Megan Carrasco, senior applied communication studies major, was recently awarded two scholarships: Honors College Minority Scholarship and Senior Honors Thesis Fellowship. The scholarships recognize Carrasco’s outstanding academic achievements and pursuit of an honors thesis as a student at Kent State University.
The $2,000 Honors College Minority Scholarship is awarded to students who have been admitted to the Honors College and have a 3.5 cumulative GPA, and the Senior Honors Thesis Fellowship provides $1,000 in tuition for the student’s thesis year.
Carrasco started working on her thesis a semester early to make sure she has enough time to conduct thorough research.
Suzy D’Enbeau, Ph.D., assistant professor in Communication Studies and Carrasco’s honors thesis advisor said, “Her thesis will explore how the Forbes Top Ten Websites for Millennial Women discursively construct young, professional women. Her goal is to help millennial women to better understand how they are perceived by corporate America and to combat problematic stereotypes about young women.”
The subject of women in the workforce is something that has been on Carrasco’s mind since her sophomore year. After taking D’Enbeau’s Organizational Communication and Honors Gender and Communication classes – which often touched on the subject of millennial women in the workplace – Carrasco knew that she wanted to work with D’Enbeau on her thesis.
Carrasco said D’Enbeau asked if she was planning on completing a thesis, which she was, as Carrasco was D’Enbeau’s research assistant at the time.
“Being a research assistant to Dr. D'Enbeau helped me establish a relationship with her that encouraged me to do a thesis. We have a really great working relationship that pushes me to do my best,” Carrasco said.
D’Enbeau said she knew Carrasco to be a student she would enjoy working with on the project.
“I set very high standards for Megan to achieve, and she puts in the time to meet those standards,” said D’Enbeau.
Carrasco said she was excited to hear about the scholarships because they will make it much easier to not worry about the financial stress of being at school. Instead, her focus can be on completing her thesis.
“Writing a thesis shows a potential employer that you can commit to conducting study and research long term. A thesis is a process, and being able to show what you can do in a year and a half is incredible,” she said.
Carrasco expects to graduate in May 2016.