Every year, the faculty of Communication and Media Studies gather to nominate and vote on students for the award of Outstanding Graduating Senior in each Department major. It is a competitive field and a difficult decision to make each year. Choosing from such an excellent group of students is challenging and we wish we could highlight them all. Here are the recipients who rose to the top:
2023 Recipients
Ryan Carr, Outstanding Graduating Senior in Communication
Ryan Carr was selected as the Outstanding Graduating Senior in Communication. Regarding Ryan, Professor Lenny Shedletsky said, “Ryan Carr has taken two courses with me that give me a close-up view of his intellectual abilities. One course, Meaning and Communication, asks the student to learn about discourse analysis and to use it to build an insightful and creative argument about the meaning of a spontaneous dialogue. Ryan did this superbly. He took the commonplace and raised it to a highly penetrating analysis. In the second course, Communicating Fast & Slow, Ryan used Social Intuitionist Theory to help us understand the communication complexity of choosing jurors for a trial. Again, he dazzled with his insight, creativity, and just plain clarity of expression. Ryan is equipped to do great things.”
We look forward to hearing about Ryan’s continued successes.
Amber Veilleux, Outstanding Graduating Senior in Media Studies
Amber Veilleux was selected as the Outstanding Graduating Senior in Media Studies.
Amber has a unique and mature artistic aesthetic. Regarding Amber, Professor David Pierson said, “Amber Veilleux is a very talented and creative filmmaker. She produced an exceptional and highly visual experimental film for her Senior Project class.”
It was noted by lab instructor and manager Nat Ives that he frequently opened up the lab in the morning to discover Amber working away and locked up while Amber continued working long after closing time.
Lydia Simmons, Outstanding Communication Scholar
A summa cum laude graduate with a major in both Communication and Media Studies, Lydia Simmons is equally gifted in applied journalism and academic scholarship. Her exceptional gifts for independent inquiry and imaginative, systematic research identify her as the top candidate for this year’s Outstanding Communication Scholar Award.