HPU KALEIDOSCOPE

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Fall 2019 Department of Communication News

Seniors Haylee Maddox and Madi Neal
study in the newly renovated COM lobby.

Student News

The Department of Communication is busy updating our student facilities. In the spring, we updated and redesigned the lobby area of the Communication building, based on student design projects in Nonverbal Communication (COM 2350). This summer, we have continued to repaint, move offices, and are creating a new collaborative classroom for students.

During the spring, Communication students had internships at The Ark Domestic Violence Center, The Heartland Association of Realtors, The Brownwood Chamber of Commerce, Moore Printing, and the Howard Payne University Office of Marketing and Communications. The required internship provides students opportunities for practical application of concepts they are learning in the classroom.

HPU students and faculty at the Capitol in Austin, TX.

The Communication Department took their annual spring trip to Austin, TX in April 2019. Students visited communication professionals at the capitol, Raise Your Hand Texas, and the Texas State Archives.

Faculty News

Dr. Julie Welker, chair of the department of communication, was the speech and debate contest director for several UIL tournaments in the spring, including the UIL District 1-3AAA Regional Tournament held at Abilene Christian University. Dr. Welker is leading a team-building seminar for an area school district in August, and she continues to serve as president of the Brownwood chapter of The Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

Professor Richelle Hair, instructor of communication, serves as president of the Young Leaders of Brown County and is a member of the Brown County Chamber Ambassadors. She taught Junior Achievement curriculum to 8^th graders at Brownwood Middle School in the spring. She is also the HPU cheer coach.

Dr. Welker and Professor Hair will both attend the Texas Speech Communication Association convention in October and serve on two separate panels. Dr. Welker is leading a short-term study abroad trip to Italy and Greece in Spring 2020.

Mackynlie Conklin,
Miss Permian Basin, 2019,
Contestant for Miss Texas USA.

Student Highlight

Sophomore Mackynlie Conklin, from Midland, Texas, will be competing in the Miss Texas USA pageant in August 2019 as Miss Permian Basin. Mackynlie is an HPU cheerleader, a writer and photographer for The Yellow Jacket, and a member of Delta Chi Rho. This year, Mackynlie will also serve as a student worker in the HPU Communication Department.
“I want to encourage girls to be persistent in pursuing their dreams. I want to be a role model to women and young girls to believe in themselves in doing anything they put their mind to,” said Conklin. Conklin said that the HPU Communication department has helped solidify her career plans and grow her communication skills.“Being a part of the COM department has helped me to develop skills to become more professional and refined. These skills transfer over to my pageant experiences, influencing my performance. HPU pushed me to interact more with others, and it really created a perfect place to create friends, but also to have a community to put into practice the materials that I have learned. The skills I learned in the Communication Department have helped me to gain my title and have given me the confidence in myself to communicate effectively to the wide range of members of the pageant community.”

Alumni News

Morgan Ashmore, ('17)

“I am so thankful for my time as a communication student at HPU because I acquired a wide variety of skills that I use everyday in my professional career. The curriculum that the Communication Department offers prepares students for their career by offering a diverse catalog of courses that focus on anything from social media, sports media, advertising, public relations, nonverbal communication, journalism, rhetoric, communication theory, etc. I was also a member of the Student Speaker Bureau where I had the opportunity to debate some of the top speakers in the nation. Being a member of the Student Speaker Bureau significantly increased my public speaking skills and knowledge of current events.

I currently work as the Public Relations Coordinator for Center for Life Resources. Since graduating from HPU in 2017, I have used the skills that I acquired as a communication student in many different ways. As Public Relations Coordinator, my job duties include social media management, event planning, marketing our programs, community connections, public speaking, graphic design, communicating information to the media and developing a positive image of our company to the community. Stepping in to my first professional role as public relations coordinator was a little scary, but knowing that I was well prepared by my alma mater calmed my nerves and gave me confidence that I needed to be successful. It has now been seven months since I started my position as public relations coordinator, and I absolutely love my job. I am beyond grateful that the communication department at HPU helped me prepare and achieve my goals of working in a field that I am so passionate about.”

Dr. Jonathan Davis and wife Audrey,
pictured with Dr. Julie Welker

Jonathan Davis, 2004

Rev. Jonathan Davis, pastor of Beale Memorial Baptist Church in Tappahannock, Virginia, received his Doctorate of Ministry from Hardin Simmons University in May 2019. Jonathan was a communication major and a member of Student Speaker Bureau.

Upcoming Events

Caffeinate, Communicate, Connect - Join the COM faculty every Monday at 10 a.m. for coffee, snacks, and a short devotional in the lobby of the COM building

Student Speaker Bureau UIL Congress Workshop - October 2, 2019

Heart of Texas Swing Tournament - Sept. 27-29, 2019 - Collegiate speech and debate tournament, featuring parliamentary debate, IPDA debate, and AFA Individual Events tournament

Homecoming Reception for Journalism and The Yellow Jacket Alumni - Saturday, Nov. 2, 1-3 p.m. in the Balcony, Mabee Center

Student Speaker Bureau UIL Speech/ Debate/ Journalism Workshop - Nov. 6, 2019

Student Speaker Bureau trip to Oxford/London - Nov. 13-20, 2019

Italy and Greece Short-Term Study Abroad Trip - May 2020—open to all students, alumni, and friends of the university

Email Dr. Welker for all event registration and information.

Stay up to date on all of our news and events by following the HPU Department of Communication Facebook page.

Fall 2019 Department of Art News

Student Highlight

Abi Brown, Art Education Major

Abi Brown
What led you to choose HPU for your education?

I grew up nearby and even went to bandcamp in highschool, so I’ve been familiar with HPU for sometime. Both of my parents have attended HPU, and several close friends began school here after graduating high school. I remember them talking about their experiences here, and started trying to convince me to apply when it came time for me to transfer from a community college. For a long time, I didn’t consider HPU an option, because I assumed a private school would be too expensive. However, when I compared it to my other top choice (I literally had a spreadsheet and compared it dollar for dollar), HPU somehow made the most financial sense. God worked through scholarships and financial aid, and I got to go to my dream university.

What has been the most important experience as an art student at HPU?

The student art shows have contributed so much to my experience as an art student. They are a way to be exposed to other students’ finished work, they create an environment for the local artistic community to come together, they are a structured way for students to work toward goals, and setting up the show itself teaches gallery skills and collaboration. Art shows have given me the opportunity to experience what professional artists experience, and that has been so valuable.

How has HPU shaped you as an artist and and future teacher of art?

Although the art department has had its challenges, the changes have also taught me how to adapt and make the most of every situation. We may be a small group, but working so closely with other students has helped me be aware of the value that each student has and the unique perspective they bring to the table. As an artist, HPU has shaped me to adapt and pursue excellence no matter the situation. And as a teacher, HPU has taught me that every student matters.

For what are you most thankful for in relation to your education at HPU?

I am thankful for the heart of each professor/staff member for students. HPU feels like family and as a student I’ve felt safe and invited. That feeling wouldn’t be possible without each individual member of HPU making the choice to love students and work for their good. This experience hasn’t been so much like “school” to me; it’s been an invaluable education that has prepared me for a career, faith, family, and life as a whole.

Alumni Highlight

Julie Mize, Adjunct Instructor

Julie Mize, ('96)

Ms. Mize’s association began in March of 1992 when she was a high school senior from Houston, meeting Eloise Trigg to interview for a Howard Payne University art department scholarship. That subsequent fall she would be an art major also seeking teaching certification. Ms. Mize notes, “Receiving that scholarship was a boost to my confidence and I appreciated Mrs. Trigg’s faith in my abilities. I was so excited to learn all I could from my university faculty.”

“Half of my art classes were held in the old barracks that had been purchased from the U. S. Army when Camp Bowie was closed. In these buildings, Dr. Charles and Mrs. Maurine Stewart had developed the HPU art program. I never knew them, but I knew of their dedication from their careers in teaching here and the seeds of that heritage were planted in me. Mrs. Trigg had been one of their students, and now I was one of hers.”

“In my junior year, though I didn’t see it coming, God began fine-tuning one of my artistic interests when I took the photography class. I was introduced to the magic of the darkroom, and after the class I kept practicing photography.”

Following graduation, her first teaching position was in an elementary school in Houston. “Three years later I married and moved to Brownwood, where there are no elementary art jobs. However, there was a position for an art teacher at Brownwood Middle School, and I took it.” Due to the developmental differences between middle school students and elementary-aged students, Ms. Mize discovered that she had to make adjustments in her teaching. She turned to her former professor the then head of the Art Department, Ann Smith for advice and her ongoing mentoring. As Ms. Mize’s career continued, so did her relationship with HPU. “Over the years my teaching experience grew and HPU’s education department began placing student teachers with me. I have loved working with those students and felt I was giving back to HPU by helping them prepare for their own careers.”

Ms. Mize completed her Master of Art Education degree at Texas Tech University’s campus in Junction, Texas. There, she was again afforded the opportunity to work with her preferred medium of photography. “It was my first access to a darkroom in many years and I dove right in. I continued to take photography courses through that time. After I graduated Mrs. Smith asked if I would be interested in teaching the photography class for the HPU art department. I said ‘yes’.”

“So now, with 22 years of public school teaching and 10 years of adjunct work for HPU, I have seen how a few small steps early on in life have led further down my life’s path. I feel the legacy of what Dr. and Mrs. Stewart started, and what Mrs. Trigg and Mrs. Smith carried forth. I thoroughly enjoy working with my HPU students and I hope they gain a sense of how God guides our lives with steps that can lead to bigger events that help shape our own and others’ lives.”