SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. — On Sept. 18-19, 10 Penn State Schuylkill students and two faculty members presented scholarship and received awards at the 86th annual Pennsylvania Communication Association (PCA) conference. The theme was “Framing What Matters: Communication, Story, and the Human Condition” and the conference took place at the University of Pittsburgh – Johnstown campus.

Janelle Gruber, assistant teaching professor of corporate communication, and Valerie Schrader, professor of communication arts and sciences, participated in the conference. In addition to presenting a poster and a panel presentation on her own research in strategic communication, Gruber served as the respondent for a panel, as a member-at-large of the organization, and as the interest group chair for the Strategic Communication/Integrated Marketing Communication interest group this year.

Schrader, who is the immediate past president of the organization as well as the interim writing competition coordinator and the interest group chair for undergraduate research, presented her own scholarship on collective memory in a spotlight welcome workshop and chaired multiple panels at the conference. At the general business meeting, Gruber was elected second vice president of the organization. She will be planning the 2028 conference which will be held at Penn State Schuylkill.

Ten Penn State Schuylkill students presented a total of 13 original rhetorical research projects at the PCA conference this year. All work submitted was blind-reviewed by scholars in the discipline and selected for presentation based on merit. The projects ranged in topics from political communication to pop culture to religious communication and reflect the variety of issues covered by the communication discipline.

Schrader and her students were recognized at the conference with awards for their work. Fourth-year nursing student Jenalise Muir received first place, and second-year business student Bill Mills received second place in the Undergraduate Writing Competition. Both students were presented with plaques at the conference. Schrader was recognized with the Carroll Arnold Distinguished Service Award for her work with the organization.

Katie Wank, a third-year business student with the accounting option and a corporate communication minor, reflected on her experience presenting her research project at PCA.

“Undergraduate research is a way to push myself to the next level and show myself what I am capable of. By going to PCA, I get to make new friends who want to push themselves also and I get to share the research I have been working on,” she said. “It is a very fun and exciting process from the start to the end.”

Siamiralis Cortes Jaime, a second-year student majoring in radiological sciences, also presented her first research project at the conference.

“I had an amazing time, and I met so many great professors and students during my time at the PCA conference,” she said. “I also got the chance to explore a new area, and it gave me a new fun experience to remember!"

After the conference, Schrader, Gruber, and the students visited the Flight 93 Memorial in nearby Shanksville, where the students learned more about the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and paid respect to the 40 passengers and crew members who lost their lives as they prevented the airplane from striking the U.S. Capitol building. The students also reflected on the memorial itself, applying visual rhetoric concepts that they learned through their classes and research.

The students who presented work at PCA this year are:

Cortes Jaime is a second-year student majoring in radiological sciences. Her project, “Learning from ‘A Cautionary Tale:’ Rawlins’ Relational Dialectics and the 2024 Film "Mean Girls,"' was completed for her honors option in CAS 101N: Introduction to Human Communication in Spring 2026. She presented it as a poster at the PCA Poster session. This was Cortes Jaime's first conference.

Landaverde is a fourth-year nursing student with two minors in communication arts and sciences and communication arts and mass media. Her project, “Uncertainty Reduction Theory and the Musical Mamma Mia!,” was completed for her honors option in CAS 403 (Interpersonal Communication Theory and Research) in spring 2026. This was Landaverde's first conference.

Mills is a second-year student majoring in business with the accounting option and said he is considering one of the three communication minors offered at the Schuylkill campus. Mills presented two projects at the PCA conference: a poster titled “‘I Love to Tell the Story:’ Burkean Identification and the Book of Hebrews,” which he completed outside of class; and a paper, which he completed for his honors option in CAS 252: Business and Professional Communication in spring 2026, titled “Framing the Kingdom: Burkean Identification and Jesus’ Rhetoric in the Sermon on the Mount.” Mills' paper received second place at the Undergraduate Writing Competition this year. This was his second conference; he previously presented work at the Eastern Communication Association (ECA) in April.

Muir is a fourth-year nursing student with two minors in communication arts and mass media and communication arts and sciences. She presented two projects: a poster, “Hegemony and 'Phantom of the Opera,'" which she completed outside of class, and a paper titled “Behind the Mask: Facework and 2004 Film 'The Phantom of the Opera,'” which she completed for her honors option in CAS 403: Interpersonal Communication Theory and Research in spring 2026. Muir's paper received first place at the Undergraduate Writing Competition this year. This was Muir's fifth conference and her eighth and ninth conference presentations; she previously presented work at the PCA conferences in 2024 and 2025 and the ECA conferences in 2025 and 2026.

Plichta is a second-year political science major with a minor in communication arts and sciences. Her paper, “The Unlikely Duo of a Criminal and an FBI Agent: An Analysis of Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke’s Friendship from the Television Show 'White Collar' with Rawlins’ Relational Dialectics,” was completed for her honors option in CAS 403: Interpersonal Communication Theory and Research in spring 2026. This was Plichta's second conference; she previously presented research at the ECA conference in April.

Rakowsky is a fourth-year student majoring in corporate communication with minors in communication arts and sciences and civic and community engagement. She presented two papers at this year’s PCA conference: “Constructing Crisis and Conspiracy: Applying Narrative Theory and Social Constructionism to Conspiracy Theories on X After the Assassination of Charlie Kirk,” which she completed for her honors option in CAS 403: Interpersonal Communication Theory and Research in spring 2026, and “Hegemony and Hearsay: An Application of Hegemonic Strategies to the Rhetoric of Three Powerful U.S. Elected Officials,” which she completed for her honors option in CAS 404: Conflict Resolution and Negotiation in Fall 2025. This was Rakowsky's third communication conference: she previously presented research at the 2024 PCA conference and her paper at the 2026 ECA conference received a Top Paper Award.

Sinko is a third-year business major with both the accounting option and the marketing/management option with two minors in corporate communication and project and supply chain management. She presented her paper titled “‘Live Like Line:’ Bruner’s Narrative Theory, 'The Miracle Season,' and Framing What Matters through Stories,” which she completed for her honors option in CAS 252 (Business and Professional Communication) in Spring 2026. This was Sinko's first communication conference.

Strouse is a fourth-year student majoring in corporate communication with a business minor. At the PCA poster session, he presented his project titled “Breaking Trust Breaks Friendships: A Rhetorical Analysis of Relational Dialectics in the Television Series 'The Penguin,'” which he completed for his CAS 204: Research Methods in Communication class in spring 2025. This was Strouse's second communication conference; he previously presented work at the 2024 PCA conference at Penn State Schuylkill.

Wank is a third-year student majoring in business with the accounting option and a minor in corporate communication. At the PCA poster session, she presented her project titled “USA Softball and Burkean Identification,” which she completed for her honors option in CAS 403: Interpersonal Communication Theory and Research in spring 2026. This was Wank's first communication conference.

Wollyung is a fourth-year business major with the marketing/management option and three minors in communication arts and sciences, communication arts and mass media, and human resource management. She presented her paper titled “Modern Matchmaking: Relational Dialectics in Celine Song’s 'Materialists,'” which she completed for her honors option in CAS 403: Interpersonal Communication Theory and Research in spring 2026. This was Wollyung's second communication conference; she previously presented research at the 2026 ECA conference in Pittsburgh.

Since 2013, Schrader has taken 63 students to state, regional and national communication conferences, where they have presented more than 180 individual research projects and won 27 top paper and top poster awards. Schrader and Gruber’s own research has received a number of award recognitions as well: Gruber has had two top papers at the Eastern Communication Association and Schrader has had 15 top papers at national, regional and state conferences. Currently, they are working with a team of undergraduate researchers who are looking to submit work to the Eastern Communication Association conference in Reston, Virginia, this spring.

Student travel to the PCA conference was made possible through funding from the Schuylkill campus and through Student Travel Funding Support from the Office of the Vice President of Commonwealth Campuses.

To learn more about PCA, please visit www.pcasite.org. To learn more about undergraduate research opportunies at Penn State Schuylkill, visit this link. To learn more about the corporate communication major, corporate communication minor, communication arts & sciences minor, or the communication arts & mass media minor at Penn State Schuylkill, visit https://schuylkill.psu.edu/academics.