Incoming Class, 2009-2010

Ph.D. Students

Mun-Young Chung earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies from Kwangwoon University in 1997 and served as a public affairs officer for the Korean Army for three years. After receiving a master's degree in mass communications from Sogang University in 2002, he worked as an analyst in the cable and satellite television industry for LG. He presented four research papers at national conferences, including ICA and AEJMC, while earning a master's degree in mass communications from Kansas State University in 2008. His research focuses on individuals’ entertainment choices in relation to media technology undergirded by psychological effects theory.

Jian Cui earned his bachelor's degree from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in project engineering in 2006 and a master's degree in management science and project in 2009. His previous research focused on measurement of telecommunication indicators and impacts telecommunication policies have on telecommunication performances with particular regard to China. While at Penn State, he expects to further study the relationship between telecommunication policies and performances, primarily using quantitative methods in a general international environment.

Lauren DeCarvalho earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism, with a minor in international studies, from Penn State in May 2006. After working a year as a writer/editor/project coordinator at a digital advertising firm near her home in Bucks County, she decided to return to Penn State in 2007 to obtain her master’s degree in media studies, with a minor in women’s studies. During the program, she allowed her ongoing passion for film, cultural and women’s studies to evolve. Her thesis embodied a cross-cultural study with the exploratory aim of creating spaces where both feminist sensitivities and cultural specificities were considered in regards to the representation of women in horror films from the United States, Japan and Italy. For her dissertation, she plans to concentrate her efforts on feminist (film) theory and feminist readings of contemporary films.

Margaret Diamond is corporate counsel for Southwestern PA Human Services Inc., where she oversees all legal issues affecting the eight corporations that comprise the SPHS system. Margaret began her legal career at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and subsequently taught at the Duquesne University School of Law. A 1990 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School Of Law, Margaret has focused her practice on health care law and is particularly interested by the intersections of technology, law, bio-ethics and policy. She earned a bachelor's degree in speech communication from Duquesne University and received her master's rhetorical theory and criticism from Pitt. Her scholarly interests which include traditional areas of communication law, such as First Amendment, privacy, defamation and copyright, and the ways in which  new technologies and new media affect these areas.

Xue Dou earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Shizuoka University in Japan and her master's degree in public relations from Michigan State University. While at Michigan State, she worked as a community coordinator in an international dormitory and organized various international events there. She has also been an assistant of a summer study abroad program called Advertising in Asia for two years. Her research focus on public relations and advertising, with a particular interest in understanding how to utilize new media in these fields.

Sangyong Han, originally from the Republic of Korea, earned his bachelor's degree in public administration and public policy from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in 2000. He has completed his master's degree in telecommunications from Indiana University in 2009. He has seven years of work experience in the field of telecommunication in Korea. His primary academic interests include media economics, new media industry and media policy. He has been working with David Waterman, a professor at Indiana University, with regard to digital transition of media industry and its economic effects. At Penn State, he wants to study policy issues focusing on the social and economic impacts of information and communication technologies.

Brian MacAuley earned his bachelor's degree in communication from the University of Massachusetts in 1999 and a master's degree from Suffolk University in 2009. His research interests include consumerism, new media technology, media literacy, children and online gaming, and the representation of alcoholism and recovery in mass media. During his doctoral studies, he hopes to produce original research grounded firmly in academic theory and relevant to audiences both inside and outside academia.

Cristina Mislan earned a bachelor’s degree in English and psychology from Louisiana State University. She earned her master’s degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University as well. While at the Manship School, she focused her research on media and race. In several research papers, she has addressed how the mainstream media and black press have framed minority public figures differently. Mislan’s thesis explored how the black press framed President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign compared to Reverend Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign. As a Ph.D. student, she plans to concentrate on critical cultural studies as well as international communication in order to further explore her interests in race and ethnic issues in the media.

Mohammed Nadhir Ibn Muntaka, a native of Ghana, earned his bachelor’s degree in integrative arts (with concentrations on Web design and management, computer graphics and digital photography) from Penn State in 2005. After a couple of years working as an instructional assistant for Penn State Information Technology Services and a photo lab specialist for Wal-Mart, M. Nadhir earned his master’s degree in education, teaching and learning with technology from Lock Haven University in 2009. His research focuses on the psychological, political, economic and socio-cultural impacts of technology on people and their education in the developing regions of Ghana.

Jeeyun Oh earned a bachelor's degree from the department of mathematical sciences at Seoul National University in Korea. She also earned a master's degree from the Department of Communication at the same university. As a master's student, she mainly focused on empirical studies on new media. As a Ph.D. student at Penn State, she will continue to study the psychological effects of new media technology on users.

Yong Tang earned his bachelor's degree in English from Sichuan International Studies University in 1993. He earned his master's degree in International Policy and Practice from the George Washington University in 2008. Before coming to Penn State to earn his Ph.D. candidate, Yong worked as a full-time international news editor and reporter for more than 10 years for People's Daily, the largest and most prestigious newspaper in China. He was the Washington-based correspondent of People's Daily from 2004-2007. One of his most unforgettable experiences during his stay in the nation's capital was having many one-on-one and face-to-face interviews with influential people, including former President Jimmy Carter, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Washington Post managing editor Philip Bennett and many others. At Penn State, Yong Tang looks forward to focus on new media and political communication. Yong was born in Sichuan Province, China.

Justin Walden earned his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Albany (N.Y.) in 2001 and a masters degree in media studies from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University in 2006. A native of New York’s Southern Tier, Justin has a combined eight years of experience as a journalist and public relations professional. At Penn State, he plans to focus on the legal and economic implications of the growth of web-based user-generated content.

David Weinert a Michigan native, holds an master's degree from Michigan State University. His research interests focus on electronic media law and, more specifically, the Federal Communications Commission rationale on the regulation of broadcast content. He has taught and four universities and has more than nine years of faculty experience. His successes in academia over the years includes recognition from the Penn State for teaching excellence, as well as experience revising department academic curriculum, service on tenure-stream search committees, research, installation and integration of new state-of-the-art audio and editing labs, and more. In addition, he is a veteran major-market media professional with more than 12 years of commercial radio experience.

Kyung Han You earned his bachelor's degree in sociology and master's in communication at Yonsei University in Korea. He also completed his Ph.D course work in mass communication at Yonsei University. He worked as a manager at the one of the top film investment and distribution companies in Korea and as a researcher at the Korean Broadcasting Institute and Yonsei Communication Research Institute. His research interests include audiences’ emotion, pleasure, desire and literacy issues in various cultural texts which were especially controlled by (political and economic) power relationships on the basis of the perspective of critical discourse analysis.

Aaron Heresco earned a bachelor's degree from Penn State in letters, arts and sciences, along with a minor in history. He earned his master's in media studies from the University as well. Aaron's research focused primarily on political economy, propaganda and television news. As a Ph. D student, Aaron looks forward to continuing work on political economy and the news, while also branching out into economics and more critical/cultural studies. He would also like to engage in more activism and public scholarship.

Master's Students

Anna Allsop earned her bachelor's degree in communication from Denison University in 2008. She primarily studied rhetoric and media/mass communication. As an undergrad, her research involved political economy and hegemony theories and their relationship to media representations of marginalized social groups. Anna plans to continue formulating her research around these areas while also exploring new media and media policy. At Penn State, she plans to incorporate these interests into her study of ethnic humor.

Janelle Applequist graduated with high honors from Penn State in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in psychology. As an undergrad, she completed two internships, one as a news assignment reporter for KDKA-TV Pittsburgh after receiving the Marvin and Josie Krasnansky Internship Grant. Janelle is a member of Kappa Tau Alpha, the National Honor Society in Journalism and Mass Communication. Although her passion for journalism extends across all areas, she is particularly invested in researching the effects of the mass media on gender issues globally.

Sarah Burton a native of Kennett Square, Pa., is entering her senior year at Penn State after recently returning home from studying abroad at Trinity College in Dublin. This Schreyer Honors Scholar is a journalism and political science major with economics and international studies minors. She enrolled in the Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate program and will be taking credits toward her master's degree while finishing her senior year of college. She plans on studying the effect of the Internet's changing landscape on First Amendment issues such as obscenity and parody law.

Laura Caldwell earned her bachelor's degree in English communications from Saint Francis University in 2009. During her four years at SFU, Laura participated in two study abroad programs. In Italy, she earned a minor in fine arts while studying under Charles Olson and photographer Scott Miller. Other accomplishments during her undergrad career include playing Division I softball and showing work in several photography shows. She plans to focus on looking at the impact and ethics of image manipulation in the media. She is a native of Bellefonte, Pa.

George Christo-Baker earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing and communications from the University of Toledo in 2007. Since then he has taken some non-degree courses at Penn State. His research interest lays in media effects with a focus on gender. He was born in Sierra Leone and raised in Ohio.

Loren Crispell from State College received his bachelor’s degree in marketing in August of 2000 from Penn State. Upon graduation, he began work in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, and has served as the director of marketing for Olympic sports, and now holds the positions of marketing manager for Penn State basketball, as well as handling play-by-play duties for Penn State baseball. While pursuing his master’s degree in media studies, his interests lie in focusing on the blurring of the lines between opinion and journalism, particularly within sports media and internet blogs.

Katie Cuppett earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising/public relations and a French minor from Penn State in 2008. She currently works as a writer/editor and external relations coordinator in Penn State’s College of Engineering, managing all public relations efforts for the School of Engineering Design, Technology and Professional Programs. She will continue to work full time at the University while she pursues a master’s degree in media studies. Katie plans to focus her research on religion in the media. She is particularly interested in how religions or religious people are portrayed in the media and how this affects public opinion. Katie is originally from Bedford, Pa., but has made State College her permanent residence.

Valerie Dames is a senior, a Schreyer Honors College student double-majoring in advertising and Spanish. She is simultaneously pursuing her master's degree in media studies as a part of the Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate program. During her sophomore year, she interned in the Shreyer Honors College college relations office and followed that with a summer internship working for MediaWhiz, a multi-media marketing firm in Lower Manhattan. After studying abroad in Spain in spring 2009, Val spent the summer back in Happy Valley as a research assistant to faculty members in the College of Communications.

Dave DeIuliis from Pittsburgh earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Penn State in 2009. Before deciding to return to Happy Valley to pursue a master’s degree in media studies, he was enrolled in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism and also completed a minor in kinesiology. He hopes to focus his research on media law and the new media.

Dan DeIuliis from Pittsburgh graduated from Penn State in May 2009 with a bachelor's degree in journalism in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism with a minor in kinesiology. He is entering his first year in pursuit of a master's degree in media studies and hopes to concentrate his research in the world of sports.

Carolyn Donaldson from Hollidaysburg, Pa. earned her bachelor's degree in theatre/speech communication and business administration and management from Siena Heights University in 1982. For the past 30 years and at present, Carolyn is a practicing broadcaster. She is currently the evening television news anchor of a CBS affiliate in the Johnstown/Altoona market.

Megan Duke earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Penn State in 1998. After graduation, she spent seven years working for CNN’s Washington D.C. Bureau in live news coverage. Megan helped to cover major news stories such as the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. She also has several years of experience in public relations work, both at Georgetown University Hospital and Burson-Marsteller in Pittsburgh. Megan hopes to explore all the options of media studies and hopes to help shape the future generations of journalists. She is a native of Johnstown, Pa.

Stephen Fiehler from Pittsburgh is in the media studies Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate program and is expected to graduate in May 2010. His academic focus is telecommunications policy. He has interned for the media policy nonprofit group, Free Press, and for Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), a senior member on the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet.

Jennifer Fyock earned her bachelor's degree in media studies from Penn State in 1999. Since then she has worked in various positions for NBC, FOX and most recently BurrellesLuce. For her graduate studies at Penn State, she plans to focus on media effects as it pertains to child development. She is a native of Reading, Pa.

Rachel Guldin graduated from Penn State’s media studies program and served as student marshal for the May 2009 commencement exercises. Rachel wrote her undergraduate thesis about the Media Education Foundation, incorporating both critical content analyses of selected educational films and a political economy of the organization.  In her graduate work, she intends to focus on critical and cultural studies of children’s film and television, and hopes to incorporate children’s media literacy into her studies. Rachel is from Lebanon, Pa.

Sharde Hardy from Dillsburg, Pa., earned her bachelor's degree from Bluefield (Va.) College. While there, she became passionate about researching "the art of communication."  Specifically, Sharde studied the effects new communication technologies have on interpersonal conversation among members of Generation Y. Following graduation, Sharde spent a year serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA for the Dan MacMillan Center for Service, Mission and Ministry at Bluefield College. At Penn State, she wishes to continue her research on social media tools, focusing on the positive and negative effects these tools provide for the workplace.

Courtney Herring earned her bachelor’s degree in communication and English Literature from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. She is a 2008 Summer Research Opportunities Program participant at Penn State under the mentoring of Colleen Connolly-Ahern. Her research is centered around the framing of African-American Hurricane Katrina victims on CNN and FOX News. At Penn State, she plans to continue her investigation of African-American media portrayals during and after crises. Courtney is a native of Clarkston, Mich.

Ji Young Lee graduated as the telecommunications department student marshal from Penn State in 2008. Ji Young was also inducted into Phi Kappa Phi her senior year. Since high school, she has been fascinated with the powerful impact of communication technologies on individuals’ everyday lives. Through her coursework at Penn State and various experiences in South Korea facing substantive issues relevant to the relationship between people and communication technologies, Ji Young has been interested in the social and political effects of communication technologies.

Seoyeon Lee earned her bachelor's degree in mass communication from Illinois State University. She wants to pursue a career in inter-cultural communications. Seoyeon took a brief break from her studies upon graduating to earn work experience in Korea. She worked at a educational consulting group for one year in order to gain knowledge on how to better communicate with people in business.

Omar Maglalan earned his bachelor's degree in communication with a double major in sociology at Virginia Tech. While at Virginia Tech, he worked as a research assistant for the Virginia Tech Gaming and Media Effects Research Lab and helped conduct a study pertaining to video game effects, as well as a study on audience perceptions of race in the news. He did part-time work as student editor for the academic journal Communication Law and Policy and has since become interested in studying the dynamics of media law as well. At Penn State, he is excited to study the psychological effects of new media while focusing on their possible legal and social implications.

Yuan Sun earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism with an international studies minor from Peking University in China.  During her undergraduate years, she engaged in intensive journalistic practices by serving as editor of PKU Youth, a school-run newspaper and assistant editor of a Peking University’s English magazine, PKU Newsletter. She also worked as an intern for CNN Beijing Office when the powerful earthquake struck Sichuan in China. She then started her internship at the New York Times Beijing Bureau after Olympic Games 2008. At Penn State, she would like to research the effects of China’s media on public opinion on certain issues and impacts on foreign media in building and improving China’s image.