capar is majoring in Multiplatform Journalism
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Being a scholar-athlete at Florida Tech takes an incredible amount of hard work and dedication to excel both in the classroom and on the field.
We caught up with Panther volleyball player Courtney Capar, a sophomore who is majoring in Multiplatform Journalism, for this edition of Scholar-Athlete Spotlight.
Making the trip north to Melbourne from Jupiter, Florida, Courtney has been a constant during her first two seasons in the Crimson and Gray, playing in 58 of a possible 60 games. During the 2023 season, the defensive specialist/libero recorded 336 digs, more than double her total from the previous season, along with 58 assists and 20 service aces.
Following the 2022 season, Capar was named to the Sunshine State Conference Commissioner’s and Florida Tech Athletic Director’s Honor Roll with a 4.0 GPA.
Courtney joined us to talk about what she’s loved about her time at Florida Tech so far and what she’s learned about her field.
Tell us a little bit about your major, what made you choose it and what do you want to do with it?
In high school, I was a part of the yearbook program and I became editor-in-chief and I kind of just got a thing for journalism and I wanted to go college and see where it took me and I’ve liked it so far.
What was it about Florida Tech that made you want to be here?
Well, when I was getting recruited for volleyball, I knew I want to stay in Florida because I was born and raised in Jupiter, and I got an opportunity here at Florida Tech. I took it because it was close to home and they had a journalism major that I wanted to do.
What’s something you’ve learned at Florida Tech about your major that you didn’t know before?
I’ve practiced using a lot of different platforms such as Adobe Premiere and InDesign, and before, I didn’t really have that much experience with it.
I kind of learned that a lot of people say that the journalism field is a dying field because everything shifted from paper to online and stuff. But I’ve kind of noticed that I feel like it’s a growing field because there’s so many more opportunities for us to work with digital platforms and stuff. So, I learned a lot more about that and I’m getting more experienced with those programs here.
How has being a collegiate athlete prepared you for what you’re doing now and what lessons have volleyball taught you that you apply to your studies?
I think definitely being in a team atmosphere all the time, working with people all the time, getting used to my teammates, that’s really gonna help me in the workforce someday. And honestly taking leadership and taking on those different skills, like time management between my studies and volleyball and stuff. I’ve definitely learned a lot of great things from sports that I can apply throughout my future here.
What advice would you give to an athlete coming to Florida Tech that has an interest in Multiplatform Journalism?
I would say they should definitely do it because this is a STEM school, and it’s funny whenever I tell people I go here, they’re shocked that I do journalism and I’m not a STEM major or something. I’ve seen so far, I have so many more opportunities because there’s so little of us here and we kind of stand out as far as internships go and different opportunities.
So, when people learn I’m a journalism major, they’re like ‘Oh, that’s good! We need more of you guys!’ because there’s so many engineering majors.
So, I think I would say anyone that’s interested in it, they should definitely try that and it’s really fun because you don’t have huge classes and it’s more one-on-one with your teachers, and you make really close friends with the people in your classes. So, I think it’s great.
What’s something you’ve done in the classroom that you’re most proud of?
In my classes I’ve been making a lot more like videos and taking more photos lately, and prior to coming here, I didn’t really have that much experience with it, and I get to use really high-quality cameras and equipment here.
So, I guess I’m kind of proud of myself for learning how to navigate those because I’m not really that tech savvy. So, using those things and preparing me for the future. I’m kind of proud of that.
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