Congratulations!
Emily returned to college in 2001 after seventeen years away from the classroom. She credits the Communication faculty for helping to ease her fears about her return to academia. Emily states, "Ron Sandwina was incredibly encouraging and supportive. I am extremely grateful to him and credit him with keeping me on the early path to success as I pursued my degree. And let me also say that all of the Communication Studies faculty members were very talented and dedicated. I thank all of them for giving me an excellent education."
And of course, the faculty think highly of Emily. As stated about Emily by Dr. Catherine Dobris, "A returning student, she is an inspirational role model through her dedication to her many roles as student, honor society member, mother, employee and social advocate."
Emily worked full-time at IUPUI, while attending school part-time to earn her Bachelor's degree. In addition to work and school, Emily also balanced family as the proud mother of two teenaged girls. Emily was recognized on the Dean's List for seven consecutive semesters and was a member of Lambda Pi Eta, a national Communication Studies Honor Society. She was awarded the IU School of Liberal Arts Dean's Scholarship, the Indianapolis Women's Rotary Club Scholarship, and the Carold D. Nathan Scholarship. She was also a finalist in the IUPUI Speech Night public speaking competition.
Emily graduated in December 2006 with a cumulative grade point average of 3.966 and a Communication STudies grade point average of 4.0. In January, Emily took a position with Butler University in the Office of Admissions. According to Emily, "I am the new Campus Visit Coordinator, and it's my job to give visiting students a positive and memorable first impression of the university as I schedule their admission meeting, campus tour, and classroom or professor visits. I'v vound myself using my best communication skills to interpret and even mirror the communication styles of other genders, other geographic regions, other classes and other cultures."
Emily exemplifies everything that the Department of Communication Studies strives to help students achieve. We know that Emily will continue to be a life-long learner, and we wish her only the best in her futurer endeavors. Congratulations, Emily!