Our graduate committee was beyond impressed by the nominations received for the Excellence in Teaching Award at the M.A. and Doctoral levels this year. Communication Studies graduate students are doing amazing work and are making phenomenal contributions in the classroom.

Congratulations to the winners of this year’s awards, Emily Scroggins (M.A. Student) and Kira Marshall-McKelvey (Doctoral Student)!

The winners

Emily Scroggins is graduating with her M.A. in Communication Studies this summer. Born in Opelika, Alabama, Emily received her B.A. in Communication Studies and English from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2020 with a minor in Film and Media Studies. Her M.A. at CSU is focused on Film and Media Studies. She is broadly interested in the intersection between rhetoric and media as well as investigating the power of media representations specifically looking at representations of the American South. Her thesis focuses on how new television shows are changing viewer perceptions of and transform how folks understand the South. When not in class, Emily likes to avidly consume films or television shows, attempt (read: fail at) painting, and hang out with her sweet cat Milo.

Kira Marshall-McKelvey is pursuing her Ph.D. in Communication at CSU. Originally from State College, Pennsylvania, Kira moved to Fort Collins in 2016 to study Rhetoric and Composition. After teaching at Front Range Community College for a year, she returned to CSU to further study digital feminism (specifically feminist issues on YouTube and other new media). She was drawn to CSU’s Communication Studies Department due to the esteemed faculty, supportive environment, and interdisciplinary emphasis. Kira will be taking over the Communication Studies Instagram page at the end of May while she attends the International Communication Association Conference in Paris, France, so be sure to follow along!