, Bogran stated “I’ve definitely noticed a lot more ads on Tik Tok and Instagram recently that are based on what I like. Even when I talk about a product sometimes, I’ll see it advertised on social media. It’s really, really, weird.”

Conversely, Bogran also stated that “Advertisements can be used in a positive way, such as supporting local businesses.”

Jeremy Isabelle, 20, a journalism and communications major stated “TV usually scares me away from a product because of those cheesy, early 2000s commercials that I always used to see as a child.”

Isabelle also began to explain how, in his opinion, advertisements set up unrealistic standards for ordinary people to aspire to, such as flawless beauty and/or an abundance of wealth.

“I think it [advertisement] can negatively affect people’s mental health if they’re constantly trying to look like the next perfect boy or girl from a Hollister commercial,” said Isabelle.

A negative aspect about advertisement concerning social media, in his opinion, is the way in which companies collect personal data and market information.

“The way that your phone will listen to your conversations and then advertise a product based on what you were talking about—I completely disagree with. It eliminates the self-discovery aspect and is a complete invasion of privacy,” said Isabelle. Conversely, he also thinks that a positive aspect about advertisement is how it can be used to enlighten the masses on current environmental issues.

Although advertisement in the entertainment industry plays a crucial role in positively cultivating the culture of society, the manner in which products are advertised are not always considered ethical or correct.

Bogran, Grullon, and Isabelle all agree that the deceptive intentions of advertisers may also limit the people’s rights to personal privacy and freedom of mind. “

I’m not sure if it is ethical or not to have advertisement in entertainment and social media. I feel like they have always gone hand in hand. It just depends on how you use it, and how you target your audience, while also doing it in a way that is appropriate,” said Grullon.

Joseph, Joey, Stewart, 17, was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 11, after having his first seizure on Mother’s Day, 2012. Now, he is about to start college a year early to pursue his dream of becoming a history teacher. He overcame many obstacles throughout his high school career due to his epilepsy, as he explained to me.

Stewart explained is medical diagnosis in both the general term and what it is for him personally. He explained “Epilepsy (in general) is a neurological disorder. It is, in lame man’s term, is when the neurons in your brain fire at excessive rates. It can be caused by trauma or by a hormone imbalance.” However, he went on to explain that “I live with Rolandic epilepsy. It is when the hormonal imbalance that happens during puberty or adolescence causes the increased brain activity. When I have an epileptic episode, it can feel like I ran 10 miles in 3 minutes. I am more apt to have a seizure while I am sleeping.”

Epilepsy prohibited Stewart from many things throughout high school, but the biggest thing was football. This was due to it being a high contact sport, and if he were to receive a head injury while playing it could send him into a seizure or a series of multiple with a high chance of them not being able to stop them from happening. The first doctor Stewart saw completely prohibited him from playing; however, this doctor did not stay in his life very long due to other issues.

When Stewart got his new doctor, it was the same doctor that his mother had during her teenage years because the diagnosis was hereditary. That doctor was the first person to believe that Stewart could play, he just had to be more cautious than the other kids. Stewart goes on to explain that football was a setback in high school, “because 90% of people thought that I couldn’t do it, or would never do it, so I had to work twice as hard to prove them wrong.”

Although he pegs this as one of the largest setbacks within his student career thus far, he was a captain on JV and would have went on to play for the varsity team this year if it was not for the COVID-19 pandemic.

To look at who Stewart is as a person, I asked how he would describe himself, he said “the first thought that comes into my head… Stubborn…” He goes on to explain his strengths and weaknesses, and he believes that his biggest strength is “determination and perseverance because I learned to never be satisfied and to always expect more from myself and always push myself to learn more and to always better myself.”

While his weakness was overthinking, which I believe many people struggle with now-a-days.

I asked Stewart how his student career has been affected by his diagnosis, both positively and negatively. Negatively it affected him due to the side effects of finding the correct dose of medication which made him moody, and more hostile. Luckily it is affecting him less now, but he still thinks that it was one of the big negative effects. When asked about how it has helped him (the positive effects), he said “It taught me that life isn’t fair. It also taught me to never expect things to go my way.” He also said that he  would  “Try to expect the unexpected, while trying to stay optimistic.”

I also was interested in why Stewart chose NECC for his early college plans he said “I chose NECC because it is where both my sister and my mother go to college, and they both highly recommend it. But also, because it is a program that is offered through my high school.” He also explained in an earlier question that his family is some of his biggest supporters, so it makes sense that he would want to follow in some of their footsteps.

While wrapping up the interview I asked some closing questions about advice that he would like to share to others who may be struggling with a medical diagnosis and schooling, and if there was anything else he would like to share with about his diagnosis. When asked about his own diagnosis he said he learned that “a diagnosis of any kind does not make the person, learning to live with a disorder or diagnosis is no difference than learning to live with the stresses of life that an everyday person would have to learn.” He also said that he learned, “I feel like someone with a diagnosis learns to appreciate life more and they learn more about themselves throughout a shorter amount of time. Because you have this disorder that you are living with that you cannot ignore, so you are forced to focus on yourself more than you would like to help your mental statis to stay positively in check.”

He gave a lot of advice to people who may be struggling through schooling with their diagnosis as well. The advice he gave that pertained to everyday life was “learn to incorporate [the diagnosis] into who you are, live with it but do not let it consume you,” as well as “Support the organizations that support your diagnosis. (be a member of the community that you are forced to be in).” Although his life advice is very wise for a 17-year-old boy, his school advice was superb.

He said “don’t use [your diagnosis] as an excuse, be open with teachers if your diagnosis is the reason for your performance being affected (late work, missed class, etc). Try to let them know as soon as possible, don’t make them wait. Speak first.” He goes on to better explain this advice through his own diagnosis, “it’s one of those things that if I have a seizure and I can’t turn in an assignment, I would arrange with them to turn it in next time I see that teacher.” The whole thing with me, that if I had a seizure and did not do an assignment, I would not tell the teacher that it is unfinished due to my seizure, but I would tell them I did not finish it, period. My assignment should have been done before I went to bed, so it is not my seizure that made me not do it, it was my conscious decision or forgetfulness.”

I think that the best advice he gave is necessary for everyone to hear, diagnosis or not. He said “Don’t be afraid to [eff] up. It is inevitable for everybody.”

Helping others has always been a cause that Northern Essex Community College Disability Services Specialist, Jillian Knox, has deeply valued from a young age, as well as throughout her career working with special needs students in various situations and settings to help them achieve their goals and overcome obstacles.

Knox, a native of Salem, MA, first attended college at the University of New Hampshire where she later obtained her Bachelor’s in Science. Following that, she went to the University of Massachusetts Boston where she obtained her Master’s in Education. “At first, I thought I wanted to work with little ones, but as I thought more about it, I knew I wanted to work with students that had some type of disadvantage whether it be low income, language barriers, or students with disabilities,” Knox stated.

Since graduating from college, Knox has held a number of positions before coming to Northern Essex including working with low income individuals at the University of Massachusetts Boston, working in the Human Resources Department at a large law practice, and working as a school consular with students with various types of learning disabilities like Autism and various psychiatric conditions.

Although Knox enjoyed the school counseling position, she found it very difficult to separate her work life from her personal life. “I found it difficult to take care of myself off the job, and eventually just got burnt out after hearing about many devastating situations,” Knox explained.

Following her departure from the school counseling position, she found work as the MACEI Coordinator at Northern Essex, a program that helps and provides opportunities for students with various types of developmental, learning, and intellectual disabilities.

After filling this role, she later transferred within the department to her current position as Disability Services Specialist, a job she very much enjoys. “It’s a very respectable place to work,” said Knox in describing her office atmosphere in the Learning Accommodations Center. Knox explained that her colleagues are very supportive and respectful of each other’s opinions and ideas. She later explained that she enjoys seeing her students succeed in terms of graduating and moving on in their education, or seeing them overcome any academic barriers they may encounter along the way. “This is the best job I’ve ever had,” she stated.

Knox, who currently resides in Haverhill, MA, is married and has a three-year old daughter, who she enjoys spending time with outside of the office. Knox has many hobbies she enjoys outside of the office as well including gardening, cleaning and organizing her home, interior design, crafting, going for walks, being at the beach in the summertime, reading, camping, attending concerts, but above all enjoys being outside in the springtime, and seeing her plants sprout from the ground.

Additionally, Knox has two siblings that she stays in frequent contact with, especially her sister who lives in New Jersey and has two daughters.

Knox is also a huge music fan. She enjoys listening to anything from Nirvana and Pearl Jam, to Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty, to anything from the 80’s. She also likes more recent music including anything from the Weeknd and wrapper, Lizzo.

As we mark the one year anniversary of the lock down, and the switch from in-person attendance to online, college students are getting used to the process of everyday self management of an (overly) full online work load.

Some students I’ve talked to feel that, after a full year of online and hybridized learning, they’ve mastered keeping up with their classes after the rocky adjustment period.

For most though, the initial stress hasn’t gone anywhere.

Michael Wilkinson, a Junior at UMass Amherst studying biochemistry, said that “I think I’ve just gotten used to it at this point. Checking 50 emails a day, keeping track of what needs to be done in every class every week, trying to balance in-class time with out of class time … It’s still stressful, but I have a hold on it now. Planning breaks from the computer definitely helps.”

Wilkinson currently takes six classes, from hybrid to fully online. When the switch from in-person to online learning happened, during his sophomore year, he said that “I felt a bit lost at first, taking so many intense classes. It took me a while to fully adapt, especially to the new stress. It was relatively easy to keep up with everything before, but then it was like, wow, I have to work three times as hard to understand what I’m doing, with half the help. Now it’s second nature.”

Josh Doyle, a communications major at UMass Lowell, commented more on how he manages stress.

“Taking breaks and spending time not doing school work or looking at screens definitely helps. Going outside and designating certain ‘work times’ helps from getting burnt out too,” Doyle said. “I’ve been managing online classes for over a year and I think I’ve gotten better at managing a balance.”

Doyle and Wilkinson have different class loads, but both manage their stress in the same ways. Taking scheduled breaks from screens, trying to be outside as much as possible, and keeping in touch with friends regularly helps.

Both students are also avid hikers, and Wilkinson that “it’s really the perfect destresser. It’s ‘pandemic friendly’, and a good change of scenery from endless screen time. I think I’ve hiked just about every mountain around Amherst at this point.”

Kaitlin Morris, a UMass student who is fully online and taking classes from home, said that “it’s all about self care. Doing the things you like to do when you can, and planning out when you’ll do work in each class. It keeps me from getting stressed out about anything specific.

“Taking classes [fully] remote can be a bit tough at times, not being on campus, but having a planner for everything helps with remembering things. I try to get out of the house as much as I can, too. It can get pretty stuffy, but as long as I take time for myself it isn’t a big deal.”

Organization seems to be the key to success in online classes. Planning out when to focus on classwork and when to take breaks, constantly checking up with individual classes, and staying on top of deadlines are all important to maintaining a stress free student life.

It’s that time of the year, mid semester, so some NECC students are looking at four-year colleges, meanwhile other NECC students are getting ready to graduate and moving on to work.

Stacy Romasco, 38, of Salem, N.H.,  a Respiratory Therapist and a Northern Essex alumnus, recently shared some of her experiences during and after graduating from NECC.

Romasco is employed at Northeast Rehab in Salem, New Hampshire. I work in the dish room as a dishwasher of Northeast, so I was already familiar with Romasco. Romasco attended NECC courses between spring of 2002 through fall of 2004 with a mix of summer courses.

Romasco described the courses necessary to complete her associates’ degree in science and respiratory technology: “I got the basics out of the way: math, science and English. Then I moved on to science labs to gain an understanding of the entire human body.”

After graduating from NECC in the spring of 2004 with an associate degree, Romasco went right into the workforce. “I began my career in September 2004 at Holy Family Hospital, then I moved to Merrimack per diem in 2005. I was hired in 2010 at Northeast Rehab where I have spent the rest of my career,” she said.

In 2011 and 2012 Romasco returned to NECC to take non credited photography courses. “

We started with basic camera settings, then moved to lighting, camera angles then more advanced camera settings. Our professor set up weekly class exhibits to critique each other’s pictures,” she said.

Using what she learned from her NECC course and prior knowledge, she applied that towards taking wedding pictures creating a “part time small business.”

Also, Romasco gave advice for NECC students.  “Take advantage of the resources available for academics and don’t be afraid to talk to your professors if you’re struggling, they are there to help you succeed.”

Romasco also recommended a few four-year colleges like UMass Lowell and Salem State.