With the semester coming to a close on May 7, the Communications Department held their annual CommWorks celebration. The event included not only the launch of the CommTracks magazine, but the induction of new members into communications honor society Lambda Pi Eta, and the announcement of the recipient of the Madfis Award.
The Ifill Lounge was decked out in pink hearts and balloons to match this year’s hot pink magazine cover. With a new theme and senior editing board each year, this year’s theme invoked “femininity,” according to CommTracks Advisor Kat Lombard-Cook, but more than just that.
In the “Letter from the Editors” within CommTracks, seniors Rachel Andriacchi, Meg Sutherland, and Grace Tamborella* expand on this theme and describe feeling a “curiosity about the concept of femininity and a desire to amplify different voices, experiences, and perspectives with femininity – especially being from a women’s centered institution.” This is shown throughout the magazine from the writing to the layout and design itself.
As the celebration went on, members were inducted into the Chi Tau chapter of Lambda Pi Eta. Inductees received the cords they will wear on their graduation day.
The Madfis Award recipient was announced shortly after to be Kathryn Janssen, a Communications major with a concentration in Integrated Media. This award in memory of 1940 graduate Gosian Madfis is given annually to a junior who has “achieved academic excellence and a high level of creativity in communications.” Janssen is an active member of the Communications department, involved in the Simmons Radio with Radio and Journalism minors.
Following the award announcement, attendees were able to mingle with others who joined the celebration.
As Maggie Wettergren, the incoming Communications Liaison president puts it, it was clear that Communications is “not just a department, it’s a COMMunity.”
* Rachel Andriacchi, Meg Sutherland, and Grace Tamborella are members of the Voice editorial team. As per our Code of Ethics, Andriacchi, Sutherland, and Tamborella were not involved with the editing or publishing process of this piece.
