Naomi Cichanowicz
Creative Media Production
From Peconic, New York
My OU legacy is proof that no matter where you are from, no matter your story or path, OU is a place that will celebrate and encourage you no matter what. That intentionality is why I came to OU. As a transfer student, I didn’t choose OU first. Now, I choose it every single day.
As one of the newest members of the OU Alumni Family, Naomi Cichanowicz’s OU story began several states away in South Carolina, where she attended another university closer to her home and family in Peconic, New York.
What once seemed like the right choice for the creative media production major soon felt like the wrong decision. Within Naomi’s first month on campus, she knew something was missing — that something being the University of Oklahoma.
“I remember looking at OU’s transfer portal while I was at my other school,” Naomi said. “Before the first semester ended, I told my roommates I would be transferring.”
There wasn’t anything wrong with her former college. According to her, it was beautiful, a perfect distance from home, and full of good people. But, in her junior year of high school, she stumbled across a YouTube video from a current OU student sharing all the reasons she loved OU.
The video prompted Naomi to schedule a virtual tour with her mom; both of them were impressed. Flights were booked, and soon, both of them were in Norman, Oklahoma, touring campus in person.
“That’s when every idea I had of where I wanted to go went out the window,” Naomi said.
That feeling stuck with her until she couldn’t deny it. She wanted to grow radically in her passions and found there was no better place to do just that than OU and the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
“I’m passionate about television, movies, and marketing, so I knew that I belonged at Gaylord, which is ranked as the no. 1 Media Program in the Nation,” Naomi said.
After transferring, Naomi didn’t wait to dive into campus life. She rushed as a sophomore, where she found sisterhood with the Delta Gamma sorority, and she chose to live her first year in the residence halls.
“It was almost like I had a second freshman year,” Naomi said. “I was so worried that I’d be the odd one out as a transfer, but there were so many things to say yes to and I did. I tried new things and this enhanced my experience so much.”
She found pockets of community to belong to, many with transfer students that shared her same experience.
“There are so many transfer students here,” Naomi said. “Something this university understands is that college isn’t linear for everyone. So many of us are at different stages of our lives and OU does a great job of ensuring everyone feels seen.”
While here, Naomi knew that she wanted to grow her skills when it came to narrative filmmaking. With Greenlight Creative Productions, a practicum that gives Gaylord students hands-on, on-set experience with production, she worked as a first assistant camera for a short film before taking leadership positions in two films written by her fellow classmates.
I sharpened my cinematography skills, my technical proficiency in Adobe programs advanced, and I learned more about teamwork and the importance of it,” Naomi said.
Naomi’s OU story reached past state lines when she traveled abroad in Europe. It was the second time she had ever been outside of the country and a summer she will never forget.
“Hiking the Dolomites in northern Italy, visiting Vatican City, riding on a boat in Cinque Terre, and all the in-between made the experience surreal,” Naomi said. “I seriously talk about my study abroad experience once a week.”
As she looks to what next, Naomi will be moving to Dallas, Texas, where she will serve as a marketing and operations coordinator for the Dallas-based architecture firm Maestri.
“I’ll be working on the most beautiful structures in Dallas with the founder of Maestri, Eddie Maestri, who is an inspiring architect,” Naomi said.
Her professors and friends were there every step of the way, encouraging her throughout the job search until she finally got the job.
“OU is special,” Naomi said. “Not because of the beautiful architecture, the research programs, or the facilities, but because the OU Family has been the most pivotal part of my experience. So many were willing to help and extend a hand without asking for anything in return. I can tell you, everything I experienced while at OU was worth it.”
