Doctoral Honors Seminar Recap

Nine distinguished scholars were the dissertation mentors at this year’s NCA Doctoral Honors Seminar, held June 18-20 at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. They were Andrew High, Pennsylvania State University; Charee Thompson, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Omedi Ochieng, University of Colorado, Boulder; Kimberlee Perez, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, University of Arizona; Tim Kuhn, University of Colorado, Boulder; Julies Riles, University of Missouri, Columbia; Jeffrey Bennett, Vanderbilt University; and Erich Sommerfeldt, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. 

The primary organizer of the Seminar at Tennessee was Associate Professor Jenny Crowley (PhD, University of Iowa), whose own research interest is interpersonal communication, with specific focus on stigma and supportive communication. 

The 30 doctoral students attending the Seminar were divided into three mentoring groups, Communication Theory, Rhetoric/Performance Theory, and Media Theory, each led by three of those senior faculty members from universities nationwide. 

“Breakfast Breakouts,” three simultaneous informal sessions to talk about research, were offered in three broad areas: Knowledge, Power, and Organizing; Gender, Sexuality, and Social Media; and Health, Stigma and Social Effects. 

This year’s professional development sessions, presented by combinations of UT faculty members and DH mentors, addressed the topics of: The Value of Communication as a Discipline, Navigating the Academic Job Market, The Changing Landscape of Higher Education, The Tenure Track: Publishing, Grants, Interdisciplinary Collaboration, and Community-Based Projects; and We’re All Human Here, Work-Life Balance, Imposter Syndrome, and Making a Difference. 

Spectra magazine asked three doctoral students who attended this year’s DHS to comment on their experiences there. They told us: 

By Amarachi Nina Uma Mba, Communication Studies Dept., West Virginia University. 

I first heard about the National Communication Association’s Doctoral Honors Seminar (DHS) from my supervisor, Dr. Dan Totzkay, who forwarded the call for applications and encouraged me to apply. At the time, I wasn’t sure I was the kind of student they were looking for. I had just finished my first year in my PhD program as an international student and often questioned whether my research voice belonged in high-level academic spaces. But Dan’s encouragement gave me the push I needed to try. 

I spent a lot of time working on my application, writing, editing, revising, and refining my ideas. When I received the acceptance email, I could hardly believe it. I read it several times just to be sure. I was going to DHS. 

The experience in Tennessee exceeded my expectations. The seminar sessions were packed with helpful and eye-opening conversations about academic life, research, and career development. The mentors were not only approachable but deeply honest. They shared perspectives with clarity and openness that made the professional development sessions feel like “bare-it-all” conversations. I particularly appreciated the Communication Theory group sessions with Dr. High, Dr. Thompson, and Dr. Kuhn. Their feedback challenged me to think more critically and to engage more deeply with theory in my own research. 

One of the most meaningful parts of the seminar was the group paper discussions. As someone working in health communication, particularly in areas such as misinformation, patient-provider communication, and culturally grounded messaging, the diversity of thought in the room prompted me to consider new angles I hadn’t previously considered. The feedback sparked fresh ideas for my dissertation, gave me clarity on some theoretical gaps, and recharged my creativity. 

Beyond the academic sessions, the informal moments, conversations between sessions, sharing stories, and connecting over common challenges created a strong sense of community. We had different research interests and backgrounds, but the support and affirmation we shared reminded me that I am not alone in this journey. 

Leaving DHS, I felt more grounded in my identity as a researcher. I was reminded of why I chose this path and inspired to keep going, even when it gets hard. 

To other doctoral students who are thinking about applying, please do. DHS is not just a seminar. It is a supportive and intellectually rich space that will challenge you, energize your work, and connect you with scholars who genuinely care. 

Many thanks to Jenny Crowley and the University of Tennessee for being such warm and generous hosts. Thank you to NCA and Dr. Dan for believing in me. 

By Victoria T. Fields, Ph.D. candidate, Dept. of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 

Currently, women of color who have obtained a doctorate and tenure represent 5% of the U.S. population. As a Black woman in academia, my career goal is to add to that population. I believe my participation in this year’s Doctoral Honors Seminar will help me achieve this goal. DHS provided a warm, welcoming, and supportive environment to engage in rigorous research that will impact the future of communication scholarship.  

As a doctoral candidate, research can often feel isolated due to no longer being in coursework. I believe research is better situated in shared inquiry rather than isolation, and DHS provided just that! In my dissertation, Voices in Solidarity: The Power of Collective Transformation in the Black Feminist Social Movement, I utilize Black feminist rhetorical historiography, archival methods, and oral history methods to explore how Black women collectively theorized and (re)defined their Black feminist politics in the 1970s. Through DHS, I engaged in critical and meaningful dialogue with faculty and rising scholars whose research expertise in rhetorical theory and performance pushed my thinking into new and exciting directions! My seminar experience at DHS strengthened my theoretical framework and contributions to Black feminist rhetoric and scholarship.  

 The mentorship that I received from Drs. Jeff Bennett, Omedi Ochieng, Kimberlee Pèrez, and the feedback from my cohort felt like a warm embrace full of constructive criticism, hope, joy, and optimism. Although our time together was ephemeral, I am tremendously grateful to have shared a room with these individuals, to learn more about the amazing work of my colleagues, and to receive and provide feedback on each other’s work.  

I was also able to build community and (re)imagine possibilities through casual conversations with my peers across communication disciplines. These engagements made the experience even better! I left DHS inspired and with a new sense of purpose. This experience made me feel even more confident as a teacher-scholar and educator. I hope to extend this level of mentorship and opportunities to my students in the future.  

To future doctoral students who are applying to the NCA Doctoral Honors Seminars, I recommend taking the time to reflect on the purpose and goals of your research, be open to collaboration and new theoretical perspectives, do not be afraid if you are still figuring out the direction of your research project or dissertation, and ultimately, be yourself!  

Thank you, DHS! 

(Editor’s Note: Ms. Fields was recently received the 2025 K. Patricia Cross Future Leadership Award, American Association of Colleges and Universities.) 

By Matthew Witkowski, Ph.D. student at West Virginia University 

This year I had the pleasure of being selected to participate in NCA’s Doctoral Honors Seminar. This was a truly valuable experience, and one that I won’t soon forget. There is a lot I could say about the DHS, but I will try to hit on a few highlights without rambling on and on. Through the DHS, I was able to connect with some incredibly kind and intelligent people at both the peer and mentor levels. One of my favorite parts of DHS was just being able to hear about the research that my peers are doing across the field. In a way, it almost felt like getting a sneak peek behind the curtain at studies that will someday be published. Being able to receive input into my own work from the same group of brilliant individuals was also incredibly meaningful. 

As I continue with the work-in-progress that I presented at the DHS the input of both my peers and my mentors has already started to shape how I am considering the study’s design. The professional development panels were also quite informative. Through these, I was able to receive advice from seasoned scholars known across the field on a variety of important topics such as navigating the academic job market or balancing the challenging parts of being a scholar with the challenging parts of being a human-being.  

Overall, the DHS was a valuable experience in which I was able to make both friends and professional connections, receive advice from diverse perspectives across a variety of communicative specialties as well as universities, and gain insight not only into my own work, but also into the work of my peers who will help constitute the future of the field. Huge thanks to NCA and the University of Tennessee Knoxville for putting on such a wonderful event. If you’re a student and have the chance to do so, I absolutely recommend that you apply to the DHS in 2026.