Margaret Douglass was selected as one of Ohio’s Distinguished Undergraduate recipients for 2015 by the Ohio Communication Association on October 2, 2015, at the University of Dayton. Each summer, the Ohio Communication Association comes together to choose undergraduate students who have shown leadership, academic merit, community involvement and passion within the field of Communication studies. This year, thanks to a nomination from Assistant Professor of Communication, Laura Russell, senior Margaret Douglass was selected as one of the distinguished recipients of this award.
Margaret, a senior from Allison Park, Pennsylvania, majors in both Communication and Women’s & Gender Studies. Her involvement within her majors extends beyond the classroom, as she has been appointed to serve as a fellow in both the Communication and Women’s & Gender Studies departments. Her position as a student fellow, in addition to her experience as a Teaching Assistant in the Spring semester of 2015, has allowed her to work closely with many of the professors in her departments. Professor Russell praised Margaret’s dedication to her studies, saying that she’s “made lasting impressions on her peers during classroom discussions as well as on her professors observing her course projects.” Last year Margaret co-authored a paper with a fellow student which was selected to be presented at the 2015 Society for Cinema and Media Studies Undergraduate Conference. In addition to Margaret’s academic involvement, she also holds a position as the Recruitment Chair within Kappa Kappa Gamma and is a volunteer at the Licking County Humane Society.
Margaret is currently pursuing a yearlong senior research project, where she is exploring interpersonal and organizational communication studies with a specific focus on gender. Her research involves observing communication patterns during decision-making processes between Denison faculty for verbal and nonverbal queues. She is interested in looking at how gender roles are performed and power dynamics are constructed among Denison faculty
Professor Russell praised Margaret’s passion towards her education, saying “I was so impressed by Margaret’s passion for really wanting to learn beyond the undergraduate level.” When Professor Russell asked her why she wanted to pursue her degree further, Margaret replied “I just love everything about what I’m learning and the questions never stop. There’s so much more that I don’t know, but want to explore. When I think about my future, the thought of getting to do this for a living seems like a dream.” Margaret is in the process of applying to graduate schools, and hopes to begin at a graduate program in the fall of 2016 pursuing Communication and Gender Studies.