Sam Becker/Herb Meinert Scholarship

The Sam Becker/Herb Meinert Scholarship is given to an outstanding junior or senior Communication Studies student. This year's award recipient is Joana Ramirez.

Joana is earning a major in Communication Studies and minors in Latina/o/x and International Studies. Her exceptional contributions to the department, the University of Iowa, and our surrounding community are all the more impressive as the daughter of immigrants and a first-generation college student. She has served on the Campus Activities Board and the Hawkeye Service Teams. Her team learned about inequities within the K-12 education system in the U.S. and spent their 2019 spring break working with non-profits and under-resourced schools within the St. Louis, MO area. She gave outstanding support to the Communication Studies department as the undergraduate assistant for the Obermann Center’s Workshop in Latina/o/x Studies, under the direction of Dr. Darrel Wanzer-Serrano. Her work there was so strong that she was hired for additional work by the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies. Recently, Joana achieved a long-held dream of studying abroad, both through hard academic work and by taking on a second job, which allowed her to spend a semester in Seoul, South Korea at Korea University.

We applaud Joana’s extraordinary academic, service-oriented, and professional achievements and hope that her education in our department will continue to help her critically engage the communities to which she brings her valuable voice. She plans to join Americorps after graduation and hopes to “amplify other underrepresented voices,” a goal we are sure she will meet.

Patrick and Kimberly Hatting Scholarship

The Patrick and Kimberley Hatting Scholarship is given to an outstanding Communication Studies major who has demonstrated perseverance in their undergraduate studies. This year's recipient is Hannah M. DeFauw.

Hannah is currently a junior in the Department of Communication Studies and is minoring in Human Relations. Congratulations, Hannah!

Robert P. Newman Award

This award is given each year to a graduating senior with an outstanding Departmental and overall grade point average. This year's winner is Celia Wiseman with a cumulative overall GPA of 3.87 and a major GPA of 3.79.

Joseph M. Sitrick Media Scholarship, and Cristen M. Loza de Bighley Award

The Joseph M. Sitrick Media Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding Communication Studies major with career interests in video/audio production and/or media management. This year's winner is Elizabeth Wickham. She is a Communication Studies major who has had several prestigious internship experiences and paid positions involving social media management. She was a social media intern with an entertainment startup in Georgetown called Neo Elite. She currently serves as the social media assistant for the admissions office here at the University of Iowa and an on-campus brand manager for Victoria’s Secret PINK. This summer, Elizabeth will be the Digital Production Intern at the PenFed Credit Union.

Elizabeth is a Communication Studies major who is making an impact on the university and local community, which also makes her a fitting winner for the Cristen M. Loza de Bighley Award. Her academic achievements have been recognized by inclusion on the Dean’s List for the past two semesters and an invitation to join the Communication Studies, honor’s society Lamda Pi Eta. Elizabeth’s commitment to Communication Studies is evident through her involvement in the Communication Studies Student Association and in her role as Executive Assistant for her campus. Additional, Elizabeth has transferred what she is learning in the classroom and applied it in several prestigious internship experiences and paid positions, including her current position as the social media assistant for the admissions office here at the University of Iowa and an on-campus brand manager for Victoria’s Secret PINK. This summer, Elizabeth will travel to Tyson’s Corner, Virginia for an internship at PenFed Credit Union. We know she will make the University of Iowa and the Department of Communication Studies proud!

Joseph M. Sitrick Media Internship

The Joseph M. Sitrick Media Internship goes to a promising student who has secured a summer internship in the areas of video/audio production and/or media management. This year's winner is Macy Anderson, who has an internship with the University of Iowa Athletics Student-Athlete Academic Services, where she serves as the Community Engagement Intern.

Jerome and Marian Feniger Award

Kaylen Luttenegger is this year's winner of the Jerome and Marian Feniger Award, which is given to a junior or senior working toward a BA in Communication Studies who shows outstanding promise in broadcasting. She is an outgoing, hard working Communication Studies major with a high GPA. Kaylen has been one of our top video production students, she is talented in all aspects of broadcasting, including (but not limited to): writing, producing, directing, cameras, and editing. She has shown herself to be interested and talented by directing the introduction to a multi-camera newscast. This semester, she was not only one of the top creative scriptwriters in Writing and Producing Television, but she was also slated to have the lead role in the class’s sitcom. We are confident Kaylen will make an important impact in broadcasting. 

Richard A. & Donna J. McKay Award

The Richard A. & Donna J. McKay Award is awarded to a graduating Communication Studies major who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to community engagement, service or outreach. We have two winners this year!

Alina Andino is a Communication Studies major and a Gender Women Sexuality Studies minor. She attributes her coursework with sparking her passion around issues of social justice and interpersonal relationships. She is involved with several organizations, including Student Advocates for Planned Parenthood, Deaf Iowans Against Abuse (where she had an internship), Domestic Violence Intervention Program, United Action for Youth (where she did a work study), and The Council on Status of Women. She is passionate about violence prevention and hopes to join AmeriCorps after graduation. 

Olivia Hamilton is a Communication Studies major, with a double minor in English and Human Relations. She has volunteered with Circle K, Iowa Students for Refugees, and the Crowded Closet. This semester, she is also being inducted into Lambda Pi Eta, the Communication Studies National Honor Society. She hopes to pursue a law degree and work to defend the legal rights of immigrants, refugees, and the criminally convicted.

C. Jay Starr Award

The C. J. Starr Award for an undergraduate student working closely with a faculty member on a special academic project which shows promise of publication in the field of Communication Studies is being awarded to Grace C. Zukowski.  Grace has worked with Dr. Kate Magsamen-Conrad and Ph.D. student Hannah Trew on the development of an evidence-based curriculum for institutions of higher education to use with undergraduate students to help them navigate sexual consent appropriately and their own terms. A report of this project will be submitted to the National Communication Association Conference and then for publication.

Orville Hitchcock Award

The Orville Hitchcock award is given to a graduating Communication Studies major with the highest cumulative grade point average. This year's winner is Brett Shaw, with a cumulative overall GPA of 3.89 and a major GPA of 3.86!

H. Clay Harshbarger Award

The H. Clay Harshbarger Award is award to a Communication Studies Honors student with the highest Departmental GPA who also complete an Honors thesis. This year's winner is Amanda Kelly!