PREVIOUS CONTRIBUTORS
GRACE SNYDER - Former Undergraduate Research Assistant
Grace graduated from Iowa State University in May of 2021 with a double major in Public Relations and Communication Studies. She was a part of the Iowa State Women’s Swimming and Diving Team. Grace will be moving to the Chicago area to work as an Associate Product Manager for Medline Industries, Inc. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, listening to music, and photography. Her main tasks for the lab include content developer for the website, website creator/editor, community outreach and extension, and developing the Health Literacy Guide about College Students and Suicide at Iowa State University.
MAEVE McGUIRE - Former Undergraduate Research Assistant
Maeve is a Senior at Iowa State double majoring in Technical Communication and Communication Studies with a minor in French. She has held a variety of positions across campus including Undergraduate Assistant and Peer Mentor Success Coach for the HOME Learning Community, as well as Peer Wellness Educator and Student Coordinator for ISU's Student Wellness department. In the lab, Maeve is working on her honors project about the larger discourses that influence parents to talk about caregiving for their medically complex child. After graduation, Maeve hopes to attend graduate school for Communication Studies back in the Twin Cities.
CALEB WOODS - Former Undergraduate Research Assistant
Caleb graduated Iowa State University in May 2020 with a Public Relations major and Communication Studies minor. While attending ISU, Caleb served as a member of the executive board for IRHA, was an active participant of the College of Greenlee Curriculum Committee, and operated as a student representative for the ISU Diversity Committee. Caleb has had many different internships. He has worked with Primus Companies, StudioU Photography, and OPN, as well as ShftHero and StartSomeGood; Sydney-based digital companies. Caleb plans to work in the healthcare industry as a media manager, content creator, or brand consulting professional. Caleb’s main tasks for the lab include creating content, brand managing and community outreach.
SYDNEY ELLIS - Former Undergraduate Research Assistant
Sydney graduated with Honors in May 2019 with a double major in Spanish and Psychology. She assisted in the lab with coding and primarily worked on her Honors project, which was a study that analyzed interviews to understand the helpful social support that parents with medically complex children received from their child's medical team. This research was presented at the Undergraduate Research Symposium and the Iowa State Capitol, highlighting the need for legislation that supports families of children with complex chronic conditions. She is now married and serves as the Stewardship Administrative Assistant for the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines.
NICOLE MILLER - Former Undergraduate Research Assistant
Nicole graduated Summa Cum Laude in December of 2019 with a major in Communication Studies, two minors in Public Relations and Classical Studies, and a certificate in Leadership Studies. During her two and a half years with the lab, Nicole assisted with both qualitative and quantitative data collection, taking meeting notes, updating the website, and interview transcription, coding, and data analysis for several projects. She also completed a manuscript studying how emerging adult college students share private health information with their parents. In that time, she also had the opportunity to present research at the ISU Undergraduate Research Symposium and Research at the Capitol. Nicole is engaged and currently works as a Human Resources Specialist with Renewable Energy Group.
KARA HUTTON - Former Undergraduate Research Assistant
Kara graduated Magna Cum Laude in May 2018 with a double major in Communication Studies and English. She is one of the founders of the lab and worked for two years using qualitative data analysis to analyze parents interviews with managing their child's complex chronic condition. She co-authored two published manuscripts:"I will communicate with you, but let me be in control": Understanding how parents manage private information about their chronically ill children," and When Black and White Medicine Turns Gray: Exploring the Interplay and Meaning of Discoursing about Parenting a Child with a Complex Chronic Condition." She also presented this research at the ISU Undergraduate Research Symposium and at the National Communication Association Conference in Dallas, TX. Presently, Kara works as an Operations Manager for a point of sale company called Retail Data Systems. Her primary duties include maintaining relationships with third party vendors, analyzing data, managing customer relations, and coordinating a new point of sale system rollout for hundreds of stores across the United States.
SARAH HELLER - Former Undergraduate Research Assistant
Sarah Heller graduated from Iowa State in May 2018 majoring in Communication Studies. She is one of the founders of the Family Health Communication lab and worked for two years assisting with data analysis and manuscript writing with a co-authored publication in Health Communication. Sarah presented research findings at National Communication Association Conference in Dallas, TX in 2017, as well as at the Undergraduate Research Symposium at Iowa State University. She now works in the Office of Student Financial Aid at Iowa State University and is also working on coursework towards her MBA.