This Thursday, Apr. 24, the University of North Dakota’s Department of Communication hosted their fourth annual Communication Appreciation Day event. Taking place in the Memorial Union Ballroom from 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., the day served primarily as a forum where the students and faculty of the department could display their projects to the rest of the campus community as well as provide those in attendance with the opportunity to learn from and connect with student participants and professional guests alike.
The inaugural event of the very busy day was the Communication Class Showcase, held from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Over the course of that hour, attendees had the opportunity to learn more about all the exciting projects communication students have worked on over the course of the school year.
The majority of posters at the showcase originated from various communication courses, with two clear standouts being COMM 102: Introduction to Communication and COMM 374: Principles of Strategic Communication. The work displayed from COMM 102 was highly varied, but all of them promoted the versatility and importance of communication across many professions. The posters that came from COMM 374 were much more focused, honing in on strategic messaging in advertising by comparing good advertisements and bad advertisements.
Other projects were sourced from courses such as COMM 104: Introduction to Journalism, COMM 339: Digital Video Production, and COMM 499: Special Topics. In total, there were 23 posters present in the Communication Class Showcase.
Students participating in the showcase generally agreed that having a place to promote their work was a great opportunity that came with a myriad of benefits.
“I think Communication Day is a really good opportunity to kind of connect the classroom with the real word and share with everyone else at UND, outside of just [communication] classmates and professors, what you’ve been working on and learning,” senior Ellen Gregoire said.
“I think, especially for communication, it’s important, because that’s kind of what this is all about,” senior Elizabeth Bonjean said. “It’s a great opportunity to be able to practice important skills.”
Bonjean’s presentation partner, sophomore Ava Mears, shared this sentiment.
“I think there’s a lot of value in networking, I assume there’s going to be lots of different people here. I’ve already met a lot of people,” Mears said before the showcase.
“You don’t always get to connect with your peers on something that you’re passionate about. I’ve been in this program now for four years, and this is honestly the first time that I’ve done this,” senior Aspen Jewkes, the Dakota Student’s Social Media Manager, said. “I think it’s a cool thing for students to do. You get to showcase your work that you’ve worked hard on throughout the semester and throughout the year. It’s something that you should celebrate.”
The Communication Class Showcase was just the first in the exciting lineup of activities and experiences that comprised Communication Appreciation Day.
Quinn Berg is a Dakota Student General Reporter. He can be reached at quinn.berg@und.edu.
