NEWBERRY, SC (WIS) -
There's an old preserved feel to the campus of Newberry College, but inside, things are more progressive than almost anywhere around.
Students are encouraged to indulge in Facebook and several other things academians may consider distracting.
"It's kinda funny," said professor Tonia Sosiak. "In every other class, they have to turn off their Droids, smartphones, but here, they're actually be using their phones and laptops."
Sosiak teaches graphic arts. Next year she'll be teaching social media classes. It was her idea to start the very rare collegiate major.
"The thing I really looked at were the jobs," said Sosiak. "You know, the job orders and the ads. I did a lot of research and so I started really developing the curriculum based on what the jobs were."
And the jobs are out there.
Newberry grad Blake DuBose started a website creation company. He quickly realized aside from websites there are other means of communication.
"A lot of people think of social media as just Facebook and things like that, but it's really the way business and non-profits communicate soundly," said DuBose.
He majored in computer science and business, but says social media would have been an excellent choice. Seven years out, he's still hoping to get a boost from the new major.
"I really am excited abut Newberry College offering this," said DuBose. "I think it's really gonna give the students the skill set to step into this industry and companies like DuBose Web Group will be able to benefit by internships, part and full-time."
They hope is that the money and the future is already within their reach.
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