Communication Connection

SPRING 2016 | VOLUME IV 1

GRADUATE PROGRAM ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

SPRING 2016 | VOLUME IV | 2 COMMUNICATION CONNECTION

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EDITOR, MAIN CONTRIBUTOR, AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY: EMILY E. CRAWFORD

SPECIAL THANKS TO BETH BOOKER, ROBERT BURNS PHOTOGRAPHY, JOE LAMIA AND RYAN LAZOWY FOR CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHS

LETTER FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Greetings from UNC Charlotte’s graduate program in Communication Studies! I am Dr. Jonathan Crane, the interim Graduate Program Director for the 2015-2016 academic year. It is our genuine pleasure to share and celebrate the achievements of our graduate students, graduate faculty and stellar alumni. We take great pride in the notable community we have built and sustained since the graduate program was established 16 years ago.

What we achieve on campus and in the wider world is an amazing testament to the promising students we attract and the able scholars and gifted professionals we graduate. We are a remarkable family. We hope you enjoy these stories of what our best and brightest have accomplished over the past year. More importantly, we hope you take deep pride in your own graduate experience at UNCC and continue to play a vital role in the life of our alumni community.


Brittany Pailthorpe graduated from the UNCC Communication Studies MA program in the Spring of 2015. As an undergraduate she studied writing, rhetoric and English, and continued on as a post-grad adding to everything she had learned through a communication studies lens. Brittany joined our program with an interest in critiquing professional wrestling but found further interest in issues of public memory, authenticity, hyper mediation and technology and studied these issues through media via her favorite method: Rhetorical Criticism. Brittany’s thesis, titled Reality Collapses,“Real or Not Real?”: The Theoretical Consequences of Compromised Authenticity in Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay” is an incomparable portrait of how complex the world is for hers and younger generations. Brittany examines the intricate web of identity, memory, and morality in Collins’ final novel Mockingjay, and what those three broad subjects communicate about authenticity. Brittany has returned to New England and is working as the Administrative Coordinator at Brown University Center for Statistical Sciences. Brittany recently answered questions about how her graduate experience at UNCC has influenced her current success.

Can you describe your career path following your recent graduation from UNC Charlotte? Right after graduating last May, I had a summer internship working on the communications team for the Mayor of Providence, R.I. Jorge Elorza. More than a great opportunity, it was a chance for me to breathe, learn, and look for a job that I knew I would enjoy. I began working for Brown University in September, as an Administrative Coordinator for the Center for Statistical Sciences. Today my main jobs include administrative support for the senior faculty, event planning, and communications work. I could not have asked for a more supportive work environment with people that truly want me to apply and grow my skills. How did the program at UNC Charlotte prepare you for your current position? The program taught me to be ambitious and constantly think about why skills like research, teaching, and just having a degree in our field, prepares you for almost any career. Everything I did as a graduate student applies to life, but UNC Charlotte taught me that your career is a living and breathing thing. Like our generalist program, to an extent, I have the freedom to shape how I perform at my job and how I take criticism. It is incredibly stressful when people ask “what are you going to do after graduation?” and our program taught me that not knowing is okay as long as you work hard. In general, what about our MA program was most notable for you? The relationships and support I received from my cohort, my professors, my students, my friends, my family and my boyfriend. What is most notable is different for everyone, but it always gets named at your hooding. That was a special night. Do you have any tips for current graduate students? My first tip is undoubtedly, to take care of yourself when you’re completing your program. Eat well, sleep, be active, and carve out time to stop thinking about your complex and brilliant arguments, and just watch a little Netflix. My second is to remember that you’re learning. Sometimes you’ll want to scream, feeling the fire beneath your feet, and when that happens, talk to your professors and ask for help. Talk to your cohort, or council your students, and you’ll know you aren’t alone. Do you have any tips for prospective students? Deciding you want to go to graduate school, the admissions process, and figuring out how you are going to pay for it, is a challenge. It doesn’t have to be too specific, but have a solid idea of what you wish to study and why you want to study it. Do your research, you’ll be doing a lot of it, and find those whose work inspires you. The great thing about UNC Charlotte is that your focus may very well change as you move through the program, and as a niner you have a rare freedom to follow your curiosities and study topics that never leave you bored. Why did you choose UNC Charlotte for your MA program? All the time people ask me at home in Rhode Island, ‘why Charlotte?’ Three very specific reasons. The first, it is a generalist program which would allow me to study what my heart told me to. Secondly, it was the only program that offered me both a teaching and research assistantship. And lastly, it was love at first sight.

ALUMNI UPDATES

PhotocourtesyofBri/anyPailthorpe


JoeLamiaandhiswifeAmywiththeirnewson,Joey.PhotocourtesyofJoeLamia

Congratulations to new alumni Jade Myers who was accepted with a fully funded teaching assistantship to the University of New Mexico in Fall 2016. She is one of 5 students accepted to this highly competitive and prestigious program.

Congratulations Jade!

ALUMNI UPDATES

Not only did Beth Booker successfully complete her MA program, serving as a Graduate Assistant and taking full-time credit hours, she also gave birth to Calvin Jeffrey Booker on August 31, 2016. Calvin has attended many graduate events and has been a ray of light in our department. Congratulations Booker family!

The Lamia family also welcomed a beautiful, healthy baby boy, Joseph (Joey) Wayne Lamia who was born on his dad’s birthday, February 21st, 2016. Joe successfully defended his comprehensive exams just in time to welcome his son and spend some quality time with his family. Joe will be heading to South Korea for his next assignment as a Captain in the U.S. Army and we wish him all the best! Congratulations Amy and Joe!

A huge congratulations goes out to the Booker family and the Lamia family who both welcomed beautiful sons to their families during this 2015-2016 academic year.

BrandonandBethBookerwiththeirnewson,Calvin.PhotocourtesyofBethBooker

Recent Alum Alicia Emmons had the opportunity to study abroad during her time at UNCC in our graduate program. Grad student Emily Crawford caught up with Alicia to ask her about her experience. “I have always wanted to study abroad and never had the opportunity as an undergraduate student I had my eye on this program even before getting accepted into the communication studies graduate program at UNCC. Dr. Stokes made our transition into the program much easier by greeting us at the airport, showing us around London, checking in on us, allowing the graduate students to pick independent projects that matched our interests, and giving us the freedom and confidence to explore London on our down time. Spending a month in London was an experience that I will never forget.“ Alicia’s directed project was inspired by this trip and she was able to contribute her project to the Embassy in London.


FACULTY UPDATES

Jason Edward Black is a Professor of Communication Studies, who will be joining us August 1 as our new Chair of the department. Jason is a highly regarded rhetorical scholar whose work focuses on the discourse of marginalized populations.

Dr. Richard Leeman, Interim Department Chair

He has authored or co-authored three books: American Indians and the Rhetoric of Removal & Allotment (University Press of Mississippi, 2015); An Archive of Hope: Harvey Milk’s Selected Speeches and Writings (University of California Press, 2013, with Charles E. Morris III); and Arguments about Animal Ethics (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010, with Greg Goodale). Dr. Black has received numerous awards for his scholarship and teaching, including the 2015 Gender Studies Scholar of the Year Award from the Southern States Communication Association (SSCA), the Janice Hocker Rushing Earl Career Scholarship Award from SSCA, the Inspire Integrity Award, and the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award from the University of Alabama Alumni Association. At Alabama he also served as the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Student Services in the College of Communication & Information Sciences. Jason is a longtime member of the Carolinas Communication Association, an avid NASCAR fan, and has published a rhetorical analysis of the Drive-By Truckers.

WELCOME DR. BLACK!

Dr. Dan Grano offered a perfectly timed presentation as the inaugural lecturer for a new speaker series at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art on Superbowl Friday, February 5, 2016. Dr. Grano’s talk titled Almost Perfect? The Panthers 2015 Season and the Cultural Landscape of the NFL tackled topics surrounding the Panthers nearly flawless season, including the NFL’s inclination to retell its history in mythic terms, the history of “the dab” and the potential for Cam Newton and Russell Wilson to become the “new prototype” for a championship rivalry arguably held now by Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Dr. Grano has been hard at work, hosting the International Association for Communication and Sport Conference in Spring 2015, publishing several book chapters and journal articles on the NFL, communication and sport and working on a forthcoming book on the topic of sports, religion and politics. When asked about his book Grano responded “Most sport culture studies treat ‘religion’ as a source of ideological comfort, but my book is a little different as I see religious ideals as sources of conflict and potential social change in sport”. Dr. Grano’s book has a tentative release date in Fall 2016 with Temple University Press.


FALL COLLOQUIUM

The Communication Studies Graduate Student Association (CSGSA) invited prestigious scholars Dr. Carole Blair and Dr. William Balthrop from UNC Chapel Hill to speak on their research and scholarly experiences with our Communication Studies MA students. Dr. Blair and Dr. Balthrop’s research specialties include contemporary rhetorical theory and criticism in understanding visual and material phenomena and the intersection of rhetorical theory and cultural practices. Dr. Balthrop and Dr. Blair conducted a writing workshop with graduate students and attended Dr. Grano’s graduate level Rhetorical Criticism class for a lively discussion with students. Myasia Burns, President of CSGSA and recent UNCC alumnus played an essential role in coordinating the colloquium. We caught up with Myasia to ask about her experience coordinating and attending this successful event. “I was really pleased with the Fall Colloquium. With Dr. Grano's help, the event went off without a hitch and Drs. Blair and Balthrop were so knowledgeable about all things rhetoric. I'm glad they came and shared their valuable experience with our department.”

–Myasia Burns

As part of the Fall Colloquium this year, CSGSA welcomed a panel of UNCC Graduate Faculty to impart words of wisdom for graduate students. The panel included Drs. Crane, Grano, Scott, Plotnick and Dr. Patrick Madsen from the UNCC Career Center to discuss their experiences as graduate students, and what their professional and academic journeys entailed. The panel gave advice and shared some laughs with soon-to-be alumni. The graduate students were extremely appreciative as their prepared for their post-grad journeys.

AlexKello,AliciaEmmonsandJadeMyers

In the summer of 2015, recent alumnus Joe Lamia worked with the United Service Organization of North Carolina (USO) as part of his internship requirement as an active duty Captain in the United States Army. Joe was able to volunteer in Charlotte and the surrounding areas at events such as the Coca-Cola 600, Panthers Day, Support Our Troops fundraisers, and Coffee Chats with service members. Joe conducted an ethnography of his summer experience and presented his findings to our MA students and graduate faculty. Joe describes his experience as being incredibly rewarding and eye-opening. Nice work, Joe!


CONFERENCE RECAP

The annual Carolina’s Communication Association Conference was hit hard with major flooding due to Hurricane Joaquin in Charleston, South Carolina, but that did not deter the Communication Studies Department from making headlines. Before the city was closed off, faculty members Dr. Richard Leeman and Dr. Dan Grano presented papers on the panel titled “The Rhetoric of the Charleston Shootings”. Dr. Leeman also presented on the panel titled “G.I.F.T.S.: Great Ideas for Teaching Speech” and Senior Lecturer and Undergraduate Coordinator Carol Leeman was awarded the esteemed Betty Jo Welch Award for her continuing and outstanding service to the CCA organization. Communication Studies MA student Alex Kello was featured as a finalist for the Jarrard Graduate Paper Award for his paper “Violence, the Evil Other, and Mediated Terror: Waging War Rhetorically” but was unable to present his paper due to the Charleston shut down.

“Alex Kello continues the tradition of Communication Studies graduate students making a strong showing at CCA. Earning recognition as a Jarrard Graduate Paper finalist is no easy feat. Submissions are competitive and Mr. Kello is to be congratulated for doing fine scholarly work early in his career. Thanks to the performance of students like Alex at regional and national conferences, our peers routinely recognize the caliber our graduate students and the quality of education provided by our Graduate faculty.” -Dr. Jon Crane

MA student and new alumnus Nicole Heschong, received the prestigious award of top paper at the National Communication Association Conference in Las Vegas, NV in November, 2015. Nicole’s paper Bearing Witness: Pet Obituaries as Spiritual Communication was selected as top paper after being presented alongside competitively selected papers in a panel titled Spirituality Permeates in Various Contexts. “I am so proud of Nicole for winning the top student paper at NCA this past November. This is quite an honor for a graduate student, and one that is greatly deserved. Nicole wrote this paper in my End of Life class, so I am well aware of the depth of intelligent thought and quality of writing that went into the paper. Nicole is a joy to have in class and in the program. She is a very good writer and intellectual scholar, as well as being a nice, warm, and compassionate person. She also has an awesome sense of humor.” - Dr. Christine Davis PhotocourtesyofNicoleHeschong

The Graduate School hosted the 16th annual Graduate Research Symposium featuring some of the top graduate papers across UNC Charlotte. Communication Studies M.A. students represented the department well. Emily Crawford presented her paper ‘Glamourizing Terror’: The Selfie as Image Vernacular on the cover of Rolling Stone, Myasia Burns presented a portion of her thesis analyzing HBO’s Oz and televised violence and Beth Booker presented a poster on her paper titled Unnecessary Roughness: How Viral Video Circulation Functioned as Proof Within the Ray Rice Case. Jade Myers was also slated to present her paper (Re)Claiming Black Lives: An Analysis of #BlackLives Matter. Our graduate students received impressive feedback from students and faculty across disciplines.


CONFERENCE RECAP

UNC Charlotte MA students were well represented at the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender Conference (OSCLG) in October, 2015 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Jade Myers presented her paper Intersectionality Matters: Rhetorical Strategies of Inclusivity in the #BlackLivesMatter Movement.

Jade also presented a co-authored paper with MA student Emma Butterworth The Whiteness of It All: Blurring the Lines of Color and Gender in Popular Press. UNC Charlotte faculty members Dr. Margaret M. Quinlan and Bethany Johnson also presented papers at the conference. When asked about her first conference experience as a graduate student, Emma responded: “OSCLG was a great experience. It was small enough that making connections was easy while still incorporating scholars from all over the country interested in gender studies. It was a great and worthwhile experience.”

RecentalumnusJaclynMarshwithJadeMyers,BethanyJohnsonandhernewbaby,Dr.MaggieQuinlanandEmmaBu/erworth

The UNC Charlotte Communication Studies Department was extremely well represented at the Southern States Communication Association Conference in Austin, TX this year. Graduate student Beth Booker successfully presented a portion of her paper on the relationship between the NFL and the No More campaign following the release of the Ray Rice domestic violence videos. Nicole Heschong presented her paper titled Matthew Arnold: Father of Zombies, and Emily Crawford presented two papers, an analysis of the media coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings and a coauthored paper with former Communication Studies faculty member Dr. Jillian Tullis titled Selfies at Funerals: Complicated Performance of Grief. Recent alum Brittany Pailthorpe also presented two of her papers that she completed during her time at UNCC. Faculty members were also well represented as Dr. Dan Grano, Dr. Rich Leeman, Dr. Ashli Stokes, Dr. Christine Davis, and Dr. Jon Crane all successfully participated on panels. The conference was a rousing success and our department was a vital part of that accomplishment.

This was my second time attending SSCA and my first time presenting at an academic conference. The environment at SSCA is professional, but comfortable and faculty and scholars are extremely welcoming to newcomers. My experience overall was rewarding and I loved exploring Austin and trying all the amazing food on my downtime. - Emily Crawford

NewalumniEmilyCrawfordandBethBooker


COMMUNICATION STUDIES SPRING CELEBRATION

GradStudentsMyasiaBurnsandAlexKellowithDr.Dubrofsky

The Communication Studies Graduate Student Association planned an executed an exciting Spring Colloquium featuring Dr. Rachel Dubrofksy from the University of South Florida. Dr. Dubrofsky specializes in scholarship relating to critical/cultural studies, media studies, gender, race, digital media, reality TV and surveillance. Dr. Dubrofsky’s scholarship resonated not only with the graduate students in our program, but with undergraduate students as well resulting in a high turnout during her talk on April 28th. Dr. Dubrofsky’s seminar titled Feminist Interventions in Surveillance Studies: Why Kim Kardashian and Twitter Matter was a reflection on portions of a co-authored book and tackled topics such as race, feminism and the way that females such as Kim Kardashian and Miley Cyrus are talked about in media publications, specifically in terms of their bodies. Dr. Dubrofsky also sat with graduate students to discuss social and cultural issues related to television, and also to pass on some words of wisdom about life after graduate school.

Dr.DubrofskywasascholarthatIhadbeencrushingonthroughoutmygraduateexperienceintermsofherscholarshipandtheissuesthatshetacklesinherwork.Itwasanhonortomeetherandhearherspeakaboutsomeofthethingsthatinspirehertocreategoodscholarshipandtokeepcri;quingthediscoursesurroundingfemalesintelevisionandprintmedia.Itwasinteres;ngtoseeundergraduatestudentsaswellasgraduatestudentsengagingwithDr.Dubrofskyandofferinginteres;ngandwellthoughtouttopicsofdiscussion.

-EmilyCrawford

There was a large turnout at the on campus screening of the film “Creative Abundance,” a documentary film that is a part of a regional Emmy-award winning series, “The Courage of Creativity”. Co-producer Dr. Margaret Quinlan said the film is intended to “inspire myself and others to think about ways of fostering artful encounters to serve and empower people with episodic or chronic health conditions.” The film looks at creative services in place for individuals with developmental disabilities and brings to light some of the incredible things that can be accomplished through the arts. Following the screening, Dr. Jon Crane said, “We had a great in-class discussion about the Frankfurt School on culture after the screening of ‘Creative Abundance.’ The film also gave me some perfect examples for thinking about popular culture in terms of experience, agency and community.”


Communica)onStudiesSpringCelebra)on

To end the Communication Studies Spring Celebration with a bang, the department celebrated the year’s successes at the annual Communication Studies Awards Night and Graduate Program Hooding Ceremony. The celebration was held in the Lucas Room of the Bonnie E. Cone Center and featured some of the department’s top undergraduates in addition to the faculty and graduate students. Faculty including Craig Paddock, Ashli Stokes, Tim Horne and Staci Kuntzman were awarded for their extended years of service and dedication to the Communication Studies Department and we are so proud to have them in our academic family. Awards were also given to undergraduate students for scholarships, outstanding research, Lambda Pi Eta inductees and Honor student recognition.

Dr. Jonathan Crane, the Interim Grad Program Director shared successes and some laughs as he introduced nine of our graduate students to be hooded by their capstone committee chairs. Debra Basilik, Elizabeth Booker, Myasia Burns, Emily Crawford, Alicia Emmons, Joe Lamia, Jade Myers, Nicole Heschong and Brittany Wilson all received their hoods and were celebrated by the department. The fun and exciting event was planned entirely by Shawn Ferrell, an undergraduate student working as an intern for the department and it was a rousing success.

RobertBurnsPhotography

Graduate students showcased their research at a poster session and research fair on April

19, 2016. The session was open to all students, faculty and community members to

view the projects and speak with the graduate students about their projects. Emily

Crawford, Beth Booker, Myasia Burns, Alicia Emmons, Jade Myers, Emma

Butterworth, Alex Richardson, Corey Kelly, Brittany Wilson and Lizzie Ballard all

presented their work and represented the department well.


#104 Joseph Lamia: Captain Joe Lamia (U.S. Army) is our first active duty officer to have enrolled in our M.A. program. He currently serves in the Army Tank Corps, and is applying to work in the Public Affairs office. As part of his program, he was a summer intern with the President and COO of the North Carolina USO, helping to promote support services for active duty personnel and their families. Captain Lamia and his wife also welcomed their first child, Joey, into their family this February. Joe’s primary research interest is in crisis communication, which is sure to come in handy as a new father. #105 Debra Basilik: Debra Basalik earned her MA in Communication Studies while concurrently earning her Ph.D. in Health Psychology. After taking several graduate courses in Communication Studies as Health Psychology electives, Debra decided to take the remaining classes necessary to obtain her MA. Debra’s research interests are in mental health literacy, health disparities, and caregiving of a child with autism. She is equally highly skilled in quantitative and qualitative research. While in the Communication Studies program, Debra applied her statistical skills to assist Drs. Davis and Stokes with two quantitative projects related to mental health literacy. She also wrote several evocative and beautiful narratives related to family caregiving. Debra has been TA-extraordinaire for Sayde Brais’s Research Methods courses. Her short-term plans are to complete her dissertation for the Health Psychology doctorate program, titled “Social Construction of meaning and identity among parents of children with emotional and behavioral disorders.”

#106 Nicole Heschong. Nicole is an extremely talented and hardworking individual. In addition to working full-time as a Senior HR Communication Consultant at Carolinas Healthcare System, she has also been recognized with an Outstanding Student paper award at NCA and presented her work at SSCA. Nicole has also has been a featured poster presenter at the 2014 International Communication Association Conference and a finalist for the 2013 Jarrard Graduate Paper Award at Carolinas Communication Association Conference. Nicole successfully defended her comprehensive exams under the direction of Dr. Crane.

#107 Brittany Wilson. Brittany has been a fantastic, responsive, and dedicated student and advisee to Dr. Stokes. To be able to convince your employer to change its mission statement through your directed project findings is no small feat! Brittany felt challenged and nurtured throughout her time in our MA program and will miss her cohort, relating everything in class to Beyoncé, and researching or writing all day with her dog Barley. Brittany worked tirelessly to complete her degree while also pursuing an internship with a non-profit organization in Charlotte and will graduate with a full time job doing fundraising and recruitment for this organization in Baltimore, Maryland. Brittany also plans to pursue a part-time teaching position in the future as well. #108 Jade Myers: Jade’s primary research goal is to explore and critique power structures that affect the health of marginal communities. In this pursuit, she has worked with Professor Bethany Johnson and Dr. Quinlan on the history of Twilight Sleep and women’s infertility. She has also worked with Dr. Quinlan on the regional Emmy winning series, Courage of Creativity. Jade is preparing to move across the country for a PhD program at the University of New Mexico with a fully funded teaching assistantship. She is one of 5 students accepted to this highly competitive and prestigious program. Jade’s commitment to social movements is such that she broke her arm at the recent Black Lives Matter lecture and managed to take her comps the next day with a newly broken arm.

MeettheNewAlumni

PhotoscourtesyofBethBookerandRobertBurnsPhotography


#109 Beth Booker: Beth’s work focuses on the Ray Rice domestic violence videos from the 2014-2015 NFL season and her thesis examines viral videos and how their circulation patterns produce meaning. Beth has successfully defended her thesis under the direction of Dr. Dan Grano with Drs Stokes and Crane also serving on her thesis committee. Throughout her graduate experience, Beth has presented her work at numerous sites including SSCA and the Graduate Research Symposium and has been a stellar TA for Rhetorical Theory and Communication Theory. Beth hopes to work in the Charlotte area upon graduation and is planning to pursue her PhD in the future. Not only did Beth successfully complete her Master’s degree, she did so while carrying and welcoming her beautiful son Calvin with her husband Brandon. If there’s anything that Beth loves more than viral videos and critiquing the NFL, it’s her beautiful family. #110 Myasia Burns: As president of the Communication Studies Graduate Student Association, Myasia has been incredible in coordinating Fall and Spring colloquiums featuring prominent scholars in Communication Studies and has been an asset for the Communication Department as a whole. Alongside her duties in the Communication Studies Department, Myasia also served as a Graduate Life Fellow where she offered guidance and promoted engagements through first-hand experience, peer mentorship and graduate student events. Myasia’s thesis examines representations of violence in serial television drama and she has successfully defended her project under the direction of Dr. Rachel Plotnick with Drs Jon Crane and Dan Grano also serving on her committee. Myasia aspires to utilize her skills and work as a digital media specialist in industry. #111 Emily Crawford: Emily is singlehandedly responsible for most of our undergraduates earning their BA as she has been a TA for Intro to Media, Communication Theory and Research Methods alongside her other duties as the administrative factotum for the graduate program. She has presented her research at SSCA and the Graduate Research Symposium and her thesis examines the rhetoric of visual imagery and how it has shaped the meaning of the Boston Marathon bombing. Emily successfully defended her thesis under the direction of Dr. Rachel Plotnick with Drs Dan Grano and Jon Crane also serving on her thesis committee. Emily aspires to work in the Charlotte or Boston areas following graduation and will continue to profess her undying love for the New England Patriots regardless of where she ends up. #112 Alicia Emmons: Alicia's strength is her ability to analyze an issue from all sides. She does not hesitate to dive deeply and methodically into research to figure out the "hows" and "whys" of difficult topics. Alicia shows a great deal of tenacity and thoughtfulness as a student and personally. She applies these characteristics to her primary interests in public relations and media, and she has completed a fascinating master's project on gun culture and gun control cross-culturally from America to the UK in order to provide recommendations to the embassy in London. Alicia's ability to combine her scholarly research interests with practical outputs that can benefit organizations like the embassy demonstrate that she has a promising career ahead of her after her time at UNCC. Alicia successfully defended her directed project under the direction of Dr. Rachel Plotnick with Drs Ashli Stokes and Dan Grano serving on her committee.

CONGRATULATIONS!

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