Senior Communication Student Honored at National Convention for Top Student Paper

Photo Submitted

Rachael Jensen receives award at the National Communication Association convention as the only undergraduate to present on the Top Student Paper panel in political communication.

Rachael Jensen, a senior communication major in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas, was honored at the National Communication Association convention by being the only undergraduate to present on the Top Student Paper panel in political communication.

Jensen began working on the paper she presented as a part of her Rhetoric of the Modern American Presidency course with Mary Lynn Veden, an assistant professor of communication. Jensen spent about a year adding research and editing to that paper before having it selected for presentation at the conference.

"Receiving this level of recognition this early in my career is a huge honor, and I could never have achieved it without Dr. Veden's mentorship," Jensen said.

Jensen, who also is a tutor in the Business Communications Center in the Sam M. Walton College of Business teaching business students oral communications skills, is currently editing her paper in preparation for submitting it for publication. The paper she presented is entitled "Subordination of the Feminine Voice: Hillary Clinton's Speech to the 2008 Democratic National Convention." Jensen, from Colleyville, Texas, came to the university as a transfer student from Dallas County Community College in the fall of 2014.

The National Communication Association convention was held in Las Vegas from Nov. 19-22. "Attending this conference gave me the opportunity to learn from the scholars who wrote my textbooks, who influenced my research, and who impacted the entire discipline of communication," Jensen said. "While it was a privilege to be invited to participate in that conversation, simply being in the same room as the heavy-hitters in my field was an honor. As I apply to law schools and look toward the future, I will always remember this project as my introduction to academia."