Congrats to our 2026 Departmental Award Winners!

We are honored to recognize our outstanding COMMunity members!

Each year, the COMM Department recognizes our outstanding members for their dedicated teaching, research, service, and mentorship throughout the academic year. They were honored at our Department Picnic on May 8, 2026.

In recognition of exemplary service to the department, the following people were recognized with the Outstanding Service Award: 

• Tania Nachrin (grad student) demonstrates a generous and deeply impactful record of service to graduate student welfare, and to the broader COMMunity. She has served as Faculty Appreciation Chair, Peer Mentor, COMMGrads Representative in the Graduate Studies Committee, International Student Point of Contact, Admissions Ambassador, COMM Science Track Representative, International Student Member of the Graduate Advisory Committee to the Chair, and UMD Graduate Student Government Representative for Communication. What makes this student especially deserving of this award is not simply the number of positions, but the student’s commitment to community support and speaking up in spaces where graduate students and international students are underrepresented.

• Katie O’Malley-Perrin (grad student) has made many early career contributions to service excellence. She has served as Vice President of COMMGrads, doing crucial work to keep the organization running, and as Graduate Advisory Committee to the Chair, advocating for graduate students. They have also served as Graduate Labor Union Representative and created a new position within COMMGrads, the Chair of Wellness and Morale. O'Malley-Perrin helped revamp the COMMGrads mentorship program and hosted various events centered around graduate student wellness.

• Sylvia Edwards (staff) truly keeps the gears of our 'COMMunity' turning. She came to us from outside the university, which meant she had to learn our systems from scratch. While the rest of us were still trying to figure out where the 'submit' button was on Workday, Sylvia was already an expert in it. She also helped lead the massive administrative undertaking when the Do Good Institute launched their mini-grant program for COMM 107, processing nearly 100 grants. This helped us disperse nearly $10,000 to non-profits that are doing great work in the world.

• Soyoung Bae (PTK faculty) is currently serving on both the PTK Salary Advisory Committee and the PTK Appointment, Evaluation, and Promotion Committee. In these roles, she supports the Department's approximately 28 PTK faculty in such crucial endeavors as understanding the promotion process, preparing dossier materials, and applying for merit pay. Dr. Bae has also served as Program Assistant Director at Shady Grove, and worked with the PTK Chair's Advisory Committee, Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee, Undergraduate Studies Committee, Colloquium Committee, and the department's Faculty Funds Selection Committee. Perhaps most notably, this person demonstrates exemplary service, without having any service requirements in their contract. 

The Andrew D. Wolvin Outstanding Teaching Award recognizes exemplary teaching in the Department of Communication. This honor was bestowed to: 

• Seyeon Park (grad student) is described as “inclusive,” “student-centered,” and a person who doesn’t “just teach communication concepts, they help students grow into confident, thoughtful communicators.” Their teaching philosophy rests on three commitments: individualized engagement, active learning, and a supportive classroom climate. In COMM 107 and COMM 303, she often has one-on-one meetings with students & incorporates hands-on activities. They have also been engaged with the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center, including training in active learning, teamwork facilitation, and gamification, and have earned a meta-credential as an Active Learning Practitioner.
• Courtnee Connon (grad student) has extensive contributions to our undergraduate curriculum. In addition to working on many courses, such as COMM 201, 250, 353, and 488i, Connon grounds their teaching in care, adaptability, and putting students first. She emphasizes real-world application, collaboration, and meaningful skill development. She has brought in expert voices from ESPN, Zillow, UMD campus coalitions, and more, to deepen student understanding. We have also personally witnessed this person’s incredible commitment to student success and willingness to always think outside of the box.

• Emma Newton (grad student) has demonstrated high levels of pedagogical innovation and a strong commitment to inclusivity. They have taught four classes that have required a significant amount of attention to course development. Their teaching is also shaped by their work completing the graduate certificate in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and their background in debate. Newton is also innovative, collaborating with archivists in Hornbake Library and even implementing a final creative project in their class that asked students to host a “gallery opening” on a gender-related issue. Students have presented some amazing projects that included a ten-episode podcast series, photography portfolios, sculpture art, spoken word poetry, and a quilt.
• Sabeen Sheikh (PTK faculty) is recognized for Outstanding Teaching for their exemplary commitment to COMM 107 for almost 9 years. Specifically, they played a vital role in piloting our partnership with the Do Good Institute. Their willingness to integrate social impact into their sections provided the program with the critical data and qualitative feedback necessary to refine the partnership. Their commitment to this ‘behind-the-scenes’ work is a testament to their dedication to the Department of Communication and the broader university mission of meeting the ‘grand challenges’ of our time through teaching efforts.
• Nana Kwame Osei Fordjour (TTK faculty) has taught several important courses in our curriculum, including Communication Research Literacy, Strategic Communication, Crisis Communication, Political Campaigns, and Qualitative Methods—many of which were new course preparations. He has also pursued curricular innovations such as redesigning COMM 304, adapting courses to the summer and winter sessions, and designing a new special topics course. Additionally, their teaching philosophy is animated by three pedagogical commitments: collaboration, confidence, and connections. These commitments also translate to his graduate pedagogy, as he often collaborate with graduate students on research and recently won a $15,000 Faculty-Student Research Award. Dr. Osei Fordjour's personal background also informs their pedagogical approach to treating every student with dignity and respect, and showing them all of the doors education can open. 

• Carina Zelaya (TTK faculty) taught undergraduate and graduate courses in influence, health communication, communication research, and qualitative methods, as well as graduate independent study and doctoral advising. Across these courses, their teaching centers on one goal: helping students to understand communication theory well enough to use it in thoughtful, concrete, and socially meaningful ways. Dr. Zelaya's graduate teaching is guided by the same principles, but with a stronger emphasis on helping students develop as independent researchers and writers. Further, her advising emphasizes growth, critical engagement, clear feedback, and practical support as students move from coursework into conference papers, manuscripts, grants, and other professional opportunities. Dr. Zelaya has collaborated with graduate students on numerous occasions, which has turned into publications and important nonprofit and community work. 
   

This year, we introduced a new award, the Department of Communication Student Choice Award for Teaching Excellence. Undergraduate students nominated grad students, PTK, and TTK faculty for this award. The winner of our Inaugural Student Choice Award was Rebecca Theim. Whether she’s facilitating a fake press conference that forces students to think on their feet, connecting them with industry pros, or bringing her own real-world experience from the Pew Research Center into the lesson plan, Rebecca doesn't just teach communication; she shows them how to live it. We heard stories of her offering mentorship for capstones, opening up her D.C. office for networking, and writing recommendation letters that have opened doors. She models what it means to be a professional who is as compassionate as she is capable.

The Faculty Advisory Committee also gave out important awards. 

• The Raymond Ehrensberger Early Scholar Award honors a graduate student for outstanding achievement in their first two years of graduate study beyond the bachelor's degree. This year's winner, Marcus Wu, has published a co-authored article in Journal of Public Relations Review, which was recognized with the 2024 History Award from the Public Relations Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Moreover, of the four conference papers that he has presented so far, three have received awards.

• The Outstanding Graduate Student Research Paper Award recognizes the best nominated graduate student research paper from the preceding calendar year. This year’s winner is Felicity Dogbatse, for her paper entitled, “Balancing the Scale: A Critical Discourse on Feminist Resistance Movements in Ghanaian and Nigerian Media,” published in the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication. Through a critical discourse analysis of digital media texts of feminist activism in Ghana and Nigeria, the study examines how feminist actors engage with and challenge entrenched gendered narratives within the public sphere through strategic deployment of language, framing, and counter-narratives.

• The Charles Richardson Outstanding Graduate Student Award honors a graduate student in the department for their exceptional achievements in research, teaching and service.
  • The first recipient, Jin Choi, has an impressive record of research, which engages rhetoric, media, politics, and social change through a transnational feminist lens. Their dissertation project, which focuses on demographic decline and related discourses and policies, was acknowledged with the Graduate School’s Wylie Dissertation Fellowship and ARHU’s Bonnie Thornton Dill Dean’s Graduate Research Award. Choi has published one journal article, two book chapters, and has three other articles in progress. Their work has appeared on several NCA top paper panels. Beyond research, the committee was particularly impressed with Choi's ongoing commitment to teaching, which includes teaching, mentoring and advising first and second year students in the Design Cultures and Creativity Program in the Honors College.
  • The second recipient, Rudy Kim, has an active research record in health communication, which includes two published journal articles, one of which they are the first author on, and three more that are currently under review. Kim has presented their work at major communication conferences, one of which won a top student paper award at AEJMC. Their dissertation research, which explores the potential role of AI chatbots in mental health, has the potential to contribute to both community and health communication scholarship. She is also recognized for their ongoing commitment to teaching and the innovative ways in which they engage students in the classroom.

• The Misti Yang Impact Award is named for an outstanding graduate student community builder known for informal mentoring, participation in shared governance, and contributions to student groups. Dr. Yang's excellence in research, service, and teaching flowed from her deep commitments to supporting colleagues and developing community because, in her words, "we all do better when everyone does better." This year's winner, Umisha KC, has a sustained dedication to accessibility and inclusion through their research program, award winning teaching, and meaningful service roles. Yet beyond this, it is clear that she also consistently shows up and creates community in those spaces. 

Finally, the Arête Award recognizes an outstanding faculty member whose teaching, mentorship, and leadership have left a meaningful impact on the graduate community. The graduate students chose to give this honor to Dr. Hailey Otis for their approachability, work to make academia accessible and inclusive, and overall, being a person they look up to and want to learn from. 

The graduate students also created a new award, the Outstanding Student-Centered Service and Advocacy Award. For her tireless work for grad students over the past ten years, the inaugural winner is Dr. Shawn Parry-Giles. 

We also said goodbye to Dr. Shawn Parry-Giles time as Chair of the department. While she will remain a professor, she will be greatly missed as our fearless leader! Thank you for your incredible advocacy, mentorship, and dedication for the past 10 years. To honor her, our department made a donation to Homeward Trails, funding a temporary home for two dogs for one year, a year of food for one cat, and two weeks of food and vaccines for three puppies or kittens. There is no UMD without SPG! 

Congrats to all of our winners and another successful academic year in the books!