KORTNEY YOUNG
Special to The Leader
Every Spring semester a department-wide Honors Celebration is hosted by the Department of Communication in order to recognize students who have been outstanding in the department. This year’s ceremony is slated for Saturday, April 18, at 2 p.m. in the Williams Center Horizon Room. Richard Ryan, associate director of development at Fredonia, will serve as the keynote speaker.
For this year’s induction ceremony, 20 new students will be joining Fredonia’s chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, an international honor society of the National Communication Association (NCA).
Dr. Linda Brigance has been a professor at Fredonia for 17 years and is also the faculty co-advisor for Lambda Pi Eta. Formed in 1985, Lambda Pi Eta acts as an academic honor society that seeks to encourage the study of human communication. Fredonia only recently opened its chapter two years ago after a student, who is now an alumnus, got the ball rolling.
“A couple of faculty had talked about it over the years, and it just sort of didn’t go anywhere. And then when the student asked, we went, ‘Okay, if a student is asking, then we’ve got to do this,’” said Brigance.
Some of the goals of Lambda Pi Eta are to recognize, foster and reward scholastic achievement in communication studies, promote professional development, and establish closer relationships between faculty and students.
“I believe it is important for Fredonia to have a chapter because we have students in each of our six majors who are committed to high academic achievement, and this is a way to publicly acknowledge and celebrate their accomplishments,” said Brigance.
The department also has eight scholarships that the faculty works diligently to make sure that students who fit the criteria are recognized for. Ted Schwalbe, the chair of the communication department, looks forward to rewarding students for their outstanding work.
“It’s such a joy, it’s one of my favorite evenings of the year,” said Schwalbe.
Out of the 12 students who will be recipients, Meghan Devine, a senior double major in audio/radio and media management, will be receiving the Anne Bernstein Memorial Fund. This scholarship recognizes an outstanding female senior in broadcast journalism that has shown leadership not only in communication but in other aspects on campus, as well.
“Being involved in other aspects besides communication was probably what got me recognized. I’m involved in athletics, I’m involved heavily in communications with two majors, I’m involved with student groups, I work with [the] Student Association,” said Devine. “I like to think that I’m involved, sometimes I think I’m over involved. I wonder if that was the reason I was among a more select few applicants.”
The scholarship money will be deposited into Devine’s Spring semester tuition to relieve some of the pressure she is now faced with as her senior year comes to a close and she has to begin paying off student loans.
“I wish we had even more money to be able to reward students for their outstanding work,” said Schwalbe. “While it’s nice that we have these scholarships, it certainly doesn’t even begin to reward the number of students that deserve to be rewarded, and we have many outstanding students.”
Another recipient, Kimberly Bright, a sophomore double major in audio/radio and video production, will be awarded the Edward S. Edelman Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to a returning student who exemplifies excellence in WCVF, the campus’ radio station, for at least one year.
“I’m really involved in the station — I do a one hour show on WCVF called Lover Call, and I’m an assistant, so I’m here a lot, my presence is here a lot,” said Bright.
The Department of Communication will continue to search for students who exceed the departments standards.
“I think that kind of recognition is necessary and important. Students need to know that they are viewed as outstanding,” said Schwalbe. “It’s one thing to get an A in a course or a good grade on a project, but to be awarded a scholarship, especially for students who have financial needs, I think is very important. You need that kind of pat on the back [to] acknowledge that your work is being recognized.”