COMST January Alumni Newsletter

Author: rcooney

Let’s make a difference together for Communication Studies on Forever True Day. Help us achieve our goal on Iowa State’s annual day of giving. The Communication Studies faculty and staff are issuing a special challenge this year. When 25 donors make a gift to Communication Studies on Forever True Day, a special significant donation from the Communication Studies faculty and staff will be unlocked for the Communication Studies Excellence Fund! Forever True Day is ISU’s annual day of giving that brings Cyclones together for an impactful 24 hours. Communication Studies would greatly appreciate your donation. Communication skills are critical in all professions. Gifts of all sizes are welcome! Remember, all it takes is 25 givers to Communication Studies on Forever True Day to unlock the faculty and staff challenge donation!

Communication Studies alum Shane Jacobson (2003) received the inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award from Communication Studies at the LAS Alumni Awards ceremony on October 31, 2024. Shane has had a highly productive career in development. Shane currently serves as CEO of the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Shane shared a special presentation titled “Journey to the Future: How an ISU Alum Leads Game-Changing Investment in Cancer Research.” Many students, together with faculty and other guests, attended Shane’s lecture to learn about the prevalence of cancer, as well as the promise of cancer research. Shane reminded everyone of the theme of the V Foundation: “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up!” The V in V Foundation is both for Jim Valvano, who faced cancer and founded the Foundation, as well as for Victory over cancer, which the V Foundation is striving to achieve, by funding all-star scientists engaged in game-changing cancer research.

Communication Studies alum Allyson (Dierenfeld) Krull (2008) received the Outstanding Achievement by a Young Alumni Award from Communication Studies at the LAS Alumni Awards ceremony on October 31, 2004. Allyson has had an impactful communication career in her home state of Iowa through her work for the Iowa State Fair’s Blue Ribbon Foundation and for the Chamber of Commerce Serving North Iowa in Mason City. Allyson shared a special presentation titled “An Iowan’s Communication Career at the Iconic Iowa State Fair and the Nationally-Recognized Mason City Chamber of Commerce.” This presentation was delivered to students in Leadership Communication Theories, plus many other guests. Those who attended learned of Allyson’s adventures creating and promoting a new concession at the State Fair (Rice Krispy Treat on a stick); planning, promoting and leading global familiarization tours to international destinations; and her leadership in the visionary transformative River City Renaissance campaign, a major revitalization endeavor.  

Alumni and families, faculty and families, and other friends came together for the first-ever Communication Studies Alumni Gathering during Homecoming 2024. The gathering was a tailgate prior to ISU’s Homecoming football game. Alumna Kristin Thompson attended the event and told us: “I am so thankful for the Communication Studies community. I felt such a great sense of care and support on Saturday. I loved seeing what everyone is up to, now that we are apart!” At the gathering, there were a number of pieces of fun news discovered, including: two Communication Studies alumni are now married and they attended together, Kelsey Kramer and Tom Kirk; and two of our alumni are almost neighbors, Vance Watts and Brenton Marcum, but they just learned this while attending the gathering. We want to thank the alumni who served on the planning team for this first alumni gathering: Debbie Burk, Nikki Gilbert, Anne Salem, Elizabeth Settles Huffman, Kimberley Stroppe-Boggus and Vance Watts. Please plan to join us for Homecoming 2025, when the Communication Studies program plans to host our second alumni gathering! 

Students in Leadership Communication Theories synthesized their learning from the fall semester by creating their ideal leader. Students were shown a depiction of the ancient sphinx, which combined many characteristics into one being. Students then worked together in groups to reflect on all the theories covered over the semester and to combine what they liked best from each leadership communication theory. Groups used their selected components to create the ideal leader-communicator and to craft an illustration to depict their leader-communicator. Groups presented their results to the full class, which voted on their favorite, based on both the explanation and the illustration. The winning group of Gabriela Aponte Sosa, Gracen Love, Lauren Ploog, Macy Sheffield and Alissa Willis proudly displays their ideal leader-communicator (which they based in part on a character from Kung Fu Panda).

Kierlyn Casmirri – My job as an Acquisitions Editor for Kendall Hunt is to engage with professors at larger colleges and universities in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and the Dakota’s. In virtual and face-to-face meetings, I encourage those professors to author/create specialized educational materials for their courses. My role primarily focuses on building relationships, negotiating agreements, managing the publication throughout the production process, and then overseeing revisions and new editions. It has been very rewarding work for me, as I not only get to meet new people every day, but also get to create lasting professional relationships with my authors. We are always looking for interns in the Dubuque area. I know firsthand from my time as an intern with Kendall Hunt that it is amazing experience and gives a glimpse into the educational publishing world.

Rory McDermott – Things at Georgia State are going really well. I am in the counseling psychology PhD program, which is housed in the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services of the College of Education and Human Development. I love the program and the people I get to work with. People have shared some really cool projects and invited me to collaborate, including some reviews of humility research and measurement-based work (e.g., scale development). It’s definitely busy (I’ve been reading lots of interesting research… keyword “lots” haha), but I feel so privileged to have a seat with such an impactful group. I am excited to begin my predissertation soon, plus the clinical training components.

 I am being challenged and learning so much, both academically and by living in a new place. I’m finding times to explore Atlanta, including on campus (Georgia State is downtown). The city is really green and I’ve been able to join some running clubs and social groups. It may be far from Iowa, but Atlanta is great! I truly miss Iowa State in so many ways; all the relationships, campus, courses, and more. I am already seeing how communication studies can be incorporated into my work in the counseling field- thank you COMST faculty. 🙂 I have so many great memories at ISU and look forward to re-visiting soon.

COMST January Alumni Newsletter

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