Beck Banks, now an assistant professor of communication at Warren Wilson College, researches how life in rural environments impacts trans individuals by studying trans media producers in their native Appalachia.

Erica Ciszek is helping the world better understand how strategic communication impacts gender and LGBTQ issues, and how it influences social change in politics, policies and pop culture.

Documentary filmmaker Sonia De La Cruz uses her keen eye and creative intellect to help bring about positive change in the home health care industry.

Lifelong besties Kay Chansiri and Ping Thipkanok study neuroscience and health communication, respectively. Together they work with faculty associates in the SOJC’s Center for Science Communication Research to investigate Instagram use among female students and its impact on body image.

Hadil Abuhmaid researches cinema as a powerful storytelling medium and investigates how it has formed and represented national identities in her native Palestine.

Bryce Macher uses his media expertise gained in the Communication and Media Studies PhD program to improve brand strength and customer hospitality for international hotel giant Hilton.

Now an assistant professor of communication at the University of Wisconsin–LaCrosse, Irene Awino researches how media coverage, or lack thereof, of political issues in her native Kenya has led to further unrest and violence.

Bethany Grace Howe, a journalist and doctoral alum, shares her experiences as a transgender woman.

Shuo Xu researches the effects of censorship in her native China, particularly the coverage of the Dalai Lama in American versus Chinese media.