What's New:

The Bloomsburg University Xi Omega chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Honor Society, has been named the 2019 Chapter of the Year by the National Communication Association.

Featured Student

Sydney Rimmer

My name is Sydney Rimmer, and I am currently a senior at Bloomsburg, double majoring in Communication Studies with a Leadership and Public Advocacy focus and Political Science with a Legal Studies focus, as well as a minor in Public Relations. This summer, I am beyond grateful to have participated in an internship at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in the Senate Republicans Communications Office, as it was an incredibly fulfilling experience.
The office had a group of employees designated to each area of communications. There were teams of employees for areas such as speech writing, webmasters, photography, film, social media, and others. I got to shadow and help complete assignments in each of these areas, and gain an appreciation for the importance of each specialty. This offered a unique opportunity to understand “a day in the life” of the employees in this office and their responsibilities, and it also gave me an opportunity to meet people outside of the office, and experience things many other people will never experience. Seeing the behind the scenes of these events was so interesting.
The brunt of my work was done in June, as that is when the Senate is in session and the budget is being passed. Once the budget passed, July slowed down and there were significantly less events occurring, therefore less events for me to shadow, as the Senators stay in their district offices as opposed to coming to the Capitol. This gave me an accurate representation of the job, both the hustle and bustle of June, and the relaxed nature of July.
This internship has also proven to be a vital step in my networking. I received a follow up luncheon with the lobbying firm who encouraged me to intern in the Capitol, as well as encouragement from my office to look for a career in the Senate when I graduate. I got a chance to work with several Senators, thereby networking with them, which was a personal goal of mine for the summer. Another strength of my internship was the bond I formed with my coworkers. I was the only intern in my office, however I fit in perfectly with the full time employees despite us being in all different walks of life. I had anticipated forming relationships with my coworkers, but I had not foreseen how close I would grow with them. I am so blessed to now call many of my coworkers my friends. We have spent time together in both the office, as well as our free time, and I am elated they have taken me under their wings, and I still stay in touch with many of them despite being many months post internship.
My internship was a wonderful experience, and truly turned out to be a highlight of my summer. I am able to walk away from this office confident that I completed assignments efficiently and to the best of my ability. I have grown from this experience, and I am excited to see how the things I have learned and the connections I have made will apply to my future endeavors.

Department News:
November 2014

Publication

Heineman, D. S. (2014). "Does Game Studies have 'Complete Confidence in Its Own Legitimacy?'" New Media & Society, 16, 1332-1337.

Conference Presentations

Hanley-Tejeda, D. (November, 2014). Persons of Color, Using Poetry as Praxis. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, IL.

Hobson, K. (November, 2014). Using Our Privilege: Queer Femmes and the Politics of Identity Labor. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, IL.

King, M. E. (November, 2014). Applying and Understanding Media Effects Theories in the Classroom. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, IL.

Michalec, B. (2014, November). GoldieBlox & Super Bowl XLVIII: Reengineering the Media Mix and the Marketplace. Panel participant at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, IL.

Mackenzie, L. (November, 2014). The Effective Use of Situational Judgment Tests: A Teaching Technique By and For Student Veterans. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, IL.

Miller, E. C. (November, 2014). Same-Sex Marriage and Communication at the 100th Anniversary of NCA: Past Research and Future Directions. Panel participant at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, IL.

Petre, J. T. (2014, November). The presence of qualitative communication trainers in unexpected contexts. Panel participant at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, IL.

Petre, E. A. (2014, November). The presence of qualitative communication trainers in unexpected contexts. Panel participant at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, IL.

Shorter. S. (November, 2014). Strategies to diversify the professoriate. Paper presented at the PASSHE Summit at Millersville University.

Shorter. S. (November, 2014). New and improved: A small group communication project. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, IL.

Shorter, S., White, S., Hill, T., Brown, N., Jackson, J. (November, 2014). A return to the party of Lincoln? Understanding points of (dis)connection between the GOP and African American voters. Panel Organizer. Presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, IL.

Scholarly Achievement

Dr. David Hanley-Tejeda cohosted an open mic event called "NCA @ 100 Open Mic Archive," with performance studies colleagues Joe Hassert, Javon Johnson, and Jen Tuder. This participatory event invited all who wanted to share their thoughts on performance studies and was held at the LeRoy Neiman Center of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Dr. Kathryn Hobson served as respondent for the Top Paper panel of the GLBTQ division.

Dr. Mary E. King was elected as paper reader for the Family Communication Division and the Interpersonal Communication Division of NCA, and served as Chair of two panels: "Biophysical Indicators of Social Interaction Qualities" and "Health Communication Issues Within the Family Context."

Department Event

On Tuesday, November 11, the department held its annual Speaker's Forum, organized by members of Lambda Pi Eta and supervised by Dr. David Heineman and Dr. Jim Petre. The Forum featured four competitively selected student speeches on the topic of "Invisible Illness," as well as a keynote address by former BU faculty member Nicole Defenbaugh, director of education and medical educator for the Lehigh Valley Health Network.