UMD COMM Department Members Shine at NCA 2024!

Members of the COMM Department presented research and were recognized with awards at NCA!

Faculty, staff, and graduate students from the Department of Communication attended the 110th Annual National Communication Association Convention in New Orleans on November 21-24, 2024. Department members presented papers, participated in panels, chaired events, spread the word about our program, and had some time for exploring NOLA too! 

Graduate Student Sophie (Shilin) Xia

Graduate Student Divine Aboagye

Dr. Maggie Williams co-chaired the pre-conference with Dr. Kristina Ruiz-Mesa (California State University, Los Angeles) and the Caribbean Communication Caucus. The pre-conference focused on understanding historical and current connections between New Orleans and the Caribbean. It included a morning panel discussion with scholars, artists and historians, followed by a walking tour of New Orleans led by Mr. Leon Waters of Hidden History.

The full list of appearances from the department can be found here. 

Graduate Student Yao Kuwornu

Graduate Student Andrew Lowe 

Graduate Student Lahne Mattas-Curry

Graduate Student Felicity Dogbatse (right) & co-presenters

Graduate Student Jana Sabri 

Graduate Student Alisa Hardy

Graduate Student Tania Nachrin

Graduate student Grace Jeonghyun Kim

Co-Graduate Studies Director Dr. Lindsey B. Anderson led the department’s Graduate School Open House. The Open House allowed current department members to share information about the graduate program and interact with prospective students.  

Everyone’s favorite event was back again this year! COMMunity members welcomed alumni, friends of the department, and prospective students to learn more about the department and celebrate the 2024 NCA award winners at our annual NCA party! 

Congratulations to the award recipients… 

• Alisa Hardy, Top Student Papers in the Human Communication and Technology Division, “A Journey Through the Cultureverse: Analyzing Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary and Technoliberalism in Web3”
• Crystal D. Stone, Top Student Papers in Public Address, “Constituting a Queer Conservative Rhetoric: Robin Morgan’s Trans-Exclusionary Rhetoric from the 1973 West Coast Lesbian’s Conference”
• Divine Narkotey Aboagye, Top Papers in Public Address, “Technologizing the U.S. and the World for a Greater Regard: Eisenhower’s Discourse of Technological Citizenship and Technological Nationalism during the Cold War”
• Elizabeth Toth, Top Papers in Public Relations, “Articulating a Center: An Analysis of the Strategic Management Paradigm in Public Relations”
• Sahar Khamis, Top Paper in Feminist and Gender Studies, “From Girly Dance to Feminist Dissent: Unveiling the Online Dynamics of Pro-Hijab and Anti-Hijab Activism on TikTok”
• Sahar Khamis, 1st Place Article Award for Spiritual Communication Division, "Effective Countering Islamophobia Strategies in the Digital Age: Three Approaches"
• Jana Sabri, Laureate Group of the James L. Golden Outstanding Student Essay in Rhetoric, '"Education, Not Indoctrination’: Greg Abbott’s Parental Empowerment Tour, the Besieged Christian Family, and the Battle for Public Schools"
• Josué Porras-Fernández, Top Four Papers in the Human Communication and Technology Division, “Fostering Advocacy Through Immersive Experiences: A Comparative Approach between Traditional Media and Virtual Reality”
• Sahar Khamis, Outstanding Mentor Award for the Spiritual Communication Division 
  
   

Congratulations to all!