I am currently an Assistant Professor in Communication Studies at Dakota State University in South Dakota. I am passionate about mentoring college students who have learning and attention challenges and helping my students achieve academic success. I include real-world and media applications of communication in my classrooms and believe in a hands-on approach to learning.As a Ph.D. in the field of Communication, my research areas include the intersection of interpersonal communication and media, with a focus on social networks and computational social science applications. I work to understand the importance of media representation and figures for viewers and their identity.