Undergrad students

COMM Department Student Projects Fall 2017

In the fall of 2017, students in Communications courses devoted their semesters to creating projects, films, and photo essays that the Department of Communication is proud to present. Featured below are projects from students of The Process of Communication (COMM 1000), Fundamentals of Digital Production (COMM 2940), and Persuasion (COMM 3100).

 

The Process of Communication

A course taught by Professor Stephen Stifano

COMM 1000-  A study of modern communication theories and principles where students understand how people affect and are affected by others through communication.

 

This short film expresses the importance of equality for all people.

 

Fundamentals of Digital Production

A course taught by Professor Stephen Stifano and Adam Rainear

COMM 2940- Students develop fundamentals associated with the production of digital video, audio, and images to communicate with various audiences by rotating through various roles of pre-production, production, and post-production processes in the creation of multimedia projects.

This film shows a couple’s journey into making their house a home.

 

This sci-fi short film about a woman trapped in her own home is a must-watch thriller.

 

Persuasion

A course taught by Thomas Meade, Kimberly Embacher, and Matthew Morse

COMM 3100- Students are introduced to theories of attitude formation, change and reinforcement. Research is used to evaluate past and present models of persuasion through the creation of their own social campaign.

https://nicoleevans8.wixsite.com/uconnshot

UConn Shot was a campaign designed to promote the free flu shot services that are on and around campus.

 

https://uconnsoberides.weebly.com/

UConn Sober Rides is a student campaign that connected UConn students with sober drivers to reduce the amount of drunk driving.

 

Like these videos? Follow us on social media to keep up with the latest details about this semester’s Digital Projects Screening taking place later on in the semester.

Martin Horn Scholarship Recipient Meghan O’Neil

The Department of Communication annually selects one outstanding undergraduate student to be awarded with the Martin Horn Scholarship. Since achieving great success in marketing communications, alumnus Martin Horn has made several generous donations to the UConn Department of Communication, from which the scholarship is awarded. The 2017-2018 recipient is Meghan O’Niel.

Meghan is a Senior at the University. She is double majoring in Sociology and Communication with a minor in Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS). She originally entered UConn as a sociology major, but after taking The Process of Communication (COMM 1000) as a sophomore, Professor Stifano and Graduate Assistant Kimberly Embacher inspired her to pursue a degree in communication. She found communications to be an interesting field to venture in to because it’s valuable to many sectors in her personal and professional life.

Through her undergraduate courses she learned what it takes to be a communications professional. Meghan is currently the UConn Club Sports Social Media Coordinator. This being her first position in the field of communication, it is a great learning experience for her and it’s allowing her to apply the skills that she’s learned thus far to this job.

After she graduates, she plans on continuing her education by attending graduate school. She has applied to multiple programs in the U.K., and has already been accepted to one. She’s incredibly passionate about gender equality and is looking to pursue a Masters Degree in an area related to WGSS.

This scholarship has already helped Meghan pursue her career goals. Not only did receiving this award give her the extra boost of confidence that she needed, it also allowed her to be able to afford to apply to all of the schools that she was interested in. 

In her time at UConn she has found that knowing how to communicate with others is an invaluable skill across all areas of life. Professionally she feels more confident when working in teams because of her undergraduate courses. She has also found that being a Communication major has prepared her for career opportunities in many different sectors, which gives her confidence knowing that she has freedom to find a career that she will love.

COMM Student Feature – Eliza Kanner

Millions of Americans tuned in early September to watch an American tradition: the Miss America Pageant. This year the Department of Communication watched excitedly as UConn Communications major Eliza Kanner took the stage as Miss Connecticut.

 

As a senior, Eliza has been devoted to the Department of Communication for the past three years. She stated that upon entering college, she was unaware of which career path she wanted to go down. After getting involved with the Miss America Organization, she found herself learning public speaking skills, effective brand management, and gaining media, interpersonal, and mass communication skills. Her journey with Miss America pointed her in the direction of the communications field where she began to explore opportunities within the COMM Department.

 

Eliza expressed that her favorite COMM class so far has been Computer Mediated Communication (COMM 4660W) with Professor Christensen. She found this class particularly interesting because computer mediated communication research is still fairly new and constantly evolving. The constant change and evolution of the study of communication has really sparked her interest over the course of her time at UConn. While taking COMM 4660W, she researched government officials on social media and its effects on society, where she was able to look at the benefits and setbacks of government officials on social media platforms. She stated that Professor Christensen has become a great mentor for her when it comes to her future career as well as her role in Miss America. She stated that since the beginning of the semester he emphasized that supporting students with their future was a priority of his. With help from COMM Advisor Joel Nebres, they created a program allowing for Eliza to earn credit for her role as Miss Connecticut.

Eliza will now be fulfilling her duties not only as Miss Connecticut, but as a UConn Senior as well. In her role as Miss Connecticut, she will be making public appearances to represent the Miss America Organization as well as the state of Connecticut. Along with her duties as Miss Connecticut, she’ll be continuing her studies as a UConn Husky. To keep up with Eliza on her journey as Miss Connecticut, you can follow her on Facebook (@MissAmericaCT), Instagram (@missamericact), and Twitter (@MissAmericaCT).

The Department of Communication is proud to have students like Eliza, who strive to take their degrees above and beyond what is asked of them. The field of communication is broad, but once students use their degrees to enhance their passions, they accomplish great things.

A Letter to the Graduating Class

Congratulations to the graduating Class! We have been lucky to teach you, learn from you, and grow with you as scholars and fellow Huskies. Over the past four years you’ve developed the skills you need to take this next step. The Department of Communication is excited to watch you thrive as individuals and professionals. After watching you grow over the past four years, professors from the department would like to share a few words of encouragement with you:

photo of Sharde Davis

 

“Think outside of the box, live in the moment, always check your entitlement (people don’t owe you anything!), and remain humble.” – Professor Shardé Davis

 

photo of COMM professor Rory McGloin

“Be confident in what you have learned, but seek humility in your day to day adventures. Remember that learning is a never-ending and on-going process so utilize the knowledge you have gained in regards to how you learn and attempt to apply those skills every day. Seek value from your human interactions and try to adopt the best attributes and characteristics of those individuals whom you respect and look up to.” – Professor Rory McGloin

 

photo of Katie D'Antonio, academic advisor“Be your own advocate.” – Advisor Katie D’Antonio

 

photo of Kirstie Farrar

 

“Don’t be afraid to work hard take risks and try new things. Don’t take the easy way out.  This pairs nicely with my favorite quote from Bruce Lee: ‘Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.’” – Professor Kirstie Cope-Farrar

 

Steve Stifano

“Keep an open mind about the kinds of positions you consider for employment.  Your training and experience in Communication makes you a very flexible professional with something to offer to a LOT of fields. Consider compiling the projects you’ve done into a digital portfolio that you can put online as a supplement to your résumé.  And most of all, keep your head up – the careers of many of us were nonlinear, with several twists and turns that seemed quite random in the moment, but quite necessary when looking back in time.” – Professor Stephen Stifano

head and shoulders photo of Mark Hamilton

“In the immortal words of Buckaroo Banzai, Remember: no matter where you go… there you are.’” – Professor Mark Hamilton

 

 

 

As you take this next step with confidence, always remember: students today, Huskies forever. Best of luck!

COMM Student Feature – Manav Puri

The UConn Department of Communication is proud to acknowledge our many students and members of our organizations. Manav Puri is one of our most involved students in our program and around the UConn campus. Manav inspires many other students with his devotion to becoming a communication professional.

 

As a senior, Manav states that becoming a Communications major has been the perfect fit for his skills and career aspirations. With an interest in the marketing and sales field of work, he has found that the Communications major has allowed him to build upon his one-on-one connections and presentation skills that will help him excel in his desired field.

 

Manav is on the executive board as the Client Liaison of UConn’s Advertising Society. The Advertising society is a student run organization that strives to develop undergraduate students’ advertising, public relations and marketing skills. He contributes to the organization by creating advertising campaigns for student organizations around the UConn campus. His work with the Advertising Society helped him gain real world experience as an intern at a company named Foresters Financial. Here he learned the skills needed to have successful sales appointments.

 

The real world applications of Persuasion (COMM 3100) lead to the course becoming Manav’s favorite course of his college career. With his interest in sales, he was thrilled to sharpen his persuasion skills by being exposed to such hands on experiences. Manav also states that Professor Thomas Meade and Ambyre Ponivas have been two of his favorite professors. He is inspired by their passion for what they’re teaching and the way they go above and beyond to assure their students succeed.

 

Manav’s involvement doesn’t stop at the Advertising society. He is a member of the UConn Car Club, UConn Business Management Society as the Chief Communication Officer, and he serves as the Vice Chair of the SUBOG Film Committee.
With his abundance of leadership positions and devotion to his career, the UConn Department of Communication is looking forward to following Manav’s post graduation successes, and wishes him luck along the way!

Martin Horn Scholarship Recipient Katie Landrey

katie MHEvery year the Department of Communication award the Martin Horn Scholarship to an outstanding undergraduate student. Since achieving great success in marketing communications, alumnus Martin Horn has made several generous donations to the department, from which the scholarship is awarded. The 2016-2017 recipient of the scholarship is Katie Landrey.

 

Katie is a senior, double majoring in Psychological Sciences and Communication. She added a Communication major in her junior year at the university. Interpersonal communication and public speaking have always been areas of interest for her studies because of her experiences facilitating small group discussions and giving presentations.

 

Katie has previous experience teaching for Freedom School, which is a national program that strives to improve literacy skills in low income minority students. Her role with the school was to create lesson plans and to work one-on-one with scholars and staff. In addition to the Freedom School, Katie has experience facilitating discussions. She was a teaching assistant for UConn’s First Year Experience program as well as a trained facilitator for The Body Project, which is a cognitive dissonance based program that promotes positive body image.

 

In the future, Katie aspires to earn her Masters in higher education where she can have a career that allows her to work with students on a daily basis, helping them with both career and academic development. She wants a career where her ability to effectively communicate in various settings is important, so studying communication was an easy choice for her to make and added to her knowledge and skills.

 

This scholarship created more opportunity for Katie. She stated, “My peers in the Communication department are outstanding, and it is an honor to be recognized amongst such an intelligent group of students. This recognition does help in my pursuit of a graduate education, and it has impacted my confidence as I continue to develop professionally and academically.” The Department of Communication is proud of Katie and is excited to see where this scholarship will take her.

 

COMM Student Feature – Lorraine Carlucci

lorraineLorraine Carlucci is undoubtedly one of the Communication Department’s most experienced students. With an incredible amount of work in the field of communication, Lorraine sticks out as a student that is prepared to take on the professional world

 

Lorraine originally enrolled at UConn as a marketing major, but soon found that the aspects of marketing that she connected to were all related to COMM. After making the switch to become a communications major and a political science minor, she combined her love for both communication and politics to further her career in the political world. Carlucci now serves as the president of Disney at UConn, the Vice-President of Comm Society and is a part of two SUBOG committees.

 

Outside of the classroom, Lorraine has an incredible amount of real-life experience. She has been a social media intern for the U.S. Department of State for the past year and a half under Ambassador Catherine Russell. She was also honored to be a media intern at Hillary for America, Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters. This was an amazing opportunity for her, as she was able to work on the team that produced Hillary Clinton’s television commercials, direct mail pieces, and radio ads. Lorraine stated that this internship was an incredible opportunity to further her experience in both the communications world as well as the political world.

 

Lorraine aspires to combine her passions for communication and political science. She stated that, “to be effective politically, communication is key”, and feels that her communication skills are going to be what prepares her for her future career.

 

She gives a lot of credit to Professor Rory McGloin as an advisor. After taking  a public speaking course with him during her freshman year, working with him in Comm Society, and being his research assistant, she feels that he is incredibly dedicated to his students, and a pleasure to work with. While giving her many great opportunities, she feels that Professor McGloin has ensured her that being a COMM major was right for her.

 

With her vast experience in and outside of the University, it is clear why she stands out as one of the Department’s most committed students. We are proud to share her accomplishments thus far and are looking forward to all that she accomplishes post-graduation!

Martin Horn Scholarship Recipient Alumni: Kaitlyn Young

kaitlyn youngFor the past five years, UConn’s Department of Communication has had the opportunity to award a scholarship to an outstanding undergraduate student, thanks to a very generous donation from alumnus Martin Horn. After earning a B.A. and M.A. in Communication from UConn, Martin Horn went on to achieve great success in marketing communications. The selection process for this scholarship is very in-depth, only to ensure that the recipient is one of the most hard working, successful, and driven students of the department. The scholarship gives students the opportunities to explore passions and take their future careers to new heights.

The 2013-2014 winner of the Martin Horn scholarship was Kaitlyn Young. This scholarship allowed Kaitlyn to spend her final semester abroad in Cuzco, Peru, which fueled her passion for Latin American culture. This trip inspired her so much, that within just a few short months she was back on a plane to Ecuador where she backpacked for six months and became a fluent Spanish speaker.  Kaitlyn Young has since graduated from the university, and then pursued her knowledge of communication and passion for yoga and health to work for her local wellness center as their social media and email marketing manager as well as a yoga instructor. She loves this position because she’s furthering her passion for communication by creating content that she’s actually passionate about.

Kaitlyn has already made large strides in her career as she currently teaches at two yoga studios and hosts her own highly praised workshops. These workshops guide beginner yoga students in order to feel safe and knowledgeable inside their bodies, creating a comfortable and judgment free space. She uses her social media and marketing background to run an online yoga community through Facebook. Kaitlyn shares local yoga events, live streams video chats every Sunday about mindfulness and yoga practices, and writes a blog that complements yoga as a lifestyle.

Amidst all of her new explorations in the world of health and wellness, she gives a lot of credit to the resources she earned at UConn:

The work I did in the COMM Society set the stage for these leadership roles I hold in my community.  Between programming, event planning, public speaking and working interpersonally I have felt so well-prepared for these new ventures. The Martin Horn Scholarship gave me the funds to study abroad and follow my passion. If it were not for this opportunity, I wouldn’t have learned so early on that stepping out of comfort zones can lead to unforeseen success.”
The Department of Communication is thrilled to share stories of our alumni stepping into the world and make it their own!

COMM Student Feature – Grace Gagnon

 

 TheScreen Shot 2017-01-20 at 12.34.31 PM Department of Communication’s undergraduate program is filled with students that continuously exceed the expectations. With extracurricular activities, internships, and commitments to the COMM Department, we’re proud to recognize the accomplishments of our students. As the President of the Comm Society, Grace Gagnon is one of the Department’s most active students.

 

Grace Gagnon is a junior double majoring in Communication and Journalism at the University. She stated that choosing to become a COMM major was obvious to her because she knew it would allow her to learn about the areas of research that interested her. With her love for public speaking she set out to fine tune her skills.

 

Grace has a very important role within Comm Society, which is a group that gives students a variety of opportunities to observe and investigate the fields of advertising, marketing, public relations, broadcast, and media. While collaborating with other students that are committed to furthering their education in the field of communication, they have worked closely with communication professionals. Grace is also a reporter and block anchor for UCTV, which is UConn’s student run television broadcast. She has been incredibly involved in the University’s organizations to expand upon her communications and journalism skills.

 

Outside of University organizations, Grace is heavily involved in communication and journalism organizations elsewhere. She previously interned for the COMMS department at United Technologies in Farmington, where she began to get her foot in the door of the professional world. Furthering her passion for journalism, she writes a weekly column for her local newspaper, The Bristol Observer.

 

She attributes a lot of her knowledge and passion for her career to UConn’s Professor Rory McGloin. Grace states that he, “is a great advisor and mentor for everyone on Comm Society. He has taught me how to be an effective leader, and always offers me great advice.”

 

It’s clear that Grace is one of the department’s most involved students. With her passion and hard work, she inspires her fellow classmates every day through her commitment to the field of communication. We applaud and appreciate her devotion to continually expanding her knowledge and experiences.

COMM Department Student Projects Fall 2016

In the fall of 2016, students in Communications courses devoted their semesters to creating projects, films, and photo essays that the Department of Communication is proud to present. Featured below are projects from students of The Process of Communication (COMM 1000), Fundamentals of Digital Production (COMM 2940), and Persuasion (COMM 3100).

 

The Process of Communication – 1000 Words Photo Essay & Brevity Videos

Fall 2016 course taught by Professor Stephen Stifano

COMM 1000 – A study of modern communication theories and principles where students understand how people affect and are affected by others through communication.

 

1000 Words

 

Horror

 

An Apple A Day

 

Fundamentals of Digital Production – Documentaries & Short Narrative Film

Fall 2016 course taught by Professor Stephen Stifano & Adam Rainear

COMM 2940 – Students develop fundamentals associated with the production of digital video, audio, and images to communicate with various audiences by rotating through various roles of pre-production, production, and post-production processes in the creation of multimedia projects.

 

My Name is Luis

 

Art Worth Talking About

 

 

Persuasion

Fall 2016 course taught by Professor Thomas Meade

COMM 3100 – Introduction to theories of attitude formation, change and reinforcement. Students use research to evaluate past and present models of persuasion.

 

UConn Take 10

Does Her Vote Count

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