Communication Department
The Prairie State College Communication program equips students with the vital tools
to excel in the professional world, regardless of your career path.
Welcome to the Communication program at Prairie State College, where we are dedicated
to assisting students in enhancing their public speaking, interpersonal, intercultural,
and mass media communication skills. In today's job market, employers seek individuals
with not only technical expertise but also essential "soft skills" such as effective
communication, teamwork, reliability, flexibility, problem-solving, and creativity.
Our program is designed to cultivate these crucial soft skills, which are highly valued
by employers across all industries.
Learn more about the Communication discipline:
COMM Day
About COMM Day
In 2018, under the guidance of retired Professor of Communication Ed Schwarz, the
Communication Department instituted COMM Day, an annual celebration of the Communication
discipline. COMM Day honors the hard work of both past and present students while
also welcoming our alumni and the entirety of the PSC community to join us in celebrating
COMM.
Informative Speech Contest Winners:
2018 – 1st Place = Kristine Witte; 2nd Place = Anthony Miller; 3rd Place = Julia Porco
2019 – 1st Place = Alicia Love; 2nd Place = Diamond Hines; 3rd Place = Luke Angelus
2020 – Contest canceled due to COVID-19
2021 – Contest canceled due to COVID-19
2022 - 1st Place = Seneca Farabaugh; 2nd Place = Kelcee Berkeley; 3rd Place = Julia Cockrum
2023 - Joseph Green – 1st Place; Carli Martinez – 2nd Place
Communication Discipline Awards and Recognition
The Communication Department at Prairie State College seeks to recognize excellence
in the Communication discipline. In April 2018, Communication Faculty established
two awards to recognize students, faculty, administrators, and other contributors
to the Communication program at PSC.
The award is named after retired Professor Ed Schwarz who taught communication classes
full time at Prairie State for 23 years before his retirement in 2018. In addition
to teaching, Professor Schwarz also served as long-time Coordinator of Communication
and Chair of the Department of Humanities, Communication, Fine & Performing Arts.
He also coached the Forensics Team at PSC and was an active member of the International
Committee, the Sustainability Committee, and the College-Wide General Education Learning
Outcomes Committee.
The Ed Schwarz Outstanding Communication Student award is awarded during the Communication
Department’s Communication Day, which is held annually during the Spring semester
to celebrate the field of Communication. The award recognizes one or two outstanding
second-year students who have excelled in Communication courses and activities on
the PSC campus.
Students are nominated and voted on by the Communication faculty during the Spring semester. The Communication Department will send a letter announcing the award to that year’s winning student(s) along with an invitation to attend the Communication Day festivities to receive their award during the closing ceremony.
Past Winners:
- 2018-2019 – Tiffini Harrison Chism and Julia Porco.
- 2019-2020 – No award given
- 2020-2021 – Andrew Malone
- 2021-2022 – Lillie Futrell and Suzanne Parker
- 2022-2023 – Jalen Pia and Carrington Valentine
Qualifications:
- Second year student majoring in Communication, who has taken two or more Communication classes at Prairie State
- Cumulative GPA of 3.0
- Nomination by one or more of the Communication faculty
- Selection by vote of the Communication faculty
The Elighie Wilson, III Forensics Hall of Fame aims to recognize outstanding former members, coaches, or other individuals who have significantly contributed to the success of the Forensics Team. The Hall of Fame also seeks to recognize those who have used the skills developed during their tenure on the team to significantly contribute to their communities.
Hall of Fame members are nominated and voted on by the Forensics coaches during the spring semester. New members will receive a notice announcing their selection to the Hall of Fame along with an invitation to attend the Communication Day festivities where they will be
recognized for their selection during the closing ceremony.
Hall of Fame members are nominated and voted on by the Forensics coaches during the spring semester. New members will receive a notice announcing their selection to the Hall of Fame along with an invitation to attend the Communication Day festivities where they will be recognized for their selection during the closing ceremony.
In 2019, the Communication Faculty elected to rename the award after Elighie Wilson, III because of Elighie’s storied history as a coach of the PSC Forensics team, a mentor to other coaches at Prairie State and in high schools and colleges nationwide, and continued support and leadership as Vice President of Academic Affairs were deserving of naming rights.
Hall of Fame Selectees:2019 – Felicia Ditmars Swanson (Team Member, 2006-2008)
2019 – Dave Naze (Coach, 2006-2015)
2020 – No new inductees
2021 – Kerry Luckett (Team Member, 2002-2004)
2021 – Nicholas Williams (Team Member, 2011-2013)
2021 – Suzann (Leonard) Williams (Team Member, 2003-2005
2022 – A.J. Hall (Team Member, 2002-2004)
2022 – Margaret “Peggy” Jones (LASS Administrative Assistant, For Supporting Forensics)
2022 – Ed Schwarz (Coach, 1996-2018)
2023 – Thomas Sweeney (Speech Camp Founder & Coach, 1998-2005)
Matt Churilla (Team Member, 2002-2003)