Student Awards

The Ashton Phelps Award

Billie Virgina Wyler is the Communication Department’s 2023 Ashton Phelps Sr. Memorial Award Recipient. This award is given on recommendation of the faculty for excellence in communication studies.

I’m from Delray Beach, Florida. I started at Tulane as a freshman in 2019 and will be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication this May. I have loved studying Communication and I am so grateful to have learned from such incredible, accomplished professors. My studies and appreciation for journalism inspired me to start writing for The Tulane Hullabaloo in my junior year, where I now hold the position of Digital Director.

When I started at Tulane, my major was originally Psychology. I chose this major somewhat on a whim, as I was not quite sure what I was interested in. However, as I began to explore a range of courses, I quickly realized I preferred those in liberal arts, specifically those more closely related to Communication. Thus, I changed my major to Communication in my sophomore year. I have thoroughly enjoyed pursuing this degree since, and I appreciate how this major has allowed me to improve my skills in many areas. The areas I have improved in includes writing, speaking, critical thinking, media literacy, and even empathy. I have had the pleasure of taking classes with several esteemed, brilliant professors, whose courses were enriching and unique. I have found essentially all my Communication classes compelling and aligned with my academic interests, and this made participating and earning high grades attainable. With graduation approaching, I look back on my experience in Communication very fondly, and I plan to utilize all I have learned in my professional career.

My postgraduate plans are currently in the works! I am still in the job search process and I’m actively looking and interviewing for jobs in communication and marketing in the South Florida area.

Congratulations Billie! We are happy to recognize your exceptional record of excellence both in and out of the classroom, and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

• 2022 Recipient, Clara Lang
• 2021 Recipient, Victoria Jordan

N. Frank Ukadike Award for Excellence in Media Studies

Crawford Lemoine is the 2023 recipient of the “N. Frank Ukadike Award for Excellence in Media Studies” This award is given to students based on the recommendation of the Communication faculty for excellence in Communication and Media Studies.

As someone who hopes to pursue a career as a writer and director, much of my time at Tulane has been devoted to making short films with fellow students and attempting to grow as a filmmaker. Since I gained technical grounding in film production at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts in high school, I decided to major in Communication, rather than attempting the traditional Digital Media Practices degree. I felt it was so important to understand the responsibilities that come with being a media creator, of having the eyes of the world on your work. Since many of my films deal with comedy and satire, I also hoped for Tulane's Communication courses to enhance my ability to think critically about topical issues; likewise, I was excited for courses like "Film Analysis" to elevate my craft and satisfy my artistic cravings. Thanks to my Communication courses, these goals have been met, and I now feel more equipped than ever as I begin this next chapter of my life.

Being a Communication major and student filmmaker from Madisonville, Louisiana, I was recently able to merge my academic experiences with my love for comedic filmmaking. My senior Honors Thesis consisted of the creation of a satirical short film, titled "The Influencer." My hope is for this film to make a limited festival run soon. After graduating, I plan to pursue a career as a writer-director in New York.

Congratulations Crawford! We are happy to recognize your exceptional record of excellence both in and out of the classroom, and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

• 2022 Recipient, Avery Anderson
• 2021 Recipient, Natalie Holderbaum

The Glendy Burke Medal in Communication

Congratulations Carlotta Murrin on being selected as the 2023 Glendy Burke Medal in Communication Award winner. This award is given to the student who best combines academic performance and contributions to community in the field of communication.

Throughout my time at Tulane, the classes I have taken in the Communications department have not only generated my interest in studying how differing systems of communication interact with each other and directly affect our lives but have also helped me appreciate the importance of differing systems of communication in creating a sense of togetherness in an otherwise complex world. With the invaluable support of professors Dr. Mauro Porto and Dr. Aidan Smith in the Communications department, I had the opportunity to write an honors thesis about female journalists in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico in order to understand if the violence they may face as a result of their work is gendered, and the process in writing this thesis has been extremely rewarding and eye-opening. After graduation, I plan to use the skills I learned from the Communications department to help me pursue a career in external relations in the foreign policy field.

Congratulations Carlotta! We are happy to recognize your exceptional record of excellence both in and out of the classroom, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

• 2022 Recipient, Lance Brunson
• 2021 Recipient, Juan Alejandro Olarte-Cortés