Amplify Your Impact TWU

Looking for ways to bolster your public communication skills this summer? Look no further. This summer, Amplify Your Impact TWU is focusing on all things public speaking! 🎤

We'll be hosting a series of workshops and trainings focused on how to talk about your research, your work, and your ideas with a wide range of audiences. Whether you're nervous about speaking with folks in your field about your research or you're finally ready to put together that short public lecture you've always wanted to give, this is your time.

Stay tuned and follow us to stay up to date on all things Summer of Public Speaking🔔

These TWU grad students are on 🔥 this month! Check out these burgeoning thought leaders showing off their expertise, building trust with public audiences, and raising their voices.

🗞 Robbin Wells, TWU PhD student in the College of Professional Education (COPE) recently had a letter to the editor published in the Dallas Morning News! In her insightful letter connecting her dissertation research to a current popular discussion impacting North Texas Families, "It’s Market Distortion," Robbin responds to an article published on March 22, "Free, Universal Pre-K Could be Game Changer."
Robbin is passionate about advocating for families and young children, and getting her voice heard in public spaces is an excellent first step. One of my favorite ways to get students familiar with writing for public outlets is to practice with letters to the editor like this. Such a radically doable first step!

Check out her awesome piece now! 👇
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2026/03/24/letters-to-the-editor-tom-lepperts-column-pre-k-tropes-facts-tsa-agents/

🖋 Mohammad Mazhari, PhD student in Sociology at TWU, has been sharing his work with folks outside his field for awhile now! From analytical pieces on politics & relationships between Iran and the U.S. to interdisciplinary conference presentations that bring together thinkers and practitioners across fields to center on vital issues of global importance, Mohammad is not JUST showcasing his research. He's also making important connections that span disciplines and methodologies that can only strengthen his work. 💪
Just goes to show how "public" can mean a lot of different things. It's all in the impact you're seeking to have.

Check out some of Mohammad's work below!
📈 Low Voter Turnout in Iran Highlights Candidate Disqualifications and Foggy Polling Data: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/low-voter-turnout-iran-highlights-candidate-disqualifications-and-foggy-polling-data
🗞️ After Iran War, Iranians Demand a New Social Contract: https://www.stimson.org/2025/after-the-war-iranians-demand-a-new-social-contract/
✍ The Islamic Republic is Using "Mourning Techniques" to Repair Its Reputation: https://www.alaraby.co.uk/opinion/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AF%D9%85-%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%90%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8% 🖋 Mohammad Mazhari, PhD student in Sociology at TWU, has been sharing his work with folks outside his field for awhile now! From analytical pieces on politics & relationships between Iran and the U.S. to interdisciplinary conference presentations that bring together thinkers and practitioners across fields to center on vital issues of global importance, Mohammad is not JUST showcasing his research. He's also making important connections that span disciplines and methodologies that can only strengthen his work. 💪
Just goes to show how "public" can mean a lot of different things. It's all in the impact you're seeking to have.

Check out some of Mohammad's work below!
📈 Low Voter Turnout in Iran Highlights Candidate Disqualifications and Foggy Polling Data: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/low-voter-turnout-iran-highlights-candidate-disqualifications-and-foggy-polling-data
🗞️ After Iran War, Iranians Demand a New Social Contract: https://www.stimson.org/2025/after-the-war-iranians-demand-a-new-social-contract/
✍ The Islamic Republic is Using "Mourning Techniques" to Repair Its Reputation: https://www.alaraby.co.uk/opinion/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AF%D9%85-%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%90%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF

الجمهورية الإسلامية تستخدم "تقنية الحِداد" يبرز التلاعب بطقوسِ الحِداد الاستخدام البارع للحكومة الإيرانية لرأس المال الرمزي لتعزيز شرعيتها وسيطرتها، في إطارِ مشهدٍ اجتماعي وسياسي مُعقّد.

TWU graduate students have been busy connecting with public audiences this month! Check out the cool things they've been up to 👇

💃🏿 Roxi Victorian, TWU Dance PhD student and 2026 Amplify Your Impact Grad Student Research Grant Recipient, has wasted no time in connecting her research to communities she cares about! Whether she's building her social media presence to connect with public audiences, collaborating with local artists for community events, or getting featured in Dance Magazine, Roxi is making moves and building a presence that cannot be ignored!
Check out some of her growing body of work!
📱 Follow on IG: https://www.instagram.com/roxitheresearcher?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
💻 Visit Roxi's professional website: https://roxivictoriandance.com/
👓 Read Roxi's recent feature in Dance Magazine: https://dancemagazine.com/sydnie-l-mosley-roxi-victorian/ .tab=0

🎧 TWU Occupational Therapy grad student, Sydney Stevenson, recently released "Preserving Our Past, Informing Our Future," an eight-episode series exploring the history, values, and evolving identity of occupational therapy through conversations with renowned scholar Dr. Kathlyn Reed. This podcast was created as part of Sydney's OTD capstone project in collaboration with the Blagg-Huey Library.
Check it out for yourself now on your fav platform!
🎧 Rephonic: https://rephonic.com/podcasts/preserving-our-past-informing-our-future
🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/preserving-our-past-informing-our-future/id1892437138
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/623BwXXPaAnqdrDgt5vIbG?si=7aa33abb74844545
🎧 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkj9Y7u7gxPRqCzfOsLbbJLCL9d7khGO_&si=k0GUOHXpzC3Zou92

The semester may be coming to a close, but Amplify Your Impact TWU is excited to announce that this summer we will be offering an opportunity for graduate students to show off their expertise while developing their public speaking skills!

This Summer 2026, we’ll be hosting an Elevator Pitch Competition exclusively for graduate students. Participants will be given in-depth public speaking training to develop their abilities to give short talks and presentations about their work and research, all while competing for a Fall 2026 scholarship 🤑

Details TBA, but as we set our plans in motion, we want to hear from grad students like you! You interested? Fill out this handy-dandy interest form and let us know!!

👉 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScHq5z6LzViMmn-aprXRs3iUXc9KveiLjzOamNYubXTMGLdDg/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=108446940967547734432

👀 Looking for something really cool to do in Denton this weekend? Join us for Bread and Altars: Braiding Life and Death.

Organized by TWU faculty members Agatha Beins and Stina Soderling, along with UNT professor Denise Meda-Lambru, Bread and Altars is a community event selected to be a part of the 2027 nationwide Being Human Festival. And all are welcome to join!

🥖 Why Bread and Altars? Food not only sustains us physically when we eat, but it also creates bonds of community—when we "break bread" with others.This event invites participants to engage in hands-on, interactive sessions that focus on different facets of our experiences with food--specifically by reflecting on the role bread plays in our lives.

Here are the details:
🗓 Sunday, April 19, 2026
⏰ 3:00 pm - 7:30pm
📍Andersons Distillery and Eatery, 410 N Bell Avenue in Denton, TX

Bread and Altars includes 3 activities, so you can choose to take part in just one activity or all of them!

3:00-4:30 🥖 Bread-making workshop
4:30-6:00 🛠 Altar-crafting workshop
6:00-7:00 🍽 Community dinner

Bread and Altars is a hands-on, family-friendly, interactive gathering that is free and open to the public. All are welcome! Space is limited, so secure your spot at the link in the QR code below or at the link in the comments.👇

❓❓What does it mean to be a publicly engaged scholar? What does it take to engage public audiences, and how can academics use public work to sharpen and add meaning to their scholarship?

Join us to tackle these questions and more as QEP Director, English & Rhetoric Professor, and public scholar Dr. Gretchen Busl leads us through a discussion of "Publicly Engaged Scholars: Next-Generation Engagement and the Future of Higher Education."

April 28th.
12pm -1pm.
Attend virtually or in-person.

Register now at the QR code in the image below or through myTWU! 👇

📣 Rounding out our week of celebrating TWU graduate students who are taking their knowledge and expertise to communities that need them, let's hear it for our grad student entrepreneurs!!!

💲TWU graduate students are translating their ideas and solutions into businesses they can use to connect with communities!

From a mobile hydration & wellness concierge services to consulting and course building, these students aren't waiting for an employer to find their knowledge and skills valuable. They're taking it to the streets for themselves! 🚚

Learn more about these amazing students and their businesses at the links the comments 👇

📣 Let's keep this celebration of thought leader TWU graduate students rolling! These graduate students are being invited to share their expertise and skills with public audiences!

✉️ Translating their research and creativity into presentations, interviews, and exhibit, these students are becoming sought after thought leaders in their communities!

They're already becoming well-known enough to be sought after by communities! By the time they graduate, they'll be well-established thought leaders impacting communities and effecting change.

Learn more about their work at the links in the comments 👇

📣 Next up in our celebration of TWU graduate students who are taking their knowledge and expertise to communities that need them, let's celebrate the students making a name for themselves on social media!

📱TWU grad students are creating engaging, informative content to build public trust and educate public audiences on social media channels!

Whether they're sharing their personal philosophies and experiences on LinkedIn or building spaces to educate folks on scientific research to apply to their lives, these students are building followings they'll continue to grow long after graduation. 📈

Follow them now at the links in the comments! 👇

📣 This week, Amplify Your Impact is celebrating TWU graduate students who are taking their knowledge and expertise to communities that need them!

First up? Grad student podcasters!! 🎧

TWU grad students are sharing their knowledge with public audiences by taking it to podcasts! They're creating spaces for rethinking education, talking about under-discussed issues in their fields, sharing and connecting through stories, and making research fun!

Check out the featured podcasts for yourself now at the links in comments👇