2022-2023 Wilkie Award Winner: Melissa Lalonde
The Department of Communication is pleased to announce Melissa Lalonde as the winner of the 2022-2023 Richard W. Wilkie Award for the Outstanding Undergraduate in Communication.
Melissa is a Journalism and Communication double-major who is thrilled to be graduating this May. As a first-generation college student, Melissa has always loved being involved in campus life, having served as Secretary and Public Relations Chair for her a capella group, Serendipity. Born and raised on Long Island, she looks forward to moving to New York City after graduation to pursue a career in publishing. Melissa will always value the time she spent at UAlbany, and is extremely appreciative of the Department of Communication for an amazing four years of education.
The Richard W. Wilkie Award is given each May. The award is named after Dr. Wilkie, an emeritus member of the Communication faculty, who urged his students to attain excellence, especially in argumentation and public discourse. Each March, graduating seniors ranking at the top of the class are invited to compete for this award. A Wilkie Committee selects an award recipient whose achievements include (1) an outstanding academic record, (2) strong public speaking skills, and (3) strong critical thinking skills.
As a nominee for the Wilkie Award, Melissa was invited to deliver a 5-7 minute persuasive extemporaneous speech on a contemporary public, political, or social issue. Melissa spoke about the plastic pollution crisis facing the environment today, focusing on the issue of plastic straws. She called for legislators to redirect their efforts from the banning of plastic straws towards policies that will actually enact real environmental change in order to slow climate change.
Melissa cited statistics of the top plastic polluters in the ocean, noting that straws make up an almost negligible amount of oceanic pollution. She then drew attention to the little-known issues that a ban on plastic straws would raise for individuals living with a variety of disabilities. She examined each plastic straw alternative and broke down why none of them meet the criteria those with disabilities look for when choosing a straw.
Melissa acknowledged that, while single-use plastic has its own health risks, it is important that everyone has the choice to opt in or out to the usage of plastic straws. She placed a heavy emphasis on what people can do to create effective change in the environment. She named some of the top companies responsible for over half of the world’s single-use plastic, calling for individuals to incentivize these corporations to lessen their pollution with their spending dollars. Melissa implores people to see how they can best make an impact in their communities and create systemic change in order to save the planet.
The Wilkie Award Selection Committee is proud of all of the Wilkie competition participants. In addition to their outstanding academic achievements in their undergraduate careers, the nominees delivered excellent speeches on a variety of interesting socio-political issues. The Committee selected the winner based on the public speaking and critical thinking skills that Melissa exhibited during her speech and the Q&A session with the committee members that followed.
Members of the 2022-2023 Wilkie Award Selection Committee include Lecturer Bill Husson, Assistant Professor Kenneth Levine, and Assistant Professor Fan Yang (committee chair).
Watch Melissa’s recorded commencement address to the Department of Communication’s Senior Class of 2023 posted on the Department's YouTube page.