Alumni Spotlight #22: Anne Stone, PhD

It’s been a long nine months…over nine months, actually, since our last Alumni Spotlight. The drought has ended, Alumni Spotlights are back! Woo hoo!

Today our spotlight shines onto 2005 Communication Studies graduate Anne Stone, who is now Dr. Anne Stone, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Communication at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL! Let’s catch up with Dr. Stone!

Anne teaches and conducts research in Interpersonal communication, health communication, and qualitative research methods. I asked Anne how she knew she wanted to be a professor. “At USF I was exposed to communication theory and the concept of using theory to create social change through research. I was also inspired by the ways that professors at USF were able to make research interesting to students and decided that I wasn’t ready to leave the classroom after graduation.”

It can be hard to decide where to go to graduate school, so I asked Anne how she made the decision. “After working closely with faculty at USF I wanted to learn more about health communication so I looked up the top graduate programs with faculty who specialized in that area and applied. I think it is really important to find faculty that will inspire you to do rigorous, innovative research so I looked for people that were excited about their work. I found faculty like that at the University of Illinois and am proud to have completed my MA and PhD under the guidance of those faculty.” Anne’s doctoral dissertation was entitled “We don’t like to call it lying, it’s just therapeutic communication”: Understanding the influence of social support on coping with illness uncertainty.

Dr. Anne Stone, PhD, 2005 USF Communication Studies graduate!

I asked Anne what advice she would share for other students and alums interested in graduate school. “I would tell students who are interested in graduate school to get involved in the department in terms of service and research. I would also advise students to talk with current graduate students at the institutions they apply to so that they can get a sense of the type of work they will be doing and the type of people they will be working with.” Great advice, Dr. Stone!

I also asked Anne what she likes about teaching at Rollins. “Rollins is a lot more like USF with smaller class sizes and I have more control over the classes that I teach which is great. This semester I am teaching Interpersonal Communication (using the Wood textbook like you did when I took the class with you 🙂 ) and Listening. Next semester I am teaching Listening again, Communication and Aging, and Communication Campaigns.”

We are so proud to have another student who is now a fellow Communication Studies professor! Congratulations Dr. Stone!