communication spotlights

Meet Karen Tracy

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 23:47:27 +0000

Meet Karen Tracy Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 01/21/2016 - 16:47

Chair, Department of Communication • Volunteer Mediator in Local Courts

Karen Tracy is fascinated with talk. She studies how people converse everywhere from academic meetings to 9-1-1 phone calls. She wrote a textbook that answers “everything you could think to ask about talk,” and she’s now analyzing how lawyers and judges have made their arguments during the controversy over same sex-marriage.

Tracy began her career as a speech pathologist, treating patients with speech disorders. Then she got personally interested in a more everyday problem. “I had a friend—a fellow graduate student—who I liked, but who also irritated me,” she remembers. Why was it so frustrating to talk with him? What makes conversations work or break down?

That drew Tracy into the field of communication and ultimately to her work as a professor. Now she focuses on communication in the legal system and government, studying how people converse at school board meetings and in court cases. Her interest in the legal system goes beyond work—she also volunteers as a mediator to help people settle disputes in a Boulder court. “It’s just fascinating to see the conflicts of ordinary life,” she says.

“Little things matter. Talk reveals who people are.”
- Karen Tracy

Tracy brings those experiences back to her students. In a class on mediation she talks about difficult cases she’s worked on. She sends students out to ride with police officers or to observe trials. Sometimes class discussions inspire her research. Her upcoming book on how lawyers and judges talk and write about same-sex marriage grew out of a classroom discussion.

The classroom is a great place to combine her research with her love of teaching, Tracy says. “Talking one-on-one with students melds the personal and intellectual in a way that is deeply satisfying. It often leads to a relationship that continues well past the life of a class.”

A professor who volunteers as a mediator in local courts — “Little things matter. Talk reveals who people are.”

Off

Traditional

White

Meet Wisdom Amouzou

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 23:45:36 +0000

Meet Wisdom Amouzou Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 01/21/2016 - 16:45

Communication Graduate ('13) • Teacher & Education Advocate

Wisdom Amouzou looked nervously at the clock. It was almost 10:20 am. Clustered around him were his eighth grade students. He asked them again if they were sure they wanted to do this. They did. Amouzou had discussed civil disobedience with them for weeks. As their teacher, there was a chance he’d be held responsible if their plan went wrong.

At 10:20 a.m. his students—and many in nearby schools—walked out of class and gathered at a Denver park to protest the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. In the following weeks, student discussed their concerns with law enforcement and school officials in community meetings. “Actual people from their community were listening to their voices,” Amouzou says.

“Have a critical eye toward everything you do.”
-Wisdom Amouzou

Amouzou’s family came to the United States from Togo when he was a child. Like many children of immigrants, he felt a responsibility to find a career where he’d make good money. But two years into his engineering degree at CU, he felt a strong calling to become a teacher. He switched his major to communication, where he learned how powerful human bias can be, and learned to analyze persuasive speech and writing. A key lesson, he says, was “have a critical eye toward everything you do.”

As he studied, Amouzou realized that a successful education must give students the voice to advocate for their communities. After graduation, he joined the Teach for America program and was assigned to a Denver school where he asked students what they wanted to change where they lived. After studying the Black Lives Matter movement, they suggested the Michael Brown protest.

Today, Amouzou teaches at a prestigious international school in South Africa. He is also a co-founder of a the HackSchool project, which seeks to accelerate student learning by giving students the high-tech tools and mentors they need to tackle real problems in their community. So far, Amouzou’s HackSchool team has secured initial funding for the project and is providing 3D printers and video equipment to high school students in Denver.

In this latest endeavor, Amouzou has also found use for communication. “As we're crafting our pitches for the next round of funding,” he explains, “the narratives we frame and tell are significant to our success and ability to get stakeholders invested.” He hopes to eventually bring the HackSchool model to Africa, too.

Learn more about Amouzou on his education blog, Street Knowledge.

In 2017, Amouzou and co-founder Nathan Pai Schmitt were recognized by Teach For America as Social Innovation Award winners for their Denver-based HadaNõu Collective (HNC). The HadaNõu Collective creates centers and schools where students are solving real world problems. They received $50,000 to continue developing and expanding their reach.

Some 183 teams from around the country applied to be considered for Teach for America’s annual Social Innovation Awards this year, the largest application pool in the award’s six-year history. A panel of 12 judges (including alumni entrepreneurs, philanthropists, venture capitalists and members of Teach For America’s executive team) heard pitches from each finalist, met with finalists in small-group interviews, and made the winning selections. Judges, compelled by The HadaNõu Collective’s focus on student agency and deep learning, called the venture a “big idea” to both empower long-standing public schools to drive their own innovation, while also creating new public schools through HNC.

A recent graduate of the communication department, Amouzou is bringing innovation to education in low-income communities.

Off

Traditional

White

Meet Caitlyn Hubbard

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 23:38:36 +0000

Meet Caitlyn Hubbard Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 01/21/2016 - 16:38

Communication Alumna (’15) • Ski Clothing Designer

Caitlyn Hubbard’s favorite color is yellow. As a child, she had a bright yellow winter jacket with an odd-looking spider logo on it. “Who has a bug on a ski jacket?” she wondered.

Years later, the spider reappeared on a business card someone handed her. That’s how she was introduced to Spyder Active Sports—an outdoor apparel company headquartered in Boulder, and the official supplier of the U.S. ski team.

“Who has a bug on a ski jacket?!”
- Caitlyn Hubbard

As Hubbard entered her senior year as a communication major at CU-Boulder, she had both an internship and part-time job at Spyder. She thrived in the company’s fast-paced environment, corresponding with international suppliers and keeping ahead of seasonal trends in fashion. Her major complemented the work, giving her new insight into the company’s operation. “I saw how valuable communication was within the company and I know my degree will be a huge asset to my career.”

After the internship, she knew she wanted to pursue a career at Spyder. “Interning and working while attending CU-Boulder helped me discover what kind of career I want to have long-term,” she says.

Hubbard wasn’t always so sure of her future plans. She entered CU as a pre-med major. But she quickly found she didn’t enjoy her classes and began to wonder if she really wanted a doctor’s lifestyle. “I needed a break to figure it all out,” she recalls. So she took a year off from school to work and get a new perspective.

It was during her year off that Hubbard received the arachnid-adorned business card and found a job she enjoyed at Spyder. Drawn to the fast pace of the apparel industry, she quickly realized that effective communication was essential in such an environment. So when she returned to CU, Hubbard switched her major to communication, with its focus on interactions between people and within organizations. She also continued to work part-time at Spyder.

In class, Hubbard’s professors asked her to examine communication within the company. She noticed how different groups within the company communicated in different ways. She came to understand how managers used fun rituals—like a snow dance—to build a substantial company culture. “It opened my eyes to a lot about the company that I don’t think I would have realized otherwise,” she says.

After graduation, Hubbard heard the news she was hoping for: she got the job at Spyder. She now works as a product developer at Spyder on a range of clothing lines. And communication continues to be crucial to her work. “It can really help or hinder working relationships.”

A recent graduate who designs products for a renowned ski clothing manufacturer – “I saw how valuable communication was within the company and I know my degree will be a huge asset to my career.”

Off

Traditional

White