LSU students now have the opportunity to earn a
Distinguished Communicator award, the only one of its kind in the United States.
The award, along with a commendation on students’ official transcripts, is given to graduating seniors who
successfully completed the
University’s Communications across the Curriculum program. The spring graduation
ceremony is May 14.
The award was first introduced to encourage students to develop their communication skills, especially among those who don’t usually have room on their schedule for communication-intensive courses. The goal of CxC is to improve students’ written, spoken, visual and technological communication abilities, according to CxC Assistant Director Annemarie Galeucia.
“We wanted students who are taking the time to go above and beyond their classes to have some kind of additional recognition through their transcripts,” Galeucia said.
Students in the program must take four communication-intensive courses, partner one-on-one with a LSU CxC representative and connect with a faculty adviser. They must also build a public website to connect with job opportunities that interest them to show employers what they are capable of.
The award can be earned by any student. Many engineers, among other majors, find themselves applying to help grow their leadership and communication skills in the business world, Galeucia said.
To earn the award, students must be have at least three remaining semesters in their undergraduate program and be in good standing with the University.
“We ask that students enter the program with three semesters left to give you time to develop your skills, work with a faculty adviser and take some pressure off,” Program and Communications Manager Brandi Simmons said.
Fifty to seventy students typically graduate with this honor each spring. This number slightly drops in the fall due to less students graduating.
Public relations senior Christopher Defelice, who’s on track to receive the LSU Distinguished Communicator distinction at graduation, recommends all students consider joining the program.
“It’s good for anyone from any major to get it, and it’s always good to have communication skills,” Defelice said.
Defelice, a WAFB intern, even wrote an article about the CxC program to help encourage students, including those not pursuing mass communication or engineering degrees, to join the program.
“It is important for those working in any field to be able to work efficiently in teams, get their ideas across in a clear and precise manner, and form a personal network of beneficial relationships among those in their field,” Defelice wrote in the article. “The CxC program is specifically designed to give students those desperately needed communication skills that will set them apart in the professional market.”
CxC at LSU was awarded the Program of Excellence award from the National Conference on College Composition and Communication in 2010. The University was the sole recipient of this award, which doesn’t happen often.
“We really are on the map and are nationally recognized for being really unique and innovative,” Galeucia said.