Dialogue, (Dis)ability and Fire Safety at this Year’s Senior Symposium

Saint Louis University's 2017 Senior Symposium featured posters from three communication students. Joshua Devitt, Max Hammond and Shelby Zima shared their work in the crowded hallways of Busch Student Center.

After failing to receive an easel, Devitt resourcefully constructed his own using a chair and a book. This resourcefulness was appropriate given the subject of his poster - responsible camping behavior. He developed a Leave No Trace course for camp fire and stove techniques intended to reduce accidental forest fires.

For his capstone project, Hammond conducted a research study examining the value of Saint Louis University's intergroup dialogue course. Intergroup dialogue (CMM 2300) gives students the opportunity to learn from people whose backgrounds and experiences may be different from their own in a safe environment.

Zima's poster "Appropriately Engaging with Individuals with Disabilities" shared highlights from a communication guide she developed for college students. She described the most important elements of her website as the language and actions to avoid section and the testimonial videos.

As this diversity of projects reveals, a communication degree is useful for virtually any career path or field of interest. If you want to find out if communication is right for you, contact our undergraduate program coordinator Dan Kozlowski, Ph.D.