Katherine Hyatt Hawkins Shaw, PhD

Health Communication Analyst; USFDA, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Division of Risk Management 

My time in the SOC’s MA program at ECU was instrumental in paving my professional future. Professors Dr. Richards, Dr. Tucker-McLaughlin, and Dr. Hopkins afforded me research and teaching opportunities that ultimately inspired me to pursue a PhD in Health Communication. The theoretical and methodological foundation I obtained while at ECU contributed to my success in health communication research-oriented internships with National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and with a graduate assistant position in a biometrics research lab. Working as a graduate assistant in the Speech Communication Center at ECU equipped me with the skills that I later applied to starting a communication center at another academic institution. I use skills learned at ECU, such as conducting literature reviews and communicating complex ideas using plain language, every day in my current role at the FDA.

I encourage current graduate students in ECU’s SOC to seek opportunities outside of their course work and to develop working relationships with professors (I still coauthor manuscripts with Dr. Richards!). Additionally, when generating research questions and completing course assignments, think about how they fit into your long-term research agenda or professional objectives – in other words, make every project work for you.