Over my time at George Mason University, it has been a true delight to be part of classes that have challenged me academically with supportive professors that allow goals to become reality and the Honors Comm Research program with Dr. Kevin Wright has been no exception.
Throughout the 2023-2024 academic school year, I had the opportunity to take COMM 490/491 underneath the guidance of Dr. Kevin Wright. In these two classes, taking place in the fall and spring semesters, Dr. Wright guided myself alongside 12 of my student peers in developing and executing communication research projects that we can proudly display for others to learn from.
As Dr. Wright challenged us to go above and beyond and to seek out the unknown, he provided essential research foundations and knowledge that would inspire us to use our projects for more than just the classroom.
With his guidance, I became curious to look into LinkedIn through a social comparison theory framework. After many class sessions and office visits, Dr. Wright and the COMM 490/491 curriculum not only provided the confidence I needed to pursue this topic but to also present it at a national conference.
The National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) hosted their 59th annual conference at the Crown Center Sheraton Hotel in Kansas City from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, which included a highly selective national submission process with hundreds of students and faculty submitting proposals. Because of COMM 490/491, I was fortunate to have counsel through Dr. Wright and selected for the opportunity to present my research, “Beyond the profile: Exploring LinkedIn’s influence on imposter syndrome and peer relationships.”
The conference provided a unique opportunity to showcase work while also hosting a space that encouraged conversations, empowering students to become informed, engaged and impactful contributors in an ever-changing world. Through COMM 490/491, I am so thankful to have been able to contribute and lead some of these conversations that deeply resonated with so many of the researchers and scholars in attendance.
In part with presenting, I had the opportunity to hear from the opening keynote speaker, Erin Gruwell and her message to ”stand up, speak up and speak out” in the times of reaching out for hope and possibility, and hear from this years guest speaker Jørgen Watne Frydnes, the current chair of the Norewegian Nobel Committee.
I was also able to experience Kansas City during downtime and explore its history through themes of intellectual rigor, innovation and inclusiveness.
Developing and presenting communication research has been such a highlight of my undergraduate academic career and I am so appreciative of the Communication Department here at George Mason University in its support and creation of avenues to allow scholarly work to be done inside the classroom.
If interested in conducting your own research and presenting it to others, I highly encourage you to join the Honors Comm research program and register for COMM 490/491!
November 14, 2024