NEWS

Louisiana Tech celebrated its first MA students in communication studies at the spring commencement ceremonies.

Leslee Bennett and Madison Remrey, both graduates of Tech’s undergraduate program in communication, are the first MA graduates in communication studies with a concentration in communication technologies.

Dr. Judith Roberts, associate professor of communication studies, said this program started two years ago and currently has a cohort of almost 10.

“We are so proud to offer this new MA program, which truly allows individuals to be versatile and marketable when looking for a career,” Roberts said. “To have our first two students be individuals who came through our undergraduate program as well makes me as a professor very proud to watch how they have developed over their collegiate career.”

Bennett plans to stay at Tech and work in University Communications, and Remrey intends to pursue her Ph.D.

“This program has meant so much to me,” Bennett said. “I was able to form new friendships with my fellow peers in the program and learned so much more about communication, research and important topics our current society faces.”

Remrey, who started the program with a two-week old baby, said the program has allowed her to grow as a researcher.

“It has opened my eyes to the importance of discipline,” Remrey said. “The professors in this program made me realize I cannot be a master of communication if I do not discipline myself to participate in the field of scholarship within communication. This looks like reading scholarship from all types of communication scholars — though  my favorite is in the critical field — and writing even when I feel like I can’t write anymore. There is no better way to grow your academic writing voice than to just write consistently.”

Roberts said the goal of the program is to create graduates who can work in a variety of fields to communicate effectively and efficiently.

“Our MA program can help students in every field – communication, engineering, science, education – all of them,” she said. “The great thing about communication is thatwe all have to do it – and in the work force, we need to be able to communicate well. Our program takes the rigors of academic scholarship and real-world learning and merges them into something that can be used in all fields.”

For more information about the MA or the undergraduate program, please email Roberts at JRoberts@LATech.edu.