Classes clicked for College’s first communication grad

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Eiaonge Vue knew going to Stark State was a good move, but she wasn’t sure in exactly which direction her life was moving.

“I knew I was going to start at Stark State, then figure out what I want to do,” the Akron native said. Sure enough, after her first class in communications, “it sparked,” she said. “I was hooked.” Now the College’s first graduate in its new communication program, she plans to use her associate degree as the foundation in a career plan that includes bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

“I have broad interests in life and communication brings it all together,” said Eiaonge, now a student at the University of Akron. “That’s one thing I love about it.” That, and the fact that the communication field encourages dialogue between diverse groups. “The only way to appreciate diversity is to communicate,” said Eiaonge, who is fluent in the Hmong language, which originated in southern China. “I think communication classes would be valuable for every major.”

Her Stark State instructors not only were knowledgeable about the field, she said, but passionate about teaching. She enjoyed every class in her major and the one she dreaded – small group communication – turned out to be one of her favorites, thanks largely to a great professor. In fact, she was so impressed by her profs that she’s eyeing a career in college-level teaching herself.

“The communication program taught me to examine the way we communicate,” Eiaonge said, “not only down to the bone but to the fragments that construct it.”

Life on Stark State’s campus, she discovered, is more vibrant than she anticipated. “I came here thinking I’d come to class, leave class and that’d be it,” she said. “I didn’t realize there were so many things you can take advantage of. It’s not just a place to come and go; it’s a full-scale learning facility.”