Infographic created by Jonilda Francois using Canva
High school reunions are one of the highlights for many people to attend after graduation. It is one of those fun events where they can see their old high school friends, classmates, and crushes. ”I attended two high school reunions. I attended my 20 years and my 30 years. And I would say the 20 years reunion was much more attended, and there were more people … And I had a lot of fun,” said salesman Nielsen Porter.
Many people would not attend their high school reunion. They would wait after their first and second reunions due to life obligations. “I didn’t attend because I was in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy. The 2nd reunion I was traveling supporting my son. I would loved to have gone,” said UPS (United Parcel Service) representative Conya Dennis via email. Or is social media killing the high school reunion?
According to Pew Research, social media has helped people stay connected with family and friends by an additional 67% in 2011. Many people today believe digital platforms can help others to not meet in person but virtually.
Social media can help people get to know others by looking at their profiles. People can see individuals’ achievements or how their life has changed over the years. “I think social media is an ongoing class reunion,” said Porter.
There are some excellent benefits of using digital platforms. It will help people to stay informed about their community and spread awareness in their area. “I think that it is keeping us informed with each other’s lives for those who care to share,” said Dennis.
High school reunions were among the highlights for many people who wanted to see old friends they had once hung out with, people who had been known for their popularity, old crushes, or favorite teachers. Now that social media is helping people reconnect; it’s creating an issue for others not to socialize or not be willing to attend this event. According to the article “Is Social Media Use for Networking Positive or Negative? Offline Social Capital and Internet Addiction as Mediators for the Relationship Between Social Media Use and Mental Health,” “There is currently a lack of consensus in the literature about whether social media has a positive or negative effect on the wellbeing of its users. Some early research claimed the internet to be a negative force in people’s lives, stating that it was associated with reductions in a person’s social circle…”
How does a High School Reunion Start?
According to a local Hillsborough County High School representative, the class president for the graduating year would use a vendor to search for each individual and contact him or her to give advance notice of an upcoming reunion. Jessica Sawyer, the writer of The Death of High School Reunion, mentioned how her class president had not planned a 10-year meeting due to the president’s life obligations.
Popular Social Media Platforms
When Facebook was the most popular social media platform, most graduating classes in the late 2000s and early 2010s would create group chats exclusively to stay connected with their classmates. It was a continuous trend until Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat took over via the new generation of high school students. So, what are today’s popular social media platforms? According to Pew Research, Facebook and YouTube are the most popular digital platforms for adults. Surprisingly, 79% of people ages 18 and 49 use Facebook, while 68% of people between the ages of 50 and 64 use it. As for YouTube, 91% of young adults aged 18–29 use the digital video platform as 30–49 at 87% and 50–64 by 70%. “High school reunions are a dying tradition, made obsolete by the overwhelming presence of social media in our daily lives,” Sawyer stated.
Young Adult-High School Graduates
Due to social media, some event businesses are not able to get clients that want to plan their first high school reunion. “Probably not [attend] mostly because like not everyone I still talk to or… People I have, I can see them on Facebook…” Said Senior Accountant of Deloitte and 2012 High School Graduate Bernice Culler. According to event professionals at a local Hillsborough County venue called The Regent, believe that the budget of a high school reunion is a significant factor, and people do not want to donate or spend money for their graduating class. “The upcoming generation aren’t interested in that, and they think it’s old school,” said Jenn, The Event Coordinator from The Regent.
Event Professionals Discussed About High School Reunions and Social Media Filmed and Edited by Jonilda Francois
Where to Have a High School Reunion?
According to grouptravel.org, most of the time, high school reunions usually happens in July by 23% than having it in May at 4%. During the summertime, the weather is beautiful, and it is more fun with the ones attending with family. High school reunions are usually held at hotels, venues, school’s gymnasium or cafeteria. Hotels are better to plan for this event with room blocks included, and to help the attendees to find a place to crash without worrying to leave from all the excitement and fun from revisiting their favorite high school buddies.
Data Collected by Google, INEGI – Infographic created by Jonilda Francois using Google Maps
According to The Regent, event professionals studies the time when people graduate from high school based on the era, the social class, music, etc., to make sure the event is memorable. The Regent also mentioned how challenging and rewarding to see the atmosphere of the high school reunion makes everyone “go back to their younger years.”
Are Classmates still Attending?
As the first high school reunion approaches, sometimes a classmate will either passes away or has other circumstances of not attending the event. According to Karen Aho, the writer of High school reunion shocker: They’re dying off, there’s an average of three graduating classmates that passed away by the first reunion. Even though it will cause a frenzy for others to attend, social media can cause anxiety for people to not socialize in person than virtual. According to Sarah Fader, author of Social Media Obsession and Anxiety by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America,social media can cause people to feel a loss of interest during a conversation or fun activities; separate from what’s reality versus fantasy, and sometimes they will give an excuse of not wanting to talk in person, so they can continue to see what was posting or trending in their “social media world.”
High school reunions were a way for people to see and socialize with old friends, and to catch up on what they were up too in their separate lives. According to Elaine Ambrose, the author of 5 Reasons To Attend Your High School Reunion, suggested that going to a high school reunion will be a fun time to see people at a young age until they get older with stories to tell about their grandkids. But in most cases, people come to see if their classmates have changed over the years, stayed the same, have a nice career with family, or divorced.
A couple of high school reunions are happening around the Tampa Bay area. People start where they left off with their old classmates and friends after years of settling into their lives. Not having high school reunions or other events will cause people not to socialize. But they believe in chatting on their digital devices while taking selfies and proving to their classmates that they still got it.
Have you ever feel like you’re not a great writer, and people judge about your grammar? Don’t feel bad, because you’re not the only one that feels this way. Whether it’s run-off sentences, syntax, spelling, conjunctions, or whatever errors in writing, Grammarly is here to help!
The digital writing tool helps writers of detecting mistakes on word choice, punctuation, grammar, and more! Grammarly is also an app and can be download on any smart mobile and digital devices.
As today’s hip-hop female duo The City Girls will say, “It’s that season!” Yes, a season of upcoming wedding, graduation, birthday, and holiday events! But do you ever think of wanting a spectacular place for a memorable event? If you’re in the Tampa, Brandon, Riverview, Valrico, or other parts of the Hillsborough County area, why don’t you come and rent an event space at The Regent?
The Regent is an event venue and a satellite facility for Hillsborough Community College, Brandon Campus. The event venue has a 10,000 square foot ballroom that divides into 2 or 3 rooms, including a 5,000 square foot outdoor event space. With a courtyard and a covered terrace, it will help set the mood right for any hot outdoor events.
The Regent Video Filmed and Edited by: Jonilda Francois
“We have weddings; we have about 80 weddings a year; we have foundations and galas and stuff for fundraising. We have a lot of those. We do both chambers of commerce for the Riverview and Brandon areas. We have schools for proms and homecomings, all the way from Land o’ Lakes and Zephyrhills…” Said Shannon Keli, The Executive Director of The Regent.
The facility’s mission statement: “The Regent will meet the needs of the Greater Brandon community in Eastern Hillsborough County with a focus on artistic, civic, cultural, educational, historic, philanthropic, and social purposes, including classes, meetings, events, and performances. Beyond a place to house events, The Regent takes to heart its mission in becoming for the citizens of Greater Brandon a place for diverse interest to come together and build connections and a sense of civic pride. We welcome here friends and partners who believe that a strong civic, education, and cultural industry rests on the past and creates the future. May we never cease to remember, learn, and enlighten.”
The Regent Team all showing smiles and spirits at their facility. Photo by: Jonilda Francois
“We are flexible, with a ‘blank palette.’ We can work with anything, as a selling point,” said Keli.
To get more information about the facility or wanting to book your next event with The Regent, visit their website at www.experiencetheregent.com or call at 813-571-2494.
“My purpose was validated through my work. I was 100% fulfilled and never dreaded coming into the office. I was clearly in my zone – being able to combine working in the sexy, pop culture of entertainment while doing work that gave back to the community,” Butterfield Jones stated from her book “THE GIRLPRINT: The ultimate blueprint for girls to propel their dreams into action.”
Valeisha Butterfield Jones graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a degree in Political Science. After college, Butterfield Jones had a job offer as the Executive Assistant for the President of HBO Sports. “I was coordinating matches at Caesar’s Palace,” Butterfield Jones stated from her book.
Furthermore, she was an intern for Entrepreneur Mogul Russell Simmons, which led Butterfield Jones as the Executive Vice President of Rush Communications. As she continues her road of success, Butterfield Jones landed a volunteer job for then-Senator Barack Obama to assist in campaigning his run as the next 44th President of the United States. Butterfield Jones co-founded and is the current CEO of Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN), a non-profit organization “to spark change” and leadership in male-dominated industries in entertainment and media, and other businesses for women of color.
Nothing has stopped her there; Butterfield Jones was also the National Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Alzheimer’s Association. In 2009, Butterfield Jones had a change of a lifetime to work with the Obama Administration as the Deputy Director of Public Affairs and helped the former President with the re-election campaign as the National Youth Vote Director. “The position was a dream opportunity for me. I got to spend time engaging young people, promoting awareness of the political process…,” Butterfield Jones stated from her book.
The marketing and communications strategist and North Carolina native had made many career moves that helped herself to be in the top of the game of many industries. Nothing is impossible for the mother of two. “Let your day job finance your passion,” quoted by Butterfield Jones.
An Infographic created by Jonilda Francois using Canva
Social media is an everyday thing in people lives. There are more than 65 social media platforms known demand. According to Marketing Tech, an average person will have 7.6 accounts with a 98% chance of a person using only 1 social media platform. That will be the norm for someone that has many social media accounts. So, ever wonder how social media started?
In 550 B.C., letters were invented. As of today, the United States Postal Service (USPS) delivers messages to people that are directly basis on the address. According to Drew Hendricks, writer of “Complete History of Social Media: Then And Now,” he stated, “In 1772, the telegraph was invented. This allowed messages to be delivered over a long distance far faster than a horse and rider could carry them. Although telegraph messages were short, they were a revolutionary way to convey news and information.”
Back then, inventors were trying their hardest to create something useful and meaningful in humanity to make a reasonable and convenient way for people. There has been other forms of communications before social media exist in the late 90’s, and early and mid-2000’s.
Radio and telephone were discovered in the 1890’s. It was the start of communication to people from a far distance. As goes for computers, those weren’t invented until 1822 by Charles Babbage, an English Mathematician. According to Kim Ann Zimmerman, the writer of History of Computers: A Brief Timeline, Babbage wanted to make a stream calculate table that can make numbers.
In the 1940’s, the internet was created for computers to get connections and was discovered by engineers and scientists. It’s unbelievable that it took several inventors to make something “out of this worldwide web.”
The first social media that was created was Six Degrees. It was founded in 1997, to have users to upload a picture of themselves and started connecting with other users as friends, according to Hendricks. This had led for blogging to exists in the late 90’s. This increased many computer users at the time, to connect with people.
In the 2000’s, Myspace was the most popular social media site, until Facebook had beat the odds of the “competition.” The social media platform was only for Harvard college students until it got popular and more recognized on the web. It was founded in 2004. Furthermore, YouTube was founded in 2005 as a social media site to upload and share videos. And Twitter was founded in 2006 as a “small” blogging and messaging (known as tweets) platform to connect with many users. More social media accounts continue to grow in the late 2000’s and into the 2010’s.
Karen Civil is one of today’s successful entrepreneurs. The weezythanxyou blog she helped create for American Rapper Lil Wayne, to connect with his fans while he was in jail back in 2009, caught much attention that boosted her career.
The Haitian-American trailblazer is the owner of KarenCivil.com and LiveCivil.com, a Digital Marketer, PR (Public Relations), Social Networker, Author, and Philanthropist that takes waves on any creative and influential ways in business, entertainment, and in politics.
Entrepreneur Karen Civil and Jonilda Francois at the Woman Up and Man Up’s Talk Civil Conference on April 8, 2018; Credited by: Jonilda Francois
In the start of her career, Civil started in Hot 97 as an intern for DJ Funkmaster in 2002. Throughout her years in the digital marketing industry, she has helped artists like Nicki Minaj, Drake, the late Nipsey Hussle and Mac Miller, and few others.
Civil was a Digital Marketing Manager for Beats by Dre. She paved the way to brand the cool wireless headphones and targeted customers with the help of influencers like artists Big Sean, Justin Bieber, and Lady Gaga. And athletes like Lebron James and Serena Williams.
According to Essence, Civil stated, “… I left my hometown of Elizabeth, NJ to become the Social Media Manager for Beats by Dre in Los Angeles. I continued to grow my site, which had a male-dominated audience. I decided I was ready to launch my lifestyle and beauty site, LiveCivil.com. I wanted to create content that women could enjoy, too. With LiveCivil.com, we did a ground-breaking in Haiti for a playground, launched a women’s empowerment tour and partnered with Carol’s Daughter and CoverGirl.”
As a philanthropist, Civil has her Live Civil Computer Lab, a playground, and gave 500 children books in Haiti. She also has done several other community projects for her hometown.
“Even as a child, my parents have instilled the importance of giving back, especially to the community that has given to you. Haiti gave me my family and heritage, so this playground is only my first way of giving back to Haiti,” said Civil on Forbes.
In 2016, Civil was part of Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaign. She helped the former presidential candidate to reach young people to vote. This was Civil way of getting millennials to become active voters.
Civil has done tremendous things to uplift the social media world. With her terrific work, why wouldn’t anyone want to follow Civil on her next adventure of success?
As many people are getting ready for their 10, 20, or maybe 30 years high school reunion, there has been a shift where people may or may not attend. The social media platforms have captivated people globally to either catch up with family and friends virtually without making travel arrangements. High school reunions are starting to be nonexist (slowly) because of social media.
High school reunions are for people that graduated, and revisiting the old friends and classmates that once were involved with their studies, hung out with in the hallways or during lunchtime, and seeing their old crushes. Most of the time, high school reunions are either at a hotel, a space venue, or another place to host these events.
According to Eric Benac, an author of eHow: “What is the Purpose of a Class Reunion?”, high school reunions are a time to show old classmates and friends what the person have accomplished over the years, and not an ordinary individual that they once were. Furthermore, Benac mentions how high school reunions does bring people to revisit their hometown. It does bring an individual back to their “memory lane”of their childhood, and the hangouts that were popular at the time when they were teenagers. As well as, seeing others that they left behind that were part of their lives before going off to college or starting a new life somewhere else.
Social media has changed the expectations of high school reunions. It has taken away the perspective of how others would react when they haven’t seen someone for over a decade or so, and how they changed as people in today’s society.
Before social media started to take over, there was a way of meeting and seeing new and old faces. Whereas being “social” is talking to others about anything in person. Long before Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were invented, there were other forms of communication to people. For instance, making phone calls or writing letters to friends and family was a popular way to get in touch with someone.
According to Pew Research, adults make up 73% of using social media platforms that shares videos across their accounts. From Facebook to YouTube, those are among the social media platforms for adults to communicate with one another.
With social media on the rise of helping people to reconnect, is there still a reason to have high school reunions or not?
As of today, there has been more cases of cancers this year. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the worst leading disease than urinary bladder cancer for both men and women around 271,270 cases. “I had a large mass on my left breast. I went to my primary care, and they sent me to St. Joseph Hospital-South Breast Department. Where they performed an ultrasound on my breast first, then a mammogram and saw cancer cells. Later performed a biopsy and it came back positive and staged 4,” said Kayla Cyrus, a local Florida resident on the road of recovering breast cancer, via email.
Data Collected by Google, INEGI; Infographic created by Jonilda Francois using Google Maps
Cancers are cells that multiply without “calming” the primary cells. It goes through your lungs, blood, and many places in your body.
According to Verywell Health, exercising, eating healthy meals, and knowing certain areas that you’re exposing to (environment, products, and chemicals) can help you prevent cancer. “Don’t smoke…Follow a healthy (organic) diet. Follow up your providers… Go to your yearly appointments,” said Karen Batista, RN, BSN, OCN from Tampa General Hospital Cancer Center.
“Do not let it consume you. Live your life, cancer is just one chapter and part of your life, it’s not who YOU are! You WILL get through it!” Said Cyrus.
Jonilda Francois 