Major:
Journalism
Year Graduated:
1999
Hometown:
Edgewood, KY
Current City:
Newark, DE
Current Employer:
Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Delaware
Top played song on your playlist?:
Rubblebucket, "On the Ground"
Where has your CI degree taken you?:
I switched to Journalism from Psychology after I volunteered to start the news program at WRFL, just so I could learn the ropes of what I had signed up for. I had no idea that running to the station to read news headlines three times a day between classes, and taking classes about media effects would lead me to wonder, "why was that a major news story yesterday, but not today?" It fueled my curiosity about political communication, and that's my area of research now. I've also taught news writing for many years thanks to the excellent training I received while at UK.
What is your favorite thing about your job?:
I love inspiring students to get out and vote, to march, to protest, to boycott or buycott, to express themselves politically across the ideological spectrum. Because they are the largest generation with the loudest voice and must be heard.
What¹s the most valuable thing you learned in CI?:
I learned a lot about research from Dr. Ramona Rush, with whom I did an independent study in my senior year. She gave me advice, but also gave me the independence to make many of the research decisions on my own, which prepared me for graduate school and a career in academia. I'm forever indebted to her for sparking my academic curiosity.
What advice would you give to current CI students?:
Get out of your comfort zone. Take a class that isn't required, or is known to be super-challenging. Say "yes" to opportunities when they come along, because you never know what you can do. I never saw myself interviewing people like Joe Biden and John Kasich in front of hundreds of people but, because I said "yes" to directing a speaker series here at UD, I have done just that. I've met so many people, and have had so many interesting conversations because I said "yes" -- even as tentatively as that "yes" was! Be courageous.