Lily Crosby was drawn to strategic communications after working for the Appalachia Service Project (ASP), a housing non-profit that works with people in Central Appalachia. She returned to school to improve those skills, graduating in May 2021 with her master’s degree in Communication and Information with the concentration in public relations.

Crosby wants to use her enhanced public relations and strategic communication skills to serve the community through nonprofit organizations.

What has it been like juggling an internship while attending graduate school? Do you have any time management tips?

After four years of full-time copywriting work, Philip Servello was drawn back to college to pursue a degree that would help him pivot to a sports production career.

He recently completed his master’s degree with a concentration on journalism and electronic media. He took full advantage of student media that CCI offers, serving as sports and news director for WUTK 90.3 the Rock and a news producers and sports director for UT Today. He was also a freelance sportswriter for the Oak Ridger covering college sports.

Jessica Barfield is pursuing her PhD in the College of Communication and Information with a concentration in information sciences and recently completed her first year of studies.

She is an active member of the CCI Graduate Student Association and served as vice president during the spring semester. She is a graduate research assistant working with Professor Dania Bilal and also works in the Adam Brown Social Media Command Center.

What made you pursue your PhD in Information Sciences? What are your previous degrees in?

School of Communication Studies Associate Professor Laura Miller has been selected as the second recipient of the William H. Swain Endowed Professorship. 

Miller’s scholarship intersects interpersonal and health communication, specifically exploring illness-related uncertainty, identity negotiations, and conversations with close others in various disease contexts. She teaches courses in health communication, communication theory, and qualitative methods.

Joseph Mazer, professor and chair of Clemson University’s Department of Communication, will be the next dean of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s College of Communication and Information effective July 1. Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor John Zomchick made the announcement to the campus community earlier today.

Sarah Ali (JEM ’20) participated in the Going on Assignment in Prague program during the summer of 2019 with Professor Mark Harmon. A senior at the time, she has since graduated from UT, but we caught up with her to talk about her first time out of the country.  

Raven Bailey (CS ’19) participated in the Communicating Across Cultures in Dublin program led by Associate Professor Laura Miller and Director John Haas during the summer of 2019. Then a senior, she has since graduated from UT, but we caught up with her nonetheless to hear about her first time being abroad.  

Public Relations major Kensi Juszkiewicz, a Public Relations major, spent five weeks during the summer of 2019 in Siena, Italy as part of the Public Relations in Siena with Professor Candice White. A sophomore at the time, Lyra sat down with us to talk about her experience in the program and the best summer of her life.  

Liza Cunningham (AD ’20) participated in two study abroad programs: the CCI Global Scholars program in Sydney and the Advertising in Rome program during mini-term with Professor Sally McMillan.

Since graduating from UT, Cunningham is now an account executive with iHeartMedia, but we caught up with her to talk about her second time studying abroad in Italy.