Mark Urista Motivates LBCC Students with the Communication Focus Award

A skill that college students should have, regardless of major or career goals, is the ability to successfully communicate with others. It's the reason students are required to take at least one communication class.

However, the importance of excellent communication goes beyond this requirement. Communication skills have become a major attribute that employers look at when hiring new employees.

Communication Department Chair Mark Urista knows how important it is to develop these skills.

"Preparing students for success after college is a top priority for our department," he said.

In light of how increasingly relevant good communication skills have become in the job market, the Communication Department has created a new award for students to earn.

The Communication Focus Award is a new honor being given to students by the Communication Department. The award acknowledges the hard work of students who have earned grades of B or better in Comm 111(Public Speaking), Comm 112 (Intro. to Persuasion), and Comm 218 (Interpersonal Communication). The award will serve to help students advance their goals for the future.

The point of the award is to motivate students to invest in their own futures.

"This award encourages students to take a series of classes that will help them develop the soft skills employers are looking for in the people they hire," said Urista. "The award also provides recipients with tangible proof that they have developed these highly sought after skills."

Many skeptics might see this award as nothing more than something nice and shinny to put on a resume. They wouldn't be wrong.

"I thought it would look good on a resume," said Connilyn Hursh, an LBCC student and recipient of the Communication Focus Award.

Hursh also recognizes the greater value the award carries than just looking good on a resume.

"Having the experience under my belt has given me a lot of confidence in my future career paths," she said. "Communication is key."

Another student, Grant Guernsey, has included the award on resumes and applications.

"I'm applying for pro school for the marketing program at Oregon State. It was really cool to put down an awesome award on my resume," he said.

Guernsey also sees the potential this award holds for him beyond career goals.

"Going into my freshman year of college I didn't get to do to much public speaking," he said. "Once I took Comm 111 and 112 I was way more comfortable and basically diminished the whole fear of speaking in front of people."

The benefits of this award are already being realized by many students who have received it, and the greater impact may yet to be seen.

While this award definitely looks good on a resume, the skills and tenacity it instills in the students who work to earn it will be longer lasting than a piece of paper listing prior job experience.  

At a glance

• Mark Urista is an LBCC Communication professor. For more information about the Communication Focus Award, email him at uristam@linnbenton.edu. 
• Go to linnbenton.edu to register for Comm 111, Comm 112, and Comm 218 to complete the requirements for the award.