In the 110th year of its existence, the National Communications Association’s annual convention, this year held November 21-24 in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a hub of connectivity, academia and recognition. Five UNC grad students attended the conference, highly valued for its educational and networking opportunities.
Speakers at the conference included Marnell Niles Goins, professor at American University and Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, professor at Indiana University, as well as an opening panel that included six professors from across the country (UC Santa Barbara, UConn, Arizona State University, LSU, UNCW, and Tulane University). The conference was sponsored by LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication and Villanova University’s Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society, alongside three other sponsors.
The UNC grad students in attendance had the opportunity to give presentations of their own as well. Sean McEwan and Megan Foster presented “(Tres)Passing: The Facsimile of Jessica Krug,” Dafna Kaufman and Jaclyn Olson presented “Surviving the Crisis: Negotiating Quotidian Racism in Survivor’s New Era,” and Madalena Robertson presented “A Contradiction to Being a Teenage Girl: Girl Activists and Identity Gaps.”
Five COMM students were recipients of “Top Paper” awards given out by the NCA. The winner are:
- Sean McEwan
- Megan Foster
- Dafna Kaufman
- Jackie Olson
- Nicholas Gerster
The attending students were honored to have the opportunity to to be recognized so significantly for their work.