COMMUNICON
In April of 2018, I attended an event for Augusta University's Communication Department called "CommFest." Attending as a guest speaker to share my experiences in a class I had taken that semester with Dr. Edgar Johnson, I found the event somewhat lacking in its presentation and form.
During a conversation I had with Dr. Johnson in December of the same year, I had expressed some concerns with the way that Commfest was handled, and suggested ways to improve it. I focused on ideas of uniting the department, expressing concern that so many pieces of communication were pushed to the wayside. I talked about ways that things could be done differently, and the outreach that could be done to drive people to the event. After our engagement, Dr. Johnson consulted with several other members of the department and arranged a meeting with me to discuss things further. As a result of the meeting, I was handed full responsibility and control of Commfest for the upcoming 2019 school year.
Above - A shot of me performing a speech at Commfest 2018 about Dr. Edgar Johnson's performance-based Public Speaking Class.
Naturally, I was dumbfounded. Yet... excited.
My first order of business was to establish a team that I could trust to work together to create the perfect event. Perusing the avenues of my department, I assembled a team of roughly ten individuals by means of recommendations from teachers and personal attachment. The team consisted of:
-Lindsey Morris, Vice President
-St. Julian Cox III, Secretary
-Mairim M Martinez-Feliu, Treasurer
-Whitney Ramsey
-Lauryn Robertson
-Ashley Kinney
-Gregory Smith
-Aleighna Guajardo
-Leeroy Francis
and myself as President. Together, we formed the Communication Organization, a student organization who exists to conceptualize, plan, and run Commfest. The first step in our newly found organization was to work out the kinks of our various schedules. Many of us were working full-time jobs and were full-time students, so finding a time to meet up and discuss ideas was incredibly difficult. On our first meeting, a unanimous vote was passed to change the name of Commfest to CommuniCon.
The process of design for the final CommuniCon logo.
Right off the bat, we wanted to make sure that several things were done properly to differentiate CommuniCon from events in the past. Above all, we wanted to make sure ALL Communication fields were properly represented. We felt that the event focused too heavily on journalism and film, while leaving aside fields like public relations, radio, social media, performance, and other important fields. It needed to be an event led by students, for students. Early on, we also decided that the event should be split into two different smaller events: DayComm and NightComm.
My entire college career, I was asked a consistent question: "What's a communication degree?". It seems to be a common misconception as to what exactly the degree includes, and where you can go with it. DayComm was an event taking place during normal class hours with the intent of drawing people in to the department and educating them on Communication. We rented out the Maxwell Theater for the event and set up a series of tables and events for students to attend. Each table represented a different focus for communication and would be ran by students and professors currently enrolled in those focuses. In the auditorium, we had a constant loop of student films and documentaries for people to come in and watch. Out on the terrace was a grill where you could get a meal, and an inflatable obstacle course to race your friends on. In order to get access to the food and obstacle course, you had to talk to at least two tables and get a sticker from each table. The stickers would be then be exchanged for wristbands which granted you access to the food and inflatable.
During DayComm, we saw total attendance of roughly 102 students, of which only 19 were Communication majors to begin with. For comparison, the total attendance of Commfest 2018 was 70 students.
In between DayComm and NightComm was a panel assembled of former Communication Augusta University alumni. This event was aimed towards students that were interested in joining the communication department and wanted a chance to ask professionals what their experiences in the department were like.
The event was advertised heavily on our social media leading up to the date. We posted a new Alumni each day, accompanied with a short biography. These posts did incredibly well, as well as most of the advertising for the main event.
Advertising for the event was done across several different social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. Several flyers were created and pinned all over various areas of the campus.
One of the flyers created for CommuniCon.
After the alumni panel ended, NightComm began. NightComm worked as a sort of "end of the year" celebration of the communication department. It consisted of a summary of the year's work, showing off what recent graduates were up to, and highlighting spectacular students and faculty for their hard work over the year with awards. It also included performances crafted by communication students, and an induction ceremony into Lambda Pi Eta (ΛΠΗ)-- the honor society exclusively for communication majors.
A "Year in Review" video I produced to highlight the achievements and work of the students for the 2018-19 year.
Overall, CommuniCon was an incredibly satisfying and gratifying experience. Compared to Commfest 2018's attendance of 70 people, CommuniCon 2019 ended with 206 total people, an increase of 195%. It gave us all much needed contact with real-world skills in the field such as social media influence, fundraising, public relations, advertising, event planning, video production under deadlines, and above all, communication. I gained a new wave of leadership skills, having been in a leadership position for the first time in my life. For admiration and recognition of the work done for the department, Lindsey and I were awarded the 2019 Communication Leadership Award, and I was named Lambda Pi Eta's Most Outstanding Member of 2019.
Early CommuniCon Logo designs.