Faculty Fellows

Marcela Moran is an award-winning filmmaker and educator. She is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas and will be promoted to Associate Professor an tenured effective September 1, 2012. Moran has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Ohio University’s School of Film and a an undergraduate in Radio/TV/Film from the University of Texas at Austin. Her work has been showcased at numerous international film festivals, galleries and conferences.

Course Description: COMM 3202 Video Production I is a hands on moving-image production course. Students conceive, pitch, produce, edit and showcase their own short videos.

Moran chose to include service-learning in this course because of previous experience with S-L in her sophomore course titled literature and film. Also, the project she have chosen for service-learning in Video Production I was already in place- a 30 second or 60 second commercial or promotional video. Students enrolled in the S-L class will produce promos for NGOs.

Monica E. Munoz, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology & Communication at TAMIU. She teaches a variety of undergraduate courses for the department, including Introductory Psychology, Social Psychology, and Research Methods. At the graduate level, she teaches Social Psychology and Personality Psychology for the Master of Science program in General Psychology. Dr. Munoz earned her doctorate degree in Experimental Social Psychology from Texas Tech University, and her research interests revolve around interpersonal processes (e.g., person perception and perspective taking) and situational factors that influence behavior and attitudes (e.g., social influences on body image, consumer preferences and empathic thinking).

Dr. Munoz is interested in incorporating service learning into her Social Psychology undergraduate course. This course is a survey of major theories, concepts and research in the field of social psychology, the study of how we think about, relate to and influence each other. Students come to appreciate aspects of theory-building and the application of social psychological concepts, but she would like them to have a more concrete experience of working with these concepts. Dr. Munoz feels that service learning would do just that, and it would allow them to appreciate their understanding of these concepts as they apply them to real world situations.

 

Joquina Reed is currently an instructor of Communication at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. Her research interests include: Public Speaking, Communication Theory and Philosophy, Gender, Performance, Critical Pedagogy, and Rhetoric. Reed also serves as the TAMIU Forensics co- advisor. Reed is currently working on manuscripts that explore the intersectionality of pedagogy and performance.

The course examines the fundamental role of communication in establishing and maintaining personal relationships. By surveying the leading research and theories in interpersonal communication, students explore theoretical perspectives on how individuals enter into, maintain, and terminate relationships. Conceptual perspectives examined will include communicative competence, relational development, interaction process, codes, and context.

"I wanted to make the Interpersonal course a service learning course because I really wanted to tackle the issues that surround abusive relationships. So many times young people are involved in or know individuals in abusive relationships. These relationships may be physically or emotionally harmful. In the course we will discuss how to prevent and identify abusive relationships however I wanted to take that discussion to a higher level. I want students to feel empowered to make critical change. I think Service Learning will allow the students to think about the ways that can not only deal with abusive relationships, but help those who are involved in them."

Megan Smith is currently an instructor of Communication at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. Her research interests include: Rhetoric, Mass Media, Gender, and Political Communication. Smith also serves as the TAMIU Forensics co- advisor and BAAS advisor. Smith is currently working on research exploring the gender influences in political rhetoric.

Smith has incorporated service learning into her COMM 1315 Public Speaking course. The course examines the fundamentals and skills for effective public address and communication competency. Emphasis is placed on an audience centered approach to public speaking and the basics of audience analysis and adaptation to audience members. The visual aspects of public speaking are also explored in the course.

"I decided to make Public Speaking a service-learning course because I really wanted students to put audience adaptation into a tangible project. Students do not always understand the power of public address or how the visual aspects of public speaking will impact the overall message. I want students to see how their work can make a difference in their community. So students will have the opportunity to see their work in Laredo and not in a folder in my office. "

Dr. Gilberto Martinez, Jr. is an instructor of Communication at Texas A&M International University.  For this fall semester, Dr. Martinez is teaching Communications 1311, Fundamentals of Communications, Introduction to Film, Survey of Theatre History, and Special Topics in Theater for the Department of Psychology & Communication and Fine and Performing Arts.

Dr. Martinez earned his B.F.A. in Theatre Arts with Acting Specialization from Texas State University and his M.A. in Speech Communication with a Minor in Theatre Arts from Texas State University.  He also earned his Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership with emphasis on Theatre in Higher Education.  Dr. Martinez’s specializations are Public Speaking, Fundamental Human Communication, Acting/Directing Film, and Theatre Appreciation.

The course Fundamentals of Communications acquaints students with theories of communication and applications thereof in various social, professional, and educational settings. Students study the core contexts within the discipline including but not limited to:  interpersonal, small group, organizational, public speaking, and mass media.  Students are examining nonverbal behaviors and analyzing how they function in a social service organization.

Mrs. Zretta Lewis is an instructor of English at Texas A&M International University. For this fall semester, Mrs. Lewis is teaching several sections of English 2311 Technical Writing for the Department of Humanities. Mrs. Lewis earned her B.S. in Speech Communications from Southern Illinois University, in Carbondale, IL, an M.A. in English from Chicago State University, an M.A. in Curriculum & Instruction from Saint Xavier University, and ABD in Technical Communication from Illinois Institute of Technology. Her specialization is in Education-Curriculum and Instruction.

Next semester, Mrs. Lewis plans to integrate a Service-Learning component into her Technical Writing classes.

“Right now, I am in the process of identifying community partners that could benefit from the work that our students are doing, and one of the things that I have found, is that the biggest beneficiary would be TAMIU. Already, students have created posters that promote campus safety awareness, they have identified opportunities for improvement with our website, and they are creating a rewrite for the COAS foreign language requirement. These talents can easily be used to help others in our community as well.”