1. When did you first come to ACU?
I started at ACU as a freshman in 2009.
2. What made you want to come to ACU?
When I was looking for colleges, I wanted somewhere that was relatively small, had lots of ways to get involved, has a Christian atmosphere, and wasn’t too far from home. It also didn’t hurt that I got a full-ride scholarship!
3. A little bit about your journey at ACU/things you were involved in?
I started off at ACU as a vocal music education major. My whole life, I’ve loved music, so I thought being a music major would be the right path for me. Spoiler alert…. It wasn’t. For me, music was a hobby, not a career. Meanwhile, I had gotten heavily involved as a staff member at Pine Cove Christian Camps where I ended up working every summer of college. That led me to choose Family Studies and Ministry as my new major in hopes of one day working full time at a Christian camp in Texas. While a student at ACU, I was in a Social Club, started an a cappella group, led a Spring Break campaign, and was heavily involved in Sing Song. My involvement with Student Productions eventually led me to get a job working for Tom Craig and choosing to stay at ACU for my M.A. in Communication to continue working with Tom to lead Sing Song and Follies. Fast forward 6 years… Now I’ve taken over Tom’s role as the Director of Student Productions here at ACU.
4. Where did you get your doctoral degree?
My Ph.D. is from the University of Kentucky. My specialization is Instructional Communication with focus areas in Educational Psychology and Quantitative Methods.
5. What made you want to pursue a PhD?
Honestly, I never DREAMED I would get a Ph.D…. Much less a Masters. But, serving as a graduate assistant at ACU made me realize that I loved teaching. So, initially, I went on to get my Ph.D. because I wanted to teach. However, I soon realized that I loved research, and my love for both drove me to complete my degree.
6. Interesting things you are working on right now? Grants received, interesting papers you’re working on, new technologies/methods you are using in the classroom?
I have some exciting research that I’m currently working on. First, I am interested in the effects of response time (i.e., chronemics) in asynchronous, mediated communication. Some of my past research has explored the interpersonal impacts of response time in instructor-student, trainer-trainee, and employer-employee email exchanges. I am currently collecting data for a study that explores the effects of response time on the perceived compatibility of partners in the initial stages of a dating relationship through both text messaging and Instagram direct messaging. Second, I am interested in exploring problems related to communication technology in instructional settings. Given the ubiquitous incorporation of technology into the classroom, my applied research in this area addresses technology-related classroom issues instructors face on an everyday basis. A recent student explored the effectiveness of classroom cell phone policies in university classrooms. In the future, I am working on a study that explores how connecting with students via social media may affect instructors’ credibility, especially for graduate teaching assistants.