Rayana Weller is a first-year communication and rhetorical studies (CRS) graduate student from Vashon Island, Washington. Prior to CRS, Weller studied at Whitman College majoring in rhetoric, writing and public discourse.
Weller’s undergraduate experiences contributed to the rhetorical education that is within the CRS graduate program; while at Whitman College, she studied the history of rhetoric and the rhetorical theories, as well as analyzed the impacts of the Greek philosophers.
“From studying rhetoric, writing, and public discourse, I was able to learn about general education about rhetoric and classic Aristotle,” she says. “Coming into this program, I would say that I am confident with this discipline.”
In addition, Weller will serve as a teaching assistant for CRS 181: Concepts & Perspectives in Communication Studies. As a teaching assistant, Weller looks forward to serving as an educational figure and having the opportunity to educate others about the principles and theories that support the field of communications.
“As a teaching assistant, I am extremely excited about the teaching aspect of it,” she says. “I love teaching, and one of the goals that I have (right now) is to hopefully one day become a professor. I am excited to see how this job and the students who I come across can impact both my career and future.”
To supplement both her passions for teaching and her experiences as a CRS graduate student, Weller is also extremely interested in media studies and analyzing artifacts that resonate with pop culture. Throughout her academic career, Weller found herself analyzing various creative mediums, the delivery of messages through these mediums and how they impact society as a whole.
“I love studying media studies; I love studying pop culture,” she says. “In my undergrad experiences, I was always interested to see how pop culture affects society and us as people. I enjoy looking at diversity within pop culture, how it is represented and if so, if it is done well or if it is not done well.”
During her first year, Weller strives to be successful in her role as a teaching assistant. She hopes that with this role she is able to not only deliver the course’s content to its clearest delivery, but to also serve as a catalyst so that her students can grow. Lastly, Weller hopes to linearize her interests so that she is able to properly plan for her graduate thesis.
“I really want to be successful in my role as a teaching assistant,” she says. “Although I did write an undergraduate thesis, the hardest part about the thesis is finding a topic to write about. My goal right now is to take a bunch of classes to help me see what I would like to focus on for my thesis.”
–This article was written by the CRS student news team. Contact the team at .