Hometown: Richmond, VA
Status: Senior
You can hear her before she enters the room; her loud and cheerful voice is going to help carry her through a successful career and has pioneered her journey through Mason. Her name is Chelsea Norman, and she’s a media criticism and production concentration with a minor in sustainability. Chelsea is involved with a lot of things both on and off campus. Her jobs and internship reflect the goals of her major and have helped craft a multi-faceted degree with a lot of experience. You might have heard Chelsea if you tuned in to WGMU lately. Her show that co-stars Tom Shaw, The Decades: An LGBTQ Experience, is in its 4th season and just recently went into the vlog stage. Chelsea notes that she loves taking experiences from her personal life as material for the show. Last year, she hosted the fall drag show on campus and also attends meetings with the LGBTQ resources.
Hand-in-hand with her minor, Chelsea is also a volunteer with the office of sustainability. She often knows the up-and-up of what’s happening on campus with the office and helps to promote events. In addition to creating her own content and volunteering, Chelsea also works two jobs and an internship. She works for Dominion Power and does sustainable projects through the company in addition to being a server at a nearby retirement community. She is also is interning for a second semester with the National Zoo where she helped kick off the Digital Animal Behavioral Lab that helps studying animals with technology (like the panda cams!). She loves being able to work with animals while developing her communication skills by working with peers and staff at the zoo. With everything going on in her life, Chelsea still finds time for herself. She loves crafting, including painting and making jewelry. Her most recent creation is a fantastic bracelet made out of antique buttons. “I don’t sell anything, no. I get a close attachment to things I make, because they take so much time. So at the end I always want to keep them,” said Norman. She also likes to read, watch movies and the “usual college responses” as Chelsea put it like going out and watching Netflix.
As graduation is approaching, Chelsea is weighing her options for the future. Her degree will provide her with a wide range of opportunities, but ultimately Chelsea says she wanted to end up in broadcast. With her bright personality and quick wit, I know she’ll be successful at it! You only need to talk to her for five minutes to notice that she’s extremely personable and can find common ground to talk about with just about anyone. When asked if she had a motto Chelsea said, “freedom, beauty, truth and love.” She’ll keep you laughing the whole time she’s talking, but always gives you a turn to crack a few jokes. Her presence is strong in any room and there’s no doubt she’ll go far, whatever medium she chooses in mass media.