Skip to main content
Top
WVU Home Eberly Home Apply Now

Undergraduate Student Organizations

All undergraduate students who have an interest in Communication Studies can join the Undergraduate Student Association, Lambda Pi Eta, and COMMbassadors. Dr. Carrie Kennedy-Lightsey is the advisor of both the Undergraduate Communication Association and Lambda Pi Eta. Dr. Scott A. Myers is the advisor of COMMbassadors.

Students also have the opportunity to serve as Undergraduate Teaching Assistants in our undergraduate courses or as Undergraduate Research Assistants for faculty members who are working on research projects. 

Undergraduate Communication Association
The Undergraduate Communication Association (UCA) is an organization comprised of students who have chosen Communication Studies as either their major or minor. UCA meets monthly during the Fall and Spring semesters. In addition to their monthly meetings, UCA participates in a variety of service and social activities that benefit the department, the university, and the community. At the department level, UCA has assisted the faculty at recruiting events such as the First Year Academy and Major Match. At at the university level, UCA participates in Trunk or Treat at the WVU Coliseum. UCA is active in the community through volunteering at Scott's Run Settlement House, conducting a clothing drive for Christian Help, coordinating a school supply drive for K-12 teachers in Monongalia County, and assisting the United Way in their annual Community Clean-Up Day. On the social side, UCA hosts an annual holiday party for its members and the faculty as well as attending West Virginia Black Bears and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games

Students can join the UCA at any point during the Fall and Spring semesters. Officer elections for the following year are held at the last meeting in the Spring semester.

UCA is governed by an executive committee, all of whom are Communication Studies majors or minors.

Lambda Pi Eta (Xi Nu Chapter)
Lambda Pi Eta (LPH) is a national honor society for undergraduate students interested in Communication Studies as an academic area of study. To be  eligible for membership, students must  be either a Communication Studies major or minor, h ave completed 60 credit hours with a cumulative 3.0 or higher GPA,  and h ave completed   a minimum of 12  semester hours in COMM courses (excluding COMM 490 and COMM 491), with a cumulative 3.25 or higher GPA  in those courses.

Students who meet the criteria for membership in Lambda Pi Eta are invited to join each Fall and Spring semester. Upon acceptance into Lambda Pi Eta, a one-time membership fee of $10.00 is required.
During the 2020-2021 academic year, 17 students were inducted into the Xi Nu chapter. Some of these students include:


COMMbassadors
The COMMbassadors is a competitively-selected group of Communication Studies majors who represent the Department of Communication Studies at various recruitment, retention, and promotion events during the 2020-2021 school year. They serve  as a point of contact for prospective and current students, parents, department faculty and graduate students, and the WVU community at large. COMMbassadors represent the undergraduate experience at several events, including Welcome Week’s Academic Day, COMM 191 Orientation Course, Speed Networking/Homecoming event, Discover and Decide Open Houses, Major Match and Tour WVU Days, and COMM Course Registration Drives.

Students who are selected as COMMbassadors undergo training prior to the Fall semester and attend events throughout the Fall and Spring semesters. They receive three hours of COMM 491 (Internship) credit for their service.

For the 2021-2022 year, eight students are representing the Department as COMMbassadors. These students are:
  • Jillian Dubil is a senior Communication Studies major from Cleveland, Ohio, with an emphasis in  Social Media and Communication Technology. In addition, she is pursuing a minor in Public Relations. In 2019, she was the Jon Scott Nelson Writing Award recipient. Jillian is an active member of WVU’s Student Food Pantry and the Undergraduate Communication Association. 
  • Jacalyn Geyer is a junior Communication Studies major with a Social Media and Communication Technology emphasis from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition, she is an advertising and viola performance minor, as well as a social media manager for the Undergraduate Communication Association. Outside of the Communication Studies department, she mentors honors freshman in their first-year orientation course.
  • Reagan Kliefoth is a junior Communication Studies major with an emphasis in Organizational Communication and a second major in Advertising. Reagan is from Yardley, Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Undergraduate Communication Association as well as Active Minds.
  • Giana Loretta is a Communication Studies major with an area of emphasis in Integrated Communication.  She is also pursuing two other majors in Philosophy and Political Science. Giana is a junior from Shinnston, West Virginia, and is an active member of the Undergraduate Communication Association. She is also a recipient of the 2021-2022 Department of Communication Studies Undergraduate Honors Scholarship.
  • Dominick Montante is a senior communication studies major with an area of emphasis in Integrated Communication. Dominick is from East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He has previously attended King's College and Northampton Community College.
  • Robert Stover is a senior pursuing a Communication Studies major with an area of emphasis in Social Media and Communication Technology. He is originally from Bel Air, Maryland. In 2020, he was inducted into the National Society for Leadership and Success. In 2019, Robert began working at the student radio station--U92 the Moose--as a newscaster and podcaster. 
  • Trevor Swiger is a Communication Studies major with an area of emphasis in Integrated Communication. He is also pursuing a second major in Interdisciplinary Studies with three minors in Political Science, Agriculture and Natural Resource Law, and Leadership Studies. Trevor is a junior from Grafton, West Virginia, and is an active member of the Undergraduate Communication Association, Collegiate Farm Bureau, and is WVU’s President of the Phi Beta Lambda Chapter. 
  • Yixi Zhou is a a senior Communication Studies major whose area of emphasis is Social Media and Communication Technology with another major in Theatre. Yixi is from Shanxi, China. She was a member of the Chinese Scholars and Students Association. In Summer 2021, Yixi served as an New Student Orientation Leader. She is a honor student and is currently working on her undergraduate research about social media and fandom culture in the Honor EXCEL program. Yixi is a recipient of the West Virginia University International Students Scholarship for four academic years, the 2020 and 2021 academic year Communication Studies Honor Scholarship, and 2021 Eberly College Scholarship. Also, she made the 2019-2021 President lists.

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

COMM majors have the opportunity to serve as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA) in one of the Department's large lecture courses (i.e., COMM 102, 104, 105, 112, 122, 306, 308, 316). To serve as an UTA in one of these courses, student must have completed the course with a grade of B or higher.  Students must enroll in COMM 490: Teaching Practicum for three credit hours during the semester in which they serve as a UTA. 

To inquire about serving as an UTA, students should contact the instructor of the COMM course prior to the next semester's registration period.

Undergraduate Research Assistant
COMM majors who are interested in the communication research process or are thinking about enrolling in a COMM master's degree program may consider serving as an Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) for a faculty member. To serve as a URA, students must secure the permission of a faculty member, who then will supervise them working on a particular research project. URAs may be assigned various tasks, such as locating and reading journal articles, writing portions of the research manuscript, soliciting research participants, or collecting research data. Students must enroll in COMM 491 Section 5: Internship for three credit hours during the semester in which they serve as a URA.

To inquire about serving as a URA, students should contact the faculty member with whom they would like to work.