April May 2021 College News

1 Jasmine Austin (top) and M.A. student Andronica Owens (bottom) 2 M.A. student, Riki Van Meter, during her internship experience with Austin-based frm Code 4 Emergency Services 3 M.A. student, Daniel Galindo, during his internship experience with Austin-based frm Code 4 Emergency Services 4 | April & May | College News COMMUNICATION STUDIES Communication Studies, Health Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Leadership Studies, Organizational Communication, Persuasive Communication, Political Communication, & Teacher Certif ication in Communication Studies FACULTY ACCOLADES Jasmine Austin was a Texas State University Translational Health Scholar Showcase poster presenter. Her poster was entitled: "Implementing care into pre-entry conversations with Black women graduate students to better support their mental health needs." Jasmine worked with M.A. student Andronica Owens to organize the written materials for the Texas State University “Tunnel of Oppression.” [ 1 ] Tricia Burke presented “An Exploratory Study of Communicative Resilience in Parental Caregivers of Children with Medically Complex Conditions (MCCs)” at the Health Scholar Showcase at Texas State University. Te project was co-authored with Kristen Farris , Shailen Singh (OWLS), and Katie Warber (Wittenberg University). In addition, thirteen guest scholars were interviewed for Tricia’s graduate seminar in Relational Health Communication, including Kristen Farris , Maureen Keeley , Melinda Villagran , and other top relational health communication scholars. Michael Burns was invited to work his 6th Olympic Games with NBC's Today Show . Michael will join the Today Show at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics this summer on their production management and logistics team, helping to lead a group of production runners who will ensure a successful broadcast. His team helps with production needs such as initial set up, story research, production and talent/guest transportation, and teardown. Stephanie Dailey’s paper, "Social comparisons, social media addiction, and social interaction: An examination of specifc social media behaviors related to major depressive disorder in a millennial population" was recognized as a "top cited article 2019-2020" in the Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research . Kristen Farris published a book chapter entitled "Student perceptions of instructor communication amid class disruption: Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic" in COVID and Higher Education: Teaching and Learning from Lexington Books. It is co-authored by M.A. student Luke Dye and Communication Studies faculty members Marian Houser and Erik Timmerman . Kristen also presented "An Exploratory Study of Communicative Resilience in Parental Caregivers of Children with Medically Complex Conditions" with Tricia Burke , Shailen Singh , and Katie Warber at the 5th Annual Texas State University Health Scholar Showcase through the Translational Health Research Center. Kristen also welcomed guest speakers Dr. Jasmine Austin and Dr. Marian Houser to her graduate Instructional Communication seminar about prepare to analyze qualitative data collected from student focus groups and scholarship related to the topic of “helicopter teaching.” Rebekah Fox was promoted from Associate Professor to full Professor. Josh Miller published “Coalitional fronting and shared ethos cultivation in the case of the Council on Religion and the Homosexual" in Women's Studies in Communication . STUDENT ACCOLADES Two M.A. students, Riki Van Meter and Daniel Galindo , successfully completed their internship experience with Austin-based public health and safety frm Code 4 Emergency Services. [ 2 - 3] Dr. Michael Burns and M.A. alumnus and Code 4 Chief Operating Ofcer Jonathan Alba created the partnership through the Communication Studies Career Readiness Program. Riki and Daniel started the internship in January 2021. DEPARTMENT ACCOLADES Te Communication Studies Graduate Association (CSGA) is a departmental organization dedicated to unifying the graduate students in Communication Studies at Texas State. CSGA members come together for ofcial and unofcial events including professional development, research seminars, social and philanthropic events. Te frst event was entitled "Jumpstarting Your Career with Your Master’s in Communication Studies" and featured two guest presenters: Natalie Nelson and Marsha Burney . Natalie Nelson is a Diversity Initiatives Coordinator and Communication Studies Instructor at the College of Southern Nevada. Marsha Burney is a graduate of our M.A. program and former faculty member who is now a Senior Consultant/Workforce Management Business Partner at CGI Federal. Te second event was called "So You Want a PhD?" Five panelists provided students with advice about deciding if attending a Ph.D. program is right for them. Dr. Hilary Rasmussen is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Dr. Megan Orcholski recently completed her dissertation at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Dr. Terra Rasmussen Lenox is a faculty member of communication at Lake Michigan College, Lauren Johnsen is an instructor at the University of Memphis, and Bailey Benedict is a doctoral candidate at Purdue University. Te Career Readiness Program, led by Dr. Michael Burns , hosted several events during the fall semester, all featuring Texas State Alumni. For more information on the Career Readiness Program, click here. Te frst Career Readiness event of the semester focused on Financial Health and was led by M.A. alum Patrick Hale . Patrick has worked as an instructional designer and program manager at CPS Energy. He is currently serving as the Power Generation Training Manager. He is passionate about helping people reach their full potential in their career and achieve their personal aspirations. Te Alumni Mentor Networking Event, hosted by the Career Readiness Program and led by Dr. Michael Burns , was the fnal event of the semester. Tis event featured alumni meeting and talking with students to help them understand what is possible post-graduation with a degree in Communication Studies. Te event featured alums Brad Palmisano, Renee Rudlof-Baker , Jonathan Alba , Taela Bragg , Patrick Hale , Victoria Locke , Joey Kuykendall , Trevlyn Trevino Carson , Shanna College of Fine Arts and Communication | 5