Reflections
Being a Communication and Media Studies major has influenced so much more than just my education. Through studying in the Communication discipline, I have learned so much about myself— as a student, a professional, an individual, and a part of communities that I have the power to change positively. Working with professors who are endlessly passionate about both their own studies, publications and research, as well as their personal relationships with each student they teach has illuminated, for me, that in opportunities to teach others, taking the time to know them personally is necessary. In my time concentrating on the Communication side of “Communication and Media Studies”, I’ve learned that verbal and nonverbal communication both play significant roles in our daily lives, and honed my skills in public speaking and presenting, written communication including long-form essays as well as posters and brochures, and websites. I’ve engaged with plentiful social scientific research, both qualitative and qualitative, from empirical to ethnographic sources, and have learned how to utilize outside sources to strengthen my own thoughts. I have to value community in my personal life and career, especially where communication is free and encouraged. I’ve studied conflict, interpersonal communication, social media, health and mental health communication, public relations, writing for media, and much more in hopes of expanding my horizons.
Additionally, I have had the opportunity, thanks in part to this major, to discern my own passions and career path that will allow me to continue using what I have learned in the classroom to make a genuine impact on real people. Being a communication major, for me, has encouraged growth in every facet of my life, personally, academically, and professionally. St. Norbert College makes Communication and Media Studies rewarding and genuine, allowing me to attend career panels, work as a notetaker for students in need, and offering a capstone course where we create our own large-scale, semester-long project at our own pace.
I will be continuing my love of communication in my role as a Quality Manager at Epic, where I will make sure that healthcare workers find the software intuitive, and help launch software which emphasizes compassionate, real, and patient-centered care on all levels wherever possible. I am thrilled to be a professional part of the community of Epic as well as the healthcare community.
Notable Works
Educational Toolkit
Educational Toolkit Site
Over the course of my final semester, I was asked to complete a large-scale passion project with connections to the Communication discipline and communication theory. As a Type 1 Diabetic myself, I believe that it’s imperative that young adults facing a diagnosis feel supported in all areas of their lives. I chose to create an educational toolkit with a dual focus: healthcare workers communicating diagnoses to young adults and their families, and families of young adults with newly diagnosed diseases or chronic conditions. These two groups make up the audience, who I’ve created activities, video debriefs, and additional resources for. All information and advice is based on social scientific research, oftentimes used to create solutions to dilemmas. I am most proud of this project, as I feel that it embodies my own beliefs, principles, and hopes while being more than my own. It fulfills all Learning Outcomes for Communication and Media Studies courses.
Reddit Platform Profile
Reddit Platform Profile
This assignment was completed in my Social Media and Society course while studying abroad in Fall of 2025. The intent was to disseminate research about Reddit as a social media platform, dissect its strengths, weaknesses, and influences on society largely. In using qualitative research regarding the policies and uses of the platform, combined with news articles and non-academic sources, I found patterns in user and moderator behavior. The audience for this project was anyone interested in social media or Reddit specifically from an empirical lens. It fulfills both the first and third learning outcomes for COME courses at SNC.
Social Responsibility Campaign
Sriracha Social Responsibility Campaign
This project was completed for my Introduction to Public Relations course, in the Spring of 2025. I was asked to choose a for-profit company to execute a mock social responsibility campaign for with a political or social issue to partner with. Delivering a large-scale, creative project like this one required coming up with creative solutions to brand marketing. The research behind the project was focused mostly on the brand itself, and thus the recommended actions are personalized. The audience I chose to serve in this case extends beyond the professor to the company I wrote about, those concerned with branding or public relations, and anyone interested in social responsibility. It shows evidence of learning outcomes one and two.
Horror Media Psychology Podcast
Horror Media Podcast
In the Fall semester of 2024, I completed this informative podcast centered around horror films for my Media Psychology course. I chose horror out of personal interest, and was able to find exceptionally interesting research focused on why people like me enjoy the feelings that horror movies evoke. The audience for this podcast is adults with interest in Horror as a genre, those who cannot fathom why people enjoy feeling scared, or anyone curious about media psychology research who listens to podcasts. It fulfills the first Learning Outcome.
Mental Health Resource and Reflection
Final Mental Health Resource and Reflection Paper
My Mental Health Communication course in the Spring of 2024 allowed me to create the brochure above (revised and used in the toolkit) to help parents of children with complicated health issues feel supported. It, too, was created as a result of personal interest and passion, so naturally the messaging and recommendations were thought out and researched. Sources used reflect a genuine issue in parents finding support resources, therefore the entire project acts as a response to the ignorance of resources. The final project asked that I extend empathy to an audience who may struggle with mental health, and create a resource for them. It demonstrates the second learning outcome.
Family Conflict Website
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Family Conflict
This website was created as a final group project for Conflict Communication in Spring of 2025. We chose to dig into whether culture has an influence on how conflict plays out in family settings, disseminating research concerning cross-cultural views of parent-child conflict. The sources used in the creation of the site were chosen due to their rich discussions in conflict management strategies, which we chose to take into account while giving advice and resources for help. The audience for this website extends from the heart of the research, families, to anyone on the internet curious about the relationship between conflict communication and culture. This artifact fulfills learning outcome two.
Narrative Medicine Paper
Narrative Medicine Essay
In Spring of 2024, I was a part of the Health Communication course, which asked me to examine best practices for healthcare professionals who aim to provide compassionate, patient-centered care. This narrative medicine paper reflects my findings, backed by social scientific research, discussing the importance of storytelling and communication in moving away from traditional biomedical models of care. It draws from casual sources like Ted Talks, results of scientific model comparisons, and qualitative articles discussing best practices for patient-centered care. It reflects learning outcome three.
Health Campaign and Group Paper
Wheel of Health Group Research Essay
This substantial paper combines a traditional paper centered around a research question combined with a creative health campaign. Our campaign was created with advice and information sourced from both qualitative and qualitative research. The articles used continuously stress the importance of health literacy, especially when being independent for potentially the first time. The audience for this paper and the advice within it is college students. In collaboration, it was completed in my spring semester of 2024. It serves as proof of learning outcome three.