2013-2014 Exec Board

Congratulations to our 2013-2014 Executive Board! 

Samuel Ashmore, President
Colin Wichman, Social Media & Website Coordinator
Haley Buchner, Social & Events Coordinator
Rebecca Garner, Outreach & Community Service Coordinator

Best of luck next year and we hope that you learn as much from Eta Phi and the values they foster as we all did! 

Spring Teaching Awards

Teachers, they inspire, support and encourage us to become better students and better people. Take some time to honor your favorites in the 2013 Spring Teaching Awards! 

Eta Phi is calling for letters nominating your most beloved instructors (Master and Graduate Students). We want to know what makes this instructor great and how they impacted you as a student. 

Eta Phi will select one Master's Student, one Graduate Student and one Overall Instructor from the nominations that they will be recognized at the Communication Department Awards Ceremony. You must submit your letter to the Communication Department Office or to etaphihonors@colorado.edu by 5pm Monday April 15th! It's all up to you!

Graduate School

Considering grad school? The following tips and resources along with an interview with Jen Malkowski (PhD candidate) will help with your decision making! 

Why should you go to graduate school?

1. Contribute to the public good
2. Ensure quality of life
3. Its where the jobs are
4. Higher degrees net higher salaries
5. Engage in research
6. Personal satisfaction

Info on CU's graduate programs
Program Application Guidelines
Ranking and Stats about CU
Questions about Funding

Start preparing for the GRE now and have Kaplan send you GRE question of the day! 

An Interview with Jen Malkowski:

Why would you recommend grad school to undergraduate communication students?

Graduate school presents a great opportunity to meet other smart, driven people with similar interests. It wasn’t until grad school that I could honestly look around myself and say “these are my people!” In graduate school I was encouraged to embrace my inner-nerd and I would recommend the experience to anyone that considers themselves curious, hardworking, and a fan of some issue or topic that they’d like to really dive into and learn more about. 

What do you wish you knew about grad school before applying?

I learned quickly that graduate school demanded a lot from you: time, energy, and deep, critical thinking which, quite honestly, sucked at first. I wasn’t prepared for trying really hard and still coming up short, or I guess more realistically, trying really hard and coming up average. The thing is, grad school is full of smart, talented people and I guess I wasn’t used to the rhythm and rigor of being surrounded by other driven, smart people who pushed me harder than I had been pushed in my previous academic experience.

How many graduate schools did you apply to?

For my master’s I applied to four schools, for my PhD I applied to ten, which is crazy! Time-wise and money-wise applying for school is consuming

What is one piece of advice you would give someone applying or in grad school?

Learn how to be your biggest fan and your own coach. There’s a lot of solo time in grad school which means you have to learn how to keep yourself motivated independent of constant affirmation. On that note, grad school is a lot of hard work followed by submitting work that, for the effort involved, feels like deserves fireworks, or at least a pat on the back. Unfortunately, although other people are happy and proud for/of you everyone in grad school is busy, busy and so you’ll need to figure out your own measures of success and your own modes of celebration when you meet your goals.

How did you choose which graduate school program best fit your interests and desired career path?

Honestly, I spoke with people I admired, asked for their opinion, and then did a lot of snooping online. And, let’s be honest, I went to San Diego for my BA and MA and landed in Boulder for my PhD - location matters to me and really helped me narrow things down. There are smart people everywhere; be honest with yourself in terms of what type of surrounding you need to thrive personally and professionally. I think there is room to be super selfish in how you go about selecting potential programs so talk with people that can help you identify what matters to you most and then aim big, but be strategic. I got rejected from a program I thought was “OMG! Totally my dream place to land!” – tragic? No. Honestly, I can’t even picture myself anywhere else and I guess that’s kind of how life goes. You make decisions and then you work, daily, to make whatever decision you made your “best decision.” Truth is, I would have been a good fit a lot of different places so be open during the process of program selection and application (and rejection!).

Executive Board Applications

Attention Leaders:

Interested in serving on our 2013-2014 executive board? This is a great way to be a more active member of the CU and Boulder community while utilizing the many skills you have learned as a Communication Major! Submit your resume and Statement of Purpose to etaphihonors@colorado.edu by April 4th, 2013 to be considered!

Executive Board Responsibilities: 

a) Board members shall occupy their position for one year, unless elected and appointed to the position for an additional term 

b) Board members shall operate as a cohesive body, adopting and performing an attitude of care and collaboration for one another and for LPE as a whole 

c) Board members shall perform the duties pertaining to their specified positions, in addition to maintaining the academic membership requirements that are applied to all LPE members 

d) Board members shall attend and provide insight on LPE events/activities, Society meetings, and Board meetings. Including contribution to Eta Phi Advice Forum 

Eligibility: All Executive Board candidates must meet standards for and be accepted into Lambda Pi Eta membership. 

Application Process: Prospective candidates must create an application file consisting of a Resume and a Statement of Purpose document stating the following: 

(a) The officer position of interest 

(b) The reasoning why this particular position is being sought for 

(c) The qualifications that would fulfill the role of the position 

(d) A second-preference position if not accepted for the first position ofinterest 

etaphihonors@colorado.edu

2nd Meeting of 2013

Hi Eta Phi-ers!
Our second meeting of the semester is this Wednesday February 27th starting at 4pmin Hellems Room 267 and there are a a lot of reasons why it is important for you to attend. Here are a few ...

First, our Comm Career & Grad School Night is just a couple weeks away March 13th at 5pm and we have some important updates to go over.

Second, the Rocky Mountain Communication Association (RMCA) Conference is coming up and we still need help organizing.

Third, we need to get ready for the Spring Teaching Awards ceremony!

And fourth, we will be distributing applications for next years Eta Phi executive board. 

We have had a great first half of the semester and we want to keep it going so bring yourselves and your great ideas and we will see you on Wednesday! Also remember to bring any friends interested in Eta Phi.

Join our event on Facebook and we will see you all there!