Is the Combined Degree Program Right for You?

Did you know you could start working on your M.S. in Communications while you’re still an undergraduate? If you want to pursue a masters degree in the future, then the combined degree program may be right for you! The combined degree program can reduce total tuition costs and time spent on both degrees. These three students were asked interviewed regarding their experiences with the program. Find out if this program is right for you by reading these three testimonials from students currently in the program!

Grace Kiter

Grace Kiter is a communication studies major with a minor in ethics, culture, and society. Grace is in her first semester of the program, and expects to graduate within the next two years. Grace hopes to be able to teach communication courses at a community college and work as a communication specialist after graduation. She previously had an event planning internship at AmeriCorp last summer for the Michigan Community Service Commission. She currently works part time for MDOT as a student assistant. A random fun fact about Grace is that she hasn’t thrown up since she was 7 or 8 years old. Some campus resources she’s found helpful are the writing center and speech labs, as well as the recreation center.

What made you decide to do the combined degree program?

Dr. Anthony Spencer really encouraged me to join the program, but I appreciated that I could join as an undergraduate and get a sort of “head start” on the degree.

How is the program course load? 

The program course load, so far, has been manageable. I take two classes a week and I feel like the assignments and readings have been interesting and beneficial to me already.

Do you have advice for students considering the program?

My advice would be to do it. It is a really great program; the teachers, faculty, and fellow students make it a very fun and enjoyable experience.

Casey Johanson

Casey Johanson is a communication studies major in her second semester as a combined degree student, so she will graduate with her bachelor of science in April 2023 and complete her master of science next year. Casey hopes to become a book editor. She would also like to teach at a university or college after graduating. Casey works 30-40 hours a week and is involved in 10 hours of volunteer work. She also writes a few pieces a month for two online publications resulting from an internship last summer. When asked for a random fun fact Casey shared the hippos do not swim and instead they run and jump underwater!

What made you decide to do the combined degree program?

The combination of money and time saved was the biggest appeal to me! I’m also a little competitive so I wanted to be the first person in my family to earn a master’s degree.  

How is the program course load?

It’s pretty good, it’s definitely interesting to take advanced courses in such a broad field. It’s a reasonable amount of work and my classes feel more important than my undergrad courses have felt. 

Do you have advice for students considering the program?

Do it!! Who else has the opportunity to earn a masters in two years? 

The masters degree is usually completed in 3 years for a part-time student or 2 for a full-time student.

What campus resources have you found helpful in your time at GV?

The most helpful resource is honestly all of the different seating options in the library. I know it sounds silly but ever since I found my favorite spot at the library on the Allendale campus I spend most Saturday or Sunday afternoons camped out. Since I have two stepdaughters and a significant other at home it has been the only way I can successfully study! Other than that I have only used the writing center once on campus because a teacher required it for a grade, but I did get a lot more out of it than I expected. 

Riley Sweet

Riley Sweet will finish her first year in the program at the end of this semester with plans to graduate with her bachelor of science this upcoming April and next April she is set to graduate with her master of science in communications. Riley’s major is public relations and she aspires to work for a public relations firm or a company that promotes values she believes in such as REI. Riley currently works in the Speech Lab. Riley has an upcoming internship with an agency this summer. A fun fact about Riley is that she recently got into rock climbing and attends Vertical Earth, GV’s rock climbing club, when she can!

What made you decide to do the combined degree program? 

This program was very efficient monetarily as well as credits-wise for me to pursue. I had considered going further than a bachelor’s degree but wasn’t committed to something until I saw this program. I’m passionate about communications and research which are both present in this program, so a slightly expedited track just made sense for me. Even if I decide later on to get an additional masters degree in something else, I’ll have one which was completed early on in life and gives me a good head start.

How is the program course load? 

I find that it is manageable, but it’s really only manageable for me because I don’t have a minor and because my capstone was completed in my Junior year. If I had a minor, or if I had to complete my capstone while being in this program, I feel as though it would get very overwhelming. There is a lot of reading and bigger projects which take up a lot of time, versus many little assignments in undergrad. The program includes your senior year of undergrad, a time where there are a lot of moving parts and much of your future to think of. I found it was kind of hard to fully participate in undergrad activities and student extracurriculars because my grad classes are in the evening, a time when extracurriculars are typically scheduled. So there are some things that I have missed out on, and driving downtown each time can get a little annoying. 

Do you have advice for students considering the program? 

I would tell any student to look into it more when they are considering entering the program, it’s not right for everyone to get a masters degree and that’s okay. Resources like this blog and first hand experience are something that I wish I could have read when going into the program, just to learn more about what students think. Overarchingly, I feel that the combined degree program was the right ‘place’ for me, the professors love what they do and care about student learning. I don’t enjoy that grad classes are at night only, and that there is only one section available for most classes, but the participation among those classes is great to see and be a part of. 

For more information on pursuing a combined degree program you can request information from The Graduate School: https://www.gvsu.edu/acad/combined-degree-communication-studies-ba-bs-and-communication-ms.htm

GVSU Alumna Eima Pandher’s Path to Becoming a VP at Kinesso

Eima Pandher, Vice President of International Business Operations for Kinesso

The Grand Valley State University (GVSU) School of Communications (SoC) sat down with alumna Mrs. Eima Pandher to find out how she became the Vice President of International Business Operations for Kinesso. Her story is one we are very excited to tell!

COURSE WORK AND CAMPUS INVOLVEMENT: Pandher graduated from GVSU in 2009 with an M.S. in Communication. As a graduate student, she worked for the Center of Entrepreneurship – Seidman College of Business, better known today as the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Pandher also joined the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO), a collective group of student entrepreneurs networking with West Michigan resources to learn and create business ideas and build strong communities. Pandher also completed her undergrad at GVSU, majoring in Advertising and Public Relations. She joined the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), where she focused on fostering strong growth between the student organization and business professionals in surrounding communities. 

“It’s extremely valuable to join and participate in local organizations within your university as it allows you to proactively gain mentors and resources you will need as you progress throughout your program,” said Pandher.

INTERNSHIPS AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE: During Pandher’s time as an undergrad at GVSU, she had the opportunity to intern at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel as an Events Coordinator for the Catering and Events team. She was responsible for supporting the staff with logistics and operations. As a graduate student, Pandher embarked on a journey to Sweden to conduct her research on communication barriers between Scandinavian countries and the U.S. and focused on major cities including Malmo, Gothenburg, and Stockholm.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER AND ACHIEVEMENTS: After completing the graduate program, Pandher decided to move to San Francisco to be closer to her family and start her advertising career. She worked for a few companies before landing her role at Kinesso, which is part of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) – an American publicly traded advertising company with five major networks, one of them being IPG Mediabrands – IPG’s data management and media buying arm. Pandher has been with the company for a total of seven years and started as an Ad Operations Specialist working directly on execution and implementation of creative specifications, submissions, and ad trafficking through third-party ad servers, rich media vendors, and media buying for clients, including Johnson & Johnson, Sony Entertainment and Charles Schwab. She is currently the Vice President of International Business Operations and is responsible for building and expanding digital operations across all North America, APAC, EMEA, and LATAM regions for Kinesso. Her primary functions are digital operations execution, business data insights and analytics, planning, and project management while driving cross-functional collaboration and serving as the integrator helping to connect workstreams. Pandher navigates a rapidly evolving dynamic and organization to manage a broad range of projects to varying degrees of complexity, shifting from strategy to tactical execution.

INSPIRATION AND ADVICE FOR CURRENT STUDENTS: Pandher’s inspiration for success comes from the journey and evolution of her parent’s decision to move to the US from India and start their family-owned businesses. They helped build the foundation Pandher needed to strive in her professional career. Some advice to current students includes: Study abroad during your undergrad/graduate program. It will offer you an experience like no other. Join organizations offered at GVSU and hold yourself responsible for attending and participating in the sessions. If an opportunity is not available at your school or company, don’t walk away from it and expect it will eventually become available. Take the bulls by the horns and devise, deploy and create it.

“Fear will hold you back from accomplishing what you’re already capable of accomplishing. If you let fear win, you’re feeding the wrong wolf” said Pandher.

Confessions of an Advertising and Public Relations Major: Morgan Layne’s Top Five Takeaways

Morgan Layne

Hi, I’m Morgan! This semester I will complete my advertising and public relations degree from Grand Valley State University with an emphasis in public relations. I currently serve as the Vice President of Operations for GrandPR, Grand Valley’s award-winning, student-run, integrated communications firm. We are one of a handful of firms to be nationally affiliated through the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). I am also a member of the Grand Valley PRSSA chapter and serve as the communications intern for our very own Advertising and Public Relations Program. 

In reflecting on this journey, I’d like to share five key tips that have been important to my success in our program: 

1. Talk to your professors. In this program, we are surrounded by professors who care so deeply about us as people, not just students –  they are great resources. Ask them questions, go to office hours, and set up a time to just chat. They are not only missing the fun before class conversations like we are but also have some great advice when it comes to future careers. 

2. Lean on your fellow students. In each class, we are surrounded by at least 20 other students. We are all there to learn more about the same topics. Finding people in a class to connect with has been so crucial in my journey. You can support each other through the class and as you launch into your future career. 

3. Get involved. Seeing the abundance of student organizations and clubs at GVSU can be intimidating. I would hear about them and never think I could do it, but now, here I am. Honestly, I wish I would have joined sooner. In these organizations, you get to work with a community of people who have similar interests and goals. This has helped motivate me and given me my community. 

4. Take a step back to be proud. When school, work, internships, and life are moving quickly, it can be hard to see everything you have done. My favorite way to appreciate the work I have accomplished is by printing out my first and current resumes for comparison. Just by looking at these, I can see how far I have come. If you want some more tips on how to be proud of your progress as an undergraduate, check out my last blog for GrandPR.

5. Try new things. This is the best time to find out what you like and do not like. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Try a new tactic on a project. You might not know much about it but maybe you grow to live it.

To learn more about student clubs in the Ad and PR major program please visit:

GrandPR

GVPRSSA

AdClub

Learn how one international student has made a significant impact in the lives of people living in her home country of Nicaragua

Grand Valley State University international student Dayana Flores, Public and Nonprofit Administration major and Advertising and Public Administration minor, has her very own feeding center that has helped individuals in her hometown in Nicaragua persevere through difficult times. However, her efforts to support her community go far beyond home-cooked meals and food packets. 

Her family has been volunteering with multiple nonprofit organizations since she was six years old. The main nonprofit they worked with was called Manna Project International, which focuses on community development. The Manna Project International helped host programs such as English classes and child sponsorship opportunities. Flores’s family hosted a lot of the volunteers that would come in from all over the United States. Some of them came for a week, a month, or a year. Since her family hosted so many of them and for so many years, she was able to learn how to speak English. 

Once she became fluent in English, Flores started teaching with the volunteers at the age of 13. The English classes were held in her community, just a block from her house. When Flores learned English, she saw all the benefits that came with understanding the language. 

“I was able to start working at the age of 13 translating for so many missionary teams in Nicaragua,” Flores said. “I was able to help my family financially, and I also learned the value of working and earning my own money.  With that money, I was able to help my mom pay for a lot of bills, buy school uniforms and school supplies for the whole year.”

Because she was able to see all the benefits of learning English, she wanted to help more people from her community get there as well. She taught an English class every Tuesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Combined with the other volunteers; they helped teach over 100 students. The youngest of the students she helped was eight, and the oldest one was 65. 

“I miss my students every day, but it has been rewarding to see a lot of my students get jobs where they can use their English language skills,” Flores said.

Since Flores grew up volunteering, she knew this is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. One day Flores went up to her mom and told her about her dreams of starting a community program. 

“Since I grew up in a poor community, I was always able to see the need all around me,” Flores said. “Many of the kids in my community still today cannot have more  than one meal a day.” 

On August 6 of 2016, just a few days before her senior year of high school began, she started her feeding program with six kids from her community. That is when her dreams finally begun to come true. The program is still going on to this day, but they now have 32 kids.

Due to political issues in the country, Flores has not been able to make the program into an actual nonprofit organization, but her hope is to do so whenever they are able. Recently she decided to name her food center Unidos por Cristo (United By Christ) because she believes “we are all brothers and sisters, and that is how we should treat one another.” 

A large part of her food center is feeding kids lunch twice a week after school. Once they are done eating, they get a lesson about respect, diligence, love, friendship, hygiene, or any other lesson that would be easy for them to put into practice. Flores and her family also play games with them and make sure to remind them that they are loved and cared for. On top of that, they help them with their homework since a lot of their parents do not know how to read or write. Since she currently does not live in Nicaragua, her mom, sisters, and nephew run the program while she manages all the fundraising and all the budgeting. 

“Our program mainly helps the kids, but it also helps the parents since they do not have to worry about feeding them twice a week at least,” Flores said. “This also helps my community as a whole because I can see these kids become adults one day. My vision is to see them use all their potential and all their tools to reach success and become people of good.”

Other than the 32 kids from their after school program, Flores has helped 40 families to be fed for a week over this past holiday season. Every family they helped has at least five people to feed. 

Nicaragua is a developing nation that has recently been hit by two hurricanes within weeks of each other during a pandemic. 

“It was so devastating to see so many people lose the little bit that they had. Many families lost their jobs, and on top of that, their homes were destroyed,” Flores said. “I remember sitting in my room, crying, trying to figure out a way to help from afar, and I decided to record a video explaining what was happening in Nicaragua to raise awareness. I posted on every social media platform I had. I also shared my Venmo username to give people a chance to donate. In a week, I was able to raise $1,390!” 

Flores sent the money she raised to Nicaragua, and her mom and sisters were able to deliver the food. The money raised also allowed her to buy other necessities, including medical emergency kits. In total, 232 people from her community were fed this year by her program.

Just last month, Flores and her husband decided to sponsor three kids from the feeding program and pay for these kids to go to a private school all the way through high school and college. 

“My whole career as a student, I have been on a complete scholarship,” Flores said. “In fact, I even have a full ride to go to GVSU now. I know what it’s like to get a chance to succeed in life through education, and that is exactly what we want for the kids.”

She has faith that the children she helps support will be the next leaders in the community and become the ones leading the feeding program one day. 

“They are very smart kids, and I know that this chance will help them reach their potential,” Flores said.

The professors at GVSU have helped her to fall in love with her major even more. Flores’s classes have taught her the skills that will help to turn her feeding program into a nonprofit one day.  

Flores and her efforts are a wonderful example of how GVSU students display excellence in and out of the classroom. Her thoughtfulness and valiant dedication for doing good is something to admire.

To donate to Flores’s food center Unidos por Cristo (United By Christ), you can Venmo her at @Dayana-Flores-2.

The GVSU faculty presenting at the NCA 106th Annual Convention: Communication at the Crossroads

NCA 106th Annual Convention: Communication at the Crossroads

Many of our Grand Valley School of Communication faculty will be participating in The National Communication Association (NCA) 106th Annual Convention: Communication at the Crossroads event. 

This year’s convention will be an entirely virtual event and free. Synchronous sessions will occur on the same dates as initially scheduled, November 19-22, with some virtual meetings held on the days surrounding these dates.  

Below we have listed all of the GVSU faculty members participating in this year’s NCA Annual Convention. If your membership is current through December 1, 2020, you are an NCA Life Member, NCA Retired Member, or you wish to register as a non-member, click here to register. 

Patrick Anderson

Grand Valley State University, Visiting Professor in the Department of Philosophy

Scheduled Appearances

Ancient Rhetoric at the Crossroads: Afrocentric Approaches and the Canon

Thu, 11/19: 9:30 AM  – 10:45 AM 

Role: Presenter

Author Meets Critics Panel: Zoetropes and the Politics of Humanhood

Thu, 11/19: 12:30 PM  – 1:45 PM 

Role: Presenter

On Moderate and Radical Government Whistleblowing: Edward Snowden and Julian Assange as Theorists of Whistleblowing Ethics

Fri, 11/20: 11:00 AM  – 12:15 PM 

Role: Author

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Corey Anton

Grand Valley State University, Professor of Communications 

Scheduled Appearances

Soul and Spirituality at the Crossroads: Jesus as Apology

Thu, 11/19: 11:00 AM  – 12:15 PM 

Role: Author

Robotic Media Environments

 Fri, 11/20: 11:00 AM  – 12:15 PM 

Role: Respondent

Non-Being in Language Structure, Content and Context

Sat, 11/21: 2:00 PM  – 3:15 PM 

Role: Author

Non-Being, Possibilities, Morality, and Death Acceptance

Sun, 11/22: 8:00 AM  – 9:15 AM 

Role: Author

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Richard D. Besel

Grand Valley State University, Professor and Director of School of Communications

Scheduled Appearances

PC10: At the Crossroads: The Future of Master’s Education

Wed, 11/18: 8:00 AM  – 12:00 PM 

Role: Presenter

Public Health, the Environment, and the Body

Thu, 11/19: 9:30 AM  – 10:45 AM 

Role: Chair

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Carl J. Brown

Grand Valley State University, Assistant Professor of Communication

Scheduled Appearances

Communication Centers Section Business Meeting

Tue, 11/10: 11:00 AM  – 12:15 PM 

Role: Co-Presenter

Legislative Assembly I

Wed, 11/18: 12:00 PM  – 4:00 PM 

Role: Presenter

Making a Difference in an Evolving Center: Best Practices for Engaging and Collaborating with Students

Fri, 11/20: 8:00 AM  – 9:15 AM 

Role: Chair

Legislative Assembly II

Sat, 11/21: 8:00 AM  – 10:00 AM 

Role: Presenter

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Anthony Spencer

Grand Valley State University, Assistant Professor of Communication

Scheduled Appearances

A multi-national validity analysis of the Argumentativeness Measure

Thu, 11/19: 11:00 AM  – 12:15 PM 

Role: Co-Author

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Melba Vélez Ortiz

Grand Valley State University, Assistant Professor of Communication 

Scheduled Appearances

Ancient Rhetoric at the Crossroads: Afrocentric Approaches and the Canon

Thu, 11/19: 9:30 AM  – 10:45 AM 

Role: Presenter

The Harpist of Maat: Notes on the Communicative Sacredness of Sound

Thu, 11/19: 12:30 PM  – 1:45 PM 

Role: Author

SC14: Disability Pedagogy at the Crossroads: Classroom and Online Learning Activities for Teaching About Disability

Fri, 11/20: 2:00 PM  – 4:45 PM 

Role: Presenter

Learning Activities for Critical Thinking and Reflection on Communication Ethics

Sat, 11/21: 3:30 PM  – 4:45 PM 

Role: Chair

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Adrienne A. Wallace

Grand Valley State University, Assistant Professor of Advertising and Public Relations

Scheduled Appearances

07. Forging Ahead: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion the Driving Force Behind Communication Education

Thu, 11/19: 12:30 PM  – 1:45 PM 

Role: Co-Author

Crossroads in Pedagogy: Applications and Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Communication Classroom

Thu, 11/19: 3:30 PM  – 4:45 PM 

Role: Presenter

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Peter Zhang

Grand Valley State University, Professor of Communications 

Scheduled Appearances

Flusser and Interology

Sun, 11/22: 8:00 AM  – 9:15 AM 

Role: Author