Student Achievement

Read About Some of Our Recent Accomplishments!

• Will Maloney shows his involvement and dedication to the Christopher Newport University 9/11 Never Forget Project. The annual project is carried out as a reminder of those who lost their lives on September 2001 and the men and women who fight to maintain our nation's freedom.

• The Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce awarded a CNU Fellowship to Veronica Hurd during 2011. Veronica offered her expertise on socially innovative projects in communication for the Peninsula business community. She conducted grant research for the Chamber's educational foundation and developed a targeted communication matrix for the VPCC to more effectively interact with their business constituents.

• Jared Rader's senior project won one of the five Cupola Awards awarded by CNU for best projects presented at the Paideia Undergraduate and Graduate Research Conference
• Amy Fallah won CNU's Silent Inspiration Award for significant contributions to a student organization, Lambda Pi Eta  
• Congratulations!  The Mary E. Jarrad Award for Outstanding Student Paper was given to Jeremy Colb by the Carolinas Communication Association. This award recognizes significant achievement in undergraduate research among colleges and universities in the Carolinas regions.  

• Pictured below: JT Hosack, Dr. Michaela D.E. Meyer, and Jeremy Colb
  at the Carolinas Communication Association Conference.
  
  

• SIXTEEN of our Communication students were selected to present research at the 2010 Central States Communication Association Undergraduate Honors Conference! This conference is nationally competitive. Hence, it was a huge accomplishment that all submissions by our students were accepted. Because the conference was held in conjunction with CSCA's annual meeting, it was an exciting opportunity for the students to also engage in dialog with nationally renowned scholars in our discipline.

• Top Undergraduate Paper Award at the CSCA Conference was given to Amy Fallah for her work titled "Grandpa, am I pretty: Productivity in Little Miss Sunshine's mediated ritual of rebellion."

  Top Undergraduate Panel Awards at the CSCA Conference went to: Jeremy Colb, William Fellin, Rebecca Hornick, Leandra Jacobson, Natalie Taylor, Jennifer Waybright, and Connie Workman.
  
  
  
  
  

  
  

Take a Look at Our Creative Talend!

Gender Communication (COMM 330) students created online Web Portfolios. See how Laura McGrath showcases her research: "If gender representations were a blog, this would be it."

Students in Business and Professional Communication (COMM 310) engaged in service learning projects. They provided assistance to non-profit organizations in the local community while preparing for the demands of the career world. Andrea Gray displays her work with the 2010 Hampton Roads Youth Career Expo in a public Poster Presentation.

Critical Theory & the Study of Popular Culture (COMM 326) students designed websites to showcase their collective efforts. One group researched different aspects of "Music in Popular Culture".

Another student discussed "How Paris Hilton's Celebrity and American Idol Examplify Postmodernism."

Meet a Few of Our Grads!

• Katie Thompson ('10) is a Recruiter for Kearny & Company, a management consulting, financial services, and CPA firm. She is a representative at career fairs, such a this one held at CNU.
  

• Jimmy Nicholson ('05) is the Content Editor for ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut.  His responsibilities include quality control and editing of assigned video clips and stories for a variety of shows that run on the ESPN network.
  
• Alexandra Adams ('09) is a Speech Language Pathologist in the Child and Family Support Program at Kennedy Krieger Institute, affiliated with Johns Hopkins Hospital.
  
• Amy Fallah ('11) won the Carolinas Communication Association Mary E. Jarrard Award. Rachel Grider ('12) was also a finalist for the award.
  
• Hannah Goodwyn ('03) (MA, Regent University '05) is a Senior Producer at the Christian Broadcasting Network. She manages both the Family and Entertainment categories of the CBN website.
• Coley Logan ('11) works in the San Francisco office of Airbnb in a Community Support position. Airbnb is an online vacation rental service which focuses on building a community of domestic and international travelers and a global social network.
  
• Victoria Shirley ('11) is a News Reporter for KNOE-TV8, the CBS/ABC network affiliate in Monroe, Louisiana. Follow Victoria's media career and her tips for building a portfolio website on her blog: http://victoriashirley.wordpress.com/
  
• Katie Wiggin ('11) is a member the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce as a Program Development Intern. Katie says about her opportunity: "...I will strive to promote events to further advance current initiatives of making the Peninsula a great place to work and live! I have a passion for people and I am fully committed to serving the members of this community."
  
  
• Will Cornett ('10) serves as a Children's Minister for Great Bridge Baptist Church in Chesapeake, VA. The motto at Great Bridge is  "Loving God. Sharing Jesus. Serving others." Read more about Will's involvement...
  
  
• Marc Rich ('08) is a doctoral candidate at Colorado University. His paper, co-authored with Robert Craig, "Habermas and Bateson in a World Gone M.A.D.: Metacommunication, paradox, and the inverted speech situation," was accepted as one of the top four papers in the Philosophy of Communication division at the 2011 National Communication Association Conference.
• Karen Schomaker ('08) Old Dominion University ('11) received the "Outstanding Graduate Student in Higher Education" award from Old Dominion University upon graduation with a Master of Science degree in Education for Higher Education Administration.
  
• Lisa Lazzari ('10) is employed as the Coordinator of National Youth Leadership Development at the March of Dimes Foundation. The March of Dimes is dedicated to helping mothers have full-term pregnancies and to researching the problems that threaten the health of babies.
• Leandra Jacobson ('10) spent three months working as a student archaeologist at Historic Jamestowne. This is the site of the first permanent settlement in America. Historic Jamestowne is jointly administered by the National Park Service and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation on behalf of Preservation Virginia.
  
• Courtney Russ ('09) and Samantha Pelstring ('07) both are Teachers with the American International School in Cairo, Egypt. The American International School is a member of Educational Services Overseas Limited (ESOL), a group of ten American and British schools spanning six countries and three continents. AIS Egypt has over 1,400 students from 41 countries, and occupies a campus in Cairo Festival City.
• Drue Brownback ('09) helped to raise $110,000 for the Peninsula SPCA at their 2010 Fur Ball capstone fundraising event. Here, she is pictured with one of the Fur Ball invited 'guests'. Drue has been a long-time advocate for the rights of shelter animals. She has initiated, and currently oversees, staffs, and raises public awareness for the Stafford, Virginia SPCA.  
  
  

• Loni Albertson ('03) (MFA, Regent University '07) received the Golden Hen award for an independent film that she produced.  Loni currently has a position in Feature Animation Administration with DreamWorks Animation in California
  
  
  
  

Get to Know Chris Inzirillo, one of our 2009 Communication grads!

• Read more about Meghan Puckli, another 2009 grad who has followed a teaching career!
• JT Hosack ('10) is another featured Communication grad who also had a Theater minor!