World Communications Day: Student finds her digital vocation, inspired by mother

May 31 is World Communications Day. This date is an opportunity to reflect on the media’s importance in contemporary society. After all, it plays an essential role in disseminating information, shaping opinions and promoting dialogue between different stakeholders. On this day, it’s important to think about the impact of communication, recognizing the crucial role played by the people who dedicate their lives to inspiring and informing others. It is also worth highlighting the fundamental role of people who are a source of inspiration for decision-making processes within communications, whether involving social media, journalism, advertising or other means, as was the case with Bruna Veríssimo, a third-semester student at Fundação Getulio Vargas’ School of Communication, Media and Information (FGV ECMI), whose mother inspired her through her strength, charisma and communication skills. Bruna says that her mother, Mônica Veríssimo, has always been by her side and was enthusiastic when she decided to study communication at FGV. “She’s very communicative and charismatic. She knows how to persuade people and deal with life’s situations well. She loves writing long texts (without any grammatical errors), knows how to connect with people and has invaluable empathy,” Bruna adds. As well as supporting her daughter at all times and encouraging her with words of support to continue studying and persisting in her dream of university, Mônica, who didn’t go to university herself, has pushed her daughter to reach new heights and break new ground, especially in the area of digital communication. See the full interview with the student below. Who inspired you to study communications? My mother was my greatest inspiration to embark on a career in communication, especially in the digital field. She doesn’t have a university degree but she always pushed me to “think outside the box,” occupy spaces through education and explore new things. How did she do this? After teaching me how to speak, she was the best listener to my worries, questions and outbursts, ever since I was a child. She has always been my companion, and when I decided not to study law anymore, she supported me in my dream of studying communication at FGV. I remember the day I graduated from elementary school and I wanted to be the event’s presenter at the graduation ceremony. My mother sat on the front row, very excited for me. During Christmas plays, musical performances, seminars and debates, and when I shot videos, she’s always been my most loyal audience member. She’s very communicative and charismatic. She knows how to persuade people and deal with life’s situations well. She loves writing long texts (without any grammatical errors), knows how to connect with people and has invaluable empathy. What is your relationship with your mother like? We’re very close and we support one another. As a daughter, I ask her for advice and I turn to her both on happy days when I’m doing well and when I’m frustrated with my studies, especially because of the circumstances that distance brings with it. In this mother-daughter relationship, which also involves a lot of friendship, she also asks me for advice and opinions, and my mother has never limited me. I believe that she is, without a doubt, the person who most believes in my development in digital communication and whenever I write a new paper, she always shares my results on social media and praises my work among all my friends and relatives. Do you remember something she used to say to you? I often remember something she once said: “Daughter, you fulfill me in every possible way.” That means a lot to me. I also remember a conversation we had before I took the FGV entrance exam, after studying law for almost three years, before deciding it wasn’t right for me, even though I had planned to be a lawyer for years. It was just her and me in the living room of the old house we lived in. Sitting on a chair at the table, she told me that whatever choice I made, I would be a success. It wasn’t a particular course, but my willpower and dedication that would make me a winner. She always said that she would support me in whatever I wanted to be. For an entrance exam student, who still had a lot of things to study, hearing these words of support drove me to keep studying and persisting in my dream of studying communication at university. What are your motivations for doing this program? I want to bring the innovations I learn about at FGV ECMI to the new communications market, which is changing all the time, presenting new needs and becoming even more competitive. Today, for example, I’m involved in an introductory scientific research project looking into policies to ensure children’s safety on digital platforms. With every step I take, I can see gaps and shortcomings still present in communication in these environments. Our questions during the course make a difference and I’m sure they will have very positive effects on the future of communication, especially because of our sensitive way of looking at new technologies as part of solutions to our problems, and not just as facilitators of them. For example, we created a virtual environment inspired by the Yanomami region at the Innovation Cube laboratory, to promote discussion about environmental and social issues surrounding the indigenous people there. We also did some other projects in the classroom to understand the dynamics of our political representatives’ remarks on social networks, analyzing how they can affect power relations and digital sovereignty. There are many things that inspire me to believe in the potential of my academic education, mainly because I study theory and then see practical examples of the power that the science of communication, together with technology, can bring to society. To find out more about the School of Communication, Media and Information (FGV ECMI), visit its website. This article is part of the Inspiring Examples special series.