/ Communication Department

Faculty-Student Collaborations

Enhance your learning by collaborating with faculty mentors on research and creative projects. In the process, you’ll develop analytic skills and the confidence to succeed. 

  • Two people are standing in front of a research poster titled "Exploring Visual Appeal of Women's Health Apps." The person on the left is wearing a purple shirt and a striped tie, while the person on the right is wearing a black coat. Both are smiling at the camera. In the background, other people and posters are visible.Noah Jurik ('16), with faculty mentor Dr. Marissa Doshi, presenting a project on the visual appeal of health apps.
  • A student stands next to a research poster titled "A Feminist Reading of Darling Magazine" at a presentation event. The poster includes sections on introduction, methods, findings, and conclusions, along with various images and charts. The student is wearing a light-colored blouse, dark pants, and a name badge, and is smiling at the camera. Other participants and posters can be seen in the background.Kelsie Nyhuis ('17) presenting her project on the construction of womanhood in magazines at NCUR
  • A student is presenting a research project titled "Anonymity and Racist Discourse on the Web: A Study of 4chan.org" in front of an audience in a classroom. The slide on the screen displays the title and the names Parker Weaver and Dr. Marla Dodd from Hope College.Parker Weaver ('17) presenting his research on online racism at NCUR.
  • A classroom setting with students sitting at desks facing a projector screen displaying a presentation titled "Sociological Propaganda." A faculty member stands at a podium to the right, engaging with the students. The classroom has a map on the wall and a window with shades partially drawn.Allison Schultz ('18) presenting a project on voting behavior at NCUR
  • A panel of five people sit behind a table on a stage, engaged in discussion. Behind them, a screen displays the title "Technology, Human Nature and Human Values" with the subtitle "Communication Honors Seminar 2014." The audience is visible in the foreground.Communication honors students present at the 2014 Critical Issues Symposium
  • A man in a suit stands at a podium gesturing towards a projected presentation slide titled "A Photovoice Analysis of Happiness" with subheadings "Honduras | United States | Japan" and credits to Jean Luc Miralda from Hope College, mentors Dr. Deirdre Johnston from Hope College, and Dr. Rika Hamatani from Waseda University.Jean Luc Miralda ('17) presenting research on cross-cultural understandings of happiness at NCUR
  • A large group of students and faculty are gathered in a gymnasium, engaging in discussions and presentations in front of rows of academic posters displayed on boards.Hope College Celebration of Undergraduate Research offers students an opportunity to share their research with the campus community.

In addition to regional conferences and Hope’s own Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Performance, nearly every year we have student research projects accepted for presentation at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR). Our students have also co-authored research with faculty mentors and won state-level awards for their creative media projects. Read on for a sampling of recent faculty-student collaborations and contact individual faculty if you are interested in collaborative opportunities.

RECENT CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
  • Uncovering the Path to Reparation (NCUR 2021)
  • Understanding Afrikaners' Perceptions of Affirmative Action (NCUR 2021)
  • Portrayals of the Prototypical Student at a Small, Liberal Arts College: Exploring the Dark Side of Strong Organizational Culture (NCUR 2020)
  • Classism and Racism in South Africa (NCUR 2020)
  • Career, Calling and Well-Being (NCUR 2019)
  • Understanding and Exploring the Reasons for Unsettled Race Relations in Post-Apartheid South Africa (NCUR 2019)
  • Growing Creativity and Shrinking Traditions (NCUR 2018)
  • A Photovoice Analysis of Happiness in Honduras, USA and Japan (NCUR 2017)
  • A Feminist Reading of Darling Magazine (NCUR 2017)
  • We’ve Been Trumped! Personality Predictors of Voting Behavior (NCUR 2017)
  • Media Games: The Non-Athletic Framing of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games by the American Media (NCUR 2017)
  • Racist Discourse on the Internet: A Study on 4CHAN.ORG (NCUR 2017)
CO-AUTHORED PUBLICATIONS

Dr. Stephanie Pangborn, with Dr. Brandon Boatwright (Clemson University), co-authored an article with students Caleigh Miller and Madelyn Velting in Health Communication: “‘I don’t feel like a hero’: Frontline healthcare providers’ social media storytelling during COVID-19.” 

Dr. Sarah Kornfield has co-authored publications with students Kristen Noack and Nicolette DeSantis. “Speed Discussion,” an article that was co-authored with Noack, is published in Communication Teacher and will help future professors lead better discussion activities during class. “The Language of Gender,” a chapter that was co-authored with DeSantis, appears in GenderSpectives and will help students understand how language and gender interconnect. 

STUDENT-LED CREATIVE PRODUCTIONS

Our students have been recognized for their creative productions by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and by the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 

  • 2021 Second Place – Documentary Division, A Search for Belonging, produced by Kaleigh McKee, Alec Suchan, Bre Nolan and Sam Joachim
  • 2020 Student Award for Excellence – Long Form Fiction, Detestable Tendencies, produced by Ben Douma
  • 2016 First Place – Mini Documentary category, Shaped by Flames, produced by Noah Jurik and Tony Byrne 

Hope students Catherine Hagenbush (COMM), Julian Gonzalez (COMM) and Annika VanEyl (PSYCH) produced a recycling video for the Holland-Hope College Sustainability Institute.

DIGITAL RESEARCH PROJECTS

Challenging Borders: Displaced Persons is a GLCA initiative to fund collaborative scholarship on the broad topic of borders. As part of this initiative, Dr. Jayson Dibble, along with students enrolled in his 300-level course on persuasion, collaborated with an international partner from Forman Christian College, Pakistan, to create:

  1. A short video that offers a research-based, persuasive message to counterbalance the negative rhetoric surrounding refugees in war-torn areas like Syria
  2. An interactive infographic that lets users learn research-based information about how refugees impact host countries

Dr. Marissa Doshi, worked with Hope Hancock ’16, a communication minor and Mellon Scholar, on a digital timeline project that compared youth music festivals (Woodstock and Coachella) to analyze changing discourses of cultural citizenship.

Interested in Research?

Our faculty look forward to collaborating with students on research projects. Visit faculty pages to learn about their research interests or to identify a mentor for your project.

Hope CollegeCommunication Department

Martha Miller Center257 Columbia AvenueRoom 107Holland, MI 49423

workP. 616.395.7595