On Thursday, Sept. 25, the Garey Hall Alumni Events room flooded with University students arriving to see Lambda Pi Eta’s first-ever COMFest. Originally scheduled to take place in Garey Hall Courtyard from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., the event was moved inside due to forecasts of rain and lightning.
The gathering featured various tables and posters which represented different facets of the Villanova University Communication Department. Included in this showcase were student organizations, student media, information about the communication major and communication-related minors. Also displayed were study abroad opportunities, immersion trips, graduate school opportunities and Villanova University’s Social Justice Documentary program.
For Lambda Pi Eta’s Senior Chair of Special Events, Holly Hanlon, COMFest had a special meaning.
“We were hearing a lot from students that they didn’t know what type of programs that the Communication Department has to offer,” Hanlon said. “We have scholarships, master’s programs, clubs and we want students to be involved as much as possible, so we thought it would be a great idea to get it all together in one event.”
Student organizations represented at COMFest included The Association of Black Communication Students (ABCS), the University’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and Veritas Public Relations. Additionally, Villanova’s chapter of the national honor society for communications students, Lambda Pi Eta, was featured.
Information about the eight possible concentrations of a Villanova communications major was readily available to students at COMFest. Highlighted specializations were interpersonal and intercultural communication, journalism, media production, media studies, organizational communication, public relations and advertising, performance studies and rhetorical studies.
Regarding study abroad opportunities for communication students at Villanova, various programs were promoted. In Europe, the University has communication-related programs of study in Italy and Greece. In South America, the University offers an intensive course abroad called “Translational Dialogues on Justice” in Peru.
At the study abroad table of COMFest, senior communication major Zoe Magee shared her experience in Greece and Rome.
“The first time I studied abroad, I had never left the country before then, and so the first one I did was Greece, and I thought being a communication major, I’ve had a lot of experience in America with communication,” Magee said.
“But I think my major, specifically, in order to be decent at it, you also need a global perspective, because you can get kind of tunnel vision with what you learn here, and you can think that you know everything,” Magee said.
On a domestic level, Villanova’s Communication Department showcased the University’s unique immersion trips offered over Spring Break to both Los Angeles and New York, respectively called “Villanova on Set” and “Villanova at the Agency.”
Another key component of COMFest was the exposure of undergraduate students to the Communication master’s degree offered at Villanova, as well as the combined five-year BA/MA in Communication available to current students pursuing a bachelor’s in communications.
One of the most unique offerings of the Communication Department present at COMFest was the Social Justice Documentary display, which featured information about Villanova’s yearlong film documentation pathway. Including both domestic and international options, the documentary program at Villanova culminates in a presentation in the spring.
“It’s a course that’s meant to be all-around just using documentary film and documentary filmmaking as a tool for amplifying stories, amplifying social issues and hopefully raising awareness, such a solution to some of these problems,” associate professor Tania Romero said. “Anybody from any department, any program, can join. It makes it more of a rich environment because you have a dialogue happening from different students who have different perspectives.”
Overall, COMFest had a large turnout, attracting both current and prospective communication students and showcasing the large variety of experiences available at the University.
