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The Ohio Communication Association hosted the 81st annual Ohio Communication Association Conference on Friday, Oct. 6 and Saturday, Oct. 7 at Clark State Community College in Springfield, Ohio.

Several School of Communication Studies graduate students presented their research at the conference, which was themed “Communication of Discourse: Education, Application and Innovation.”

William Kelvin presented his visual framing study of corporate environmental communication on “TransCanada’s Keystone XL PR videos,” earning Top Graduate Student Poster honors.

"It was my first academic poster so I didn't think I had a chance to win Top Graduate Student Poster," Kelvin said. "Presentation was taken into account, and I am a pretty good speaker. So I won!"

Tammy Bosley participated in three research presentations: “Battle of the Communication Theories: A Head-to-Head Showdown;” “‘Let’s Talk About Health:’ Examining Communication, Culture and Behavior within Health Communication;” and “Using Theory to Explore and Analyze Case Studies in the Classroom.” Zachary Humphries, Laura Andrews and Shawn Starcher joined Bosley for "Using Theory to Explore and Analyze Case Studies in the Classroom."

COMM Professor Nichole Egbert, Ph.D., led a discussion with students David Cassilo, Bethany Leslie, Gretchen Weger, Kristin Parry, Bosley and Andrews as each presented their concepts in “Battle of the Communication Theories: A Head-to-Head Showdown." 

Kelsey Phillips explored body science with her presentation, “Self-Monitoring Style as a Predictor of Anabolic Steroid Use.”

Starcher and Humphries co-presented, “Masculinity and Mental Illness: When Privacy Comes into Play.”

“Attending and presenting at professional and research-oriented conferences are important components to the higher education process, especially for those graduate students who plan to continue their studies and work in academia,” said Suzy D’Enbeau, Ph.D., COMM associate professor and graduate coordinator. “Not only does this give them a chance to discuss their research with peers, but it also provides networking opportunities that can pay off now and down the road.”

Kelvin agreed that attending the conference was valuable.

"Kent State was so active (at OCA), both with grad students and alumni working at seemingly every school," he said. "It was a great experience!"

The Ohio Communication Association is one of the oldest communication associations in the United States. The Ohio Communication Association supports the research, theory, development and application of human communication to educators, students and communication consultants.

Photo 1: Bill Kelvin earned Top Graduate Student Poster honors at the Ohio Communication Association Conference.

Photo 2: Zach Humphries, Tammy Bosley, Laura Andrews and Shawn Starcher presented their research at the Ohio Communication Association Conference in October 2017.