This year, Augustana’s Communication Studies department hosted the first-ever Celebration of Communication event, highlighting department seniors and beginning a new way to complete the major’s Senior Inquiry (SI) project. On Thursday, Nov. 20, Communication seniors presented 3-minute-long speeches in Wallenburg Hall about how Communication Studies has benefited their livelihoods. 

Attendees were invited to move from table to table, listening to seniors from communication professor Jessica Nodulman’s COMM-480 SI course share their experiences and lessons learned from their studies. Student topics featured stories from their lives, such as “Speaking Up in Difficult Moments” and “Intercultural Communication and Connection.”

Senior T.Y. Stone, a communication studies major, spoke at the event about his experience using communication to break down stigmas surrounding formerly incarcerated individuals. Two years ago, Stone said he was faced with housing insecurity due to his criminal record. 

In order to create a space where both Stone and the landlord felt safe and heard, Stone said he used his communication and conflict resolution skills he gained in the classroom to resolve the situation. Later, Stone said he was able to rent the space. 

“What this [experience] taught me was that the power of communication is a skill that I can use to break cycles,” Stone said.

Nodulman said utilizing and growing communication skills outside of the classroom, as Stone discussed in his talk, is exactly what the department aims to achieve for its students. Although Nodulman helped guide students throughout the event, she said the celebration and event planning were largely up to the seniors themselves. 

In past years, Nodulman said the SI project was two credits for students and consisted of a presentation or interview with a faculty member. This semester, for an extra two credits, Nodulman said the SI has shifted from students completing a standard project to students organizing an entire event, like the Celebration of Communication, to publicly speak at, expressing a pillar of the communications studies major. 

She said this event gives the students not only more experience in public speaking and event planning, which a future job may ask of them, but also more engagement in the classroom. 

“At Augustana, we really value work that is engaging, that is student-centered, that is hands-on… when you’re doing an event like this, every single day you come into class, it’s on you,” Nodulman said. 

Senior McKenna Lewis, project manager for the event, said the celebration was a big success and a great learning experience for both the students participating and the students who attended. Lewis also serves as lead intern for COMMonGood, the major’s departmental group, where she highlights more of what Augustana’s Communication Studies and its students do.  

“We really all communicated our own personal journeys, [and] we were able to look back on our time at Augie together. It was kind of bittersweet that we all started together, and now our journeys are ending,” Lewis said.