WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. — West Liberty University media communications students Matty Lamp and Jenna Maguire attended the Eastern Communication Association Convention in Pittsburgh on April 9-11, presenting original research as part of the convention’s James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond Undergraduate Scholars Conference. Ryan McCullough, Ph.D., professor of communications and chair of the Department of Media and Visual Arts, and Cecilia Salomone, Ph.D., assistant professor of communications, also presented at the conference.
Lamp, a senior media communications major, presented her paper “Knowledge Gap Hypothesis and Learning Accessibility in West Virginia” as part of a panel titled “Communicating Care: Knowledge, Access, and Human Vulnerability.” Lamp began researching the link between the knowledge gap hypothesis and West Virginia’s educational resource infrastructure in COM 401 (Media Theory) in fall 2024.
“It was such an exciting and rewarding experience to get to share my research paper with everyone in our panel session,” Lamp said. “I am glad that all our hard work from the past year paid off, and I would go to ECA again if I was given the opportunity.”
Maguire, a senior media communications and English double major, presented her paper “Tradwives and Curated Lives: Internalization Through the Media Gaze,” which was featured on a panel titled “Refiguring Difference: Representation, Bodies, and Social Recognition.”
“Experiences like attending the ECA Conference remind me how important it is to take chances on your work. I am grateful I had the opportunity to present my research, connect with other scholars, and represent West Liberty University,” Maguire said.
JoLeigh Young, a senior broadcasting major, also attended the conference.
“ECA was a fun experience,” Young said. “Getting to see my peers present their hard work was motivating, and I loved hearing about all the different topics that the research projects presented.”
Salomone served as chair of the panel “Mountain Stories: The Past, Present, and Future of Journalism in Appalachia,” which featured a series of papers that will become chapters in a forthcoming project she is co-editing with Michael Clay Carey, Ph.D., professor of communication and media at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. McCullough’s work “Cosmopolitanism in Appalachia: The Wheeling Intelligencer and the 1860 Election” will be featured in this collection.
“I am so incredibly proud of Matty and Jenna for the excellent presentations they gave at ECA. This was my first time attending a conference with students, and it was such a pleasure to see Matty, Jenna, and JoLeigh engaging with communication scholarship,” Salomone said. “I am also honored to have my colleague Dr. Ryan McCullough on board as a contributing author to my forthcoming work with Dr. Carey.”
McCullough also presented “The Rhetoric of the Dark Enlightenment: A Burkean Analysis” and “WIGO into the Counter-Environment: Question Mark and Period.”
“I am exceptionally proud of our students who presented at ECA. I am glad that all three students who attended had the opportunity to explore the field of communication,” McCullough said. “Creating these opportunities for students centers everything we do at West Liberty and in the Department of Media and Visual Arts.”
West Liberty University blends a small-town environment with a comprehensive college experience, fostering students’ aspirations through hands-on learning, personalized support, and unique academic programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels. To apply or learn more about West Liberty University, visit westliberty.edu.
Media Contact:
Rhone Thrash
West Liberty University
rhone.thrash@westliberty.edu