Critical Thinking in Practice

Throughout my communication coursework and extracurricular pursuits, I’ve explored a range of dynamic topics. I’ve also completed projects and participated in events that have sharpened my thinking and strengthened my communicative and collaborative skills in practical, everyday ways.

Event Poster

Project Brief

Email Newsletter

Highlighted Courses

  • This course introduced strategic visual communication through hands-on design practice. I developed design literacy—the ability to analyze design decisions, apply foundational principles across platforms, and articulate strategic thinking behind creative work. Through a semester-long brand campaign, I learned typography, color theory, layout, and platform-specific design while working independently and collaboratively. The course mirrors professional workflows: exploring concepts individually, synthesizing ideas with a team, working within constraints, and presenting to stakeholders.

  • This course explored communication differences related to identity, power, and social constructions of gender. The impact of gender on communication in various contexts was explored, including: media, educational settings, workplace cultures, family, and personal relationships. The purpose of this course was to increase our ability to recognize how we construct meanings associated with sex and gender, how culture and social power shape these meanings, and how media and social institutions perpetuate these meanings. In addition, we explored whether gender affects verbal and non-verbal communication styles and rituals.

  • This course introduced me to the research methods of rhetorical criticism. I explored the rhetorical strategies, argumentation, visual impact, and symbolic communication embedded within the texts of public and popular culture. I also learned how to formulate a research question, analyze a text, and construct an argument describing how that text impacts society.

Pitch Deck

Digital Design for Media

From a semester-long mock campaign, the Hope Creative Collective was born. This campaign focused on catering to a communal space for all of Hope College’s creative minds — no matter their disciplines or academic pursuits.

With this outlined campaign skeleton, stakeholders can imagine the merging of diverse perspectives as peers come together to group critique, create alongside each other, or be a sounding board for one another as they progress in their artistic endeavors.

I had the privilege of working on the creation of our campaign’s logos, poster design, project brief, and pitch deck structure.

View some of HCC’s assets below!

As Kamp As Bree Poem/Analysis

Ophelia, Prism Personified Paper

FFF Poem/Analysis

Gender Communication

Writing while examining texts through a critical lens was crucial in expanding my understanding of gender dynamics.

I greatly enjoyed researching the intersection of constructed gender and performance, especially as it related to portrayals of character types and perceived-as-normative social structures.

View my writing samples to the left!

Rhetoric Methods in Communication Research

Writing while examining texts through a critical lens was crucial in expanding my understanding of gendered frameworks.

I greatly enjoyed researching how Gregory Crewdson’s photograph, “Untitled (Ophelia),” illuminates the tensions of oppressive womanhood as it’s captured through a modern lens.

View my analysis to the left!

Event Poster

Event Poster

Email Newsletter

Art Club

Holding positions as Secretary and Vice President of Hope College’s Art Club was an integral push towards my pursuits as an interpersonal communicator, artist, and designer. Operating as a hub for students in the Art Department, Art Club held numerous events, workshops, and artist talks.

I not only took minutes at meetings but helped design graphics and conduct email marketing responsibilities. I utilized MailChimp, Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, and social media platforms.

View some of Art Club’s assets to the left!

Event Poster

CD Graphic

Executive Board

“Untitled (Ophelia)” Photograph

WTHS Radio

Holding positions as New Music Director and General Manager of Hope College’s WTHS Radio 89.9, I was given the opportunity to grow not just in technical proficiency as a board operator — but as a confidently curious leader of a team of like-minded and eclectic DJs.

Operating as a hub for students to share their musical proclivites to the local Hope and Holland areas, WTHS Radio held numerous events and experiences, collaborating with Lemonjello’s Coffee, the Kruizenga Art Museum, and Antidote Records.

Involved with WTHS all four years, I was able to flex and foster skills in group management, event curation and execution, and radio broadcast programming.

View some of WTHS’ assets to the left!