Dr. Shari Hoppin, Associate Professor for the Hall School of Journalism and Communication (HSJC,) Michael Gray, lecturer for the HSJC and Trojan Debate Club sponsor, and TROY students Abby Lane and Chloe Meadows participated and received recognition in the 2024 National Communication Association convention that was held in New Orleans, Louisiana in November.

Dr. Hoppin received the Top Paper award in the Environmental Communication division for her paper “Framing of Heat Illness in United States Newspapers.” 

“The 2024 NCA convention was memorable to me, not just because I earned a Top Paper award in the Environmental Communication division, but more because two TROY undergraduate students had papers accepted for presentation,” said Hoppin. “Student papers have been submitted before at regional conferences, but it was particularly rewarding for TROY to earn this recognition at the national level.”

Gray presented at the convention, which was a first for him. His research focused on artificial intelligence and how it will be integrated into education. He also explained how the Chat GPT’s (generative pre-trained transformer) custom GPT builder will help his students in Trojan Debate.

“I’ve built my own custom GTPs for debate training,” he said. “It will also coach, facilitate rounds, prep cases and I’m currently working on one that analyzes solutions.”

Lane and Meadows, both communication majors, each presented their research at the convention. Lane’s research focused on the Houston Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal by analyzing news reports and insights, while Meadows researched the media coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, comparing reports from liberal and conservative media outlets. Both students developed their papers in their Rhetorical and Communication Theory class with Hoppin.

“Presenting at NCA 2024 was a huge learning experience,” Lane said. “I’ve never had the opportunity to conduct research before taking Rhetorical Communication Theory with Dr. Shari Hoppin, let alone present that research at a national conference. Being able to go to NCA and hear from my peers on topics they were passionate about while getting to present about a topic I was passionate about was encouraging and informative. It’s exciting to meet fellow students who care about their education and want to push themselves to think harder and outside of the box, and it’s also cool for me to hear about those things! I don’t know that formal research is what I will be doing for the rest of my life, but I’m honored to have had something I’m proud of accepted to a conference like NCA and have been able to be there to talk about it.”

“I was honored to be speaking among some of the best minds in communication at the conference, as well as just getting to hear their ideas and research,” Meadows said. “Presenting at the NCA conference is a star on my resume that puts me ahead of others as I head into the workforce in just a few short months. It was so rewarding to have my research accepted and presented at a national conference after all the hours of hard work I had put into the paper and the classwork. I am very thankful for Troy University and my professors who encourage academic excellence and professional learning experiences.”

The National Communication Association (NCA) is a non-profit, membership-based scholarly society dedicated to advancing communication research, teaching, and practice across various contexts, serving as a hub for academics, teachers, and practitioners in the field of communication by providing a platform for networking, sharing research, and promoting ethical communication practices.

Lane and Meadows are both members of Lambda Pi Eta, the official communication studies honors society for the NCA, and attended the business meeting for the honor society while at the convention. Meanwhile, Dr. Hoppin was elected to the honor society’s National Faculty Advisory Board.