CANYON, Texas — A West Texas A&M University communication student will be recognized as one of the region’s best students at a conference April 6.

JoLina Lopez, a senior digital communication and media major from Abernathy, will be recognized as the Southern States Communication Association Lambda Pi Eta Student of the Year on April 6 during SSCA’s awards luncheon at its annual conference in Frisco.

The annual award goes to the undergraduate author of the best-ranked paper submission to SSCA’s Undergraduate Honors Conference. The winner must be a current member of Lambda Pi Eta, the undergraduate honors society of the National Communication Association.

“I am thrilled to have been awarded the SSCA Lambda Pi Eta Student of the Year award,” Lopez said. “I feel like this award reflects my determination and commitment to my academic studies. I wouldn’t have this opportunity without the McNair Scholars Program, and I am grateful to be a part of such a prestigious program.”

Lopez will present on a panel for the Top Four Undergraduate Paper submissions. Veronica Torres, a senior digital communication and media major from Littlefield, also was selected to present her research at the undergraduate conference.

Lopez studied the Hispanic Serving Institution experience and will present “You Feel Like You Belong in Safe Places: Defining Servingness in Hispanic Serving Institutions Through a Photovoice Study.”

“My research reflects the Hispanic student experience and serves to empower Hispanic students to succeed in their academic journey,” Lopez said. “My research is for students just as much as it’s for higher education administrators.”

WT has been an official Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016.

Torres examined “The K-pop Industry and Gender Discrimination Toward Female K-pop Idols” through rhetorical analysis of three popular songs.

“I am looking forward to sharing with people who do not know much about this topic,” Torres said. “I feel like sharing my research is helping spread awareness of the discrimination that happens within the K-pop industry.”

Both are students in WT’s Department of Communication in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities. They each conducted their research projects through WT’s McNair Scholars Program, which has been offered at WT since 1999.

Students in the program receive mentorship from a faculty member; seminars on graduate school admission processes, research methods and financial aid; funding support; tutoring, academic counseling and intense GRE preparation; preparation for research conference presentations; fee waivers for graduate applications; and paid conference travel. The program was named for Ronald E. McNair, one of six crew members who died Jan. 28, 1986, when the Challenger exploded shortly after launching at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

McNair Scholars are an important component in WT’s goal of becoming a Regional Research University, as outlined in the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after its public launch in September 2021. Currently, it has raised nearly $160 million.

About the WT Department of Communication

The WT Department of Communication houses two undergraduate programs: Communication Studies and Media Communication, with four areas of emphasis in each program as well as the option to seek teacher certification in speech or journalism. The master’s program offers two areas of emphasis: one in Communication and one in Media Management. Both can be completed online. For more information on the department, visit wtamu.edu/academics/college-fine-arts-humanities/department-communication/index.html.

Photo: JoLina Lopez, right, a senior digital communication and media major from Abernathy, will be recognized as the Southern States Communication Association Lambda Pi Eta Student of the Year on April 6. Lopez and Veronica Torres, left, a senior digital communication and media major from Littlefield, also will present research at SSCA’s conference.