亚洲AV

Mason doctoral student wants her voice to inspire others

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Losing those around you to acts of violence and prison is a difficult reality to accept, yet one that is all too familiar to Briana Davis, a first-generation student in the second year of her PhD in communication at 亚洲AV.

Briana Davis portrait
Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

鈥淚 used to always think, how could we be in the same classroom and have the same teachers, but have two separate ways of life?鈥 said Davis, who is originally from Norfolk, Virginia. 鈥淚鈥檝e lost a lot of classmates and friends from back home to prison and gun violence. I think about what they didn鈥檛 get to do, and the opportunities they didn鈥檛 get to have. I鈥檝e got the opportunity so I want to do it for all of us.鈥

After graduating from high school, Davis chose to enroll at Radford University, where she earned a BS in communication studies. After completing an MA in strategic communication from High Point University, Davis spent two years teaching sixth-grade and first-grade students in North Carolina.

Her teaching experience made her eager and willing to get a new perspective on communication, so she moved back to Virginia and applied for a PhD at Mason.

Davis said she was attracted to Mason and the Communication Department because of the faculty she鈥檇 have the opportunity to work with and learn from, and said she often feels that she is treated more like a colleague than a student.

鈥淭hese are by far my favorite set of faculty and professors that I鈥檝e had in all three schools,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淚 felt like with this program I would have the opportunity to explore what it is about communication that I鈥檓 the most passionate about.鈥

Davis also teaches , also known as inclusive public speaking, to first-year Mason students.

Her research interests stem from her background and hometownan urban, low-income environment with mostly Black and brown bodies.

鈥淥nce I got to see the world differently, especially when I attended Radford University and High Point Universitytwo predominantly white institutionsI started to see the difference in opportunity,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat pushed the growth on my focus toward marginalized identities, with race, gender, and class in mind.鈥

She has since shifted her focus toward instructional communication in the educational side of communication due to her experience in teaching.

鈥淚n the two years I spent teaching, the first year was at a Title I, urban school and the second at a grade A school,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淚 could see the substantial learning differences that took place in the discipline policies, the academics, in the students鈥 behavior, and the teachers鈥 approaches which stirred my interest into instructional communication.鈥

Davis also spent time exploring different methods of conducting research such as quantitative research, qualitative research, and critical methodology.

She is currently working on a research project that explains how trauma is present in education through the different disciplinary policies seen in various types of schools. One example she cites from personal experience is a school policy known as 鈥渟ilent lunch鈥 that can be seen as a negative reflection of the school imposing it.

Emily Brennan-Moran, assistant professor for the Department of Communication, is Davis鈥檚 advisor. 鈥淏riana has a clear sense of the stakes of her research. She wants to make the classroom a less traumatic, more equitable place,听particularly for young听students of color,鈥 Brennan-Moran said.

One of the bigger pieces of Davis鈥檚 research revolves around the 鈥渨hite savior鈥 concept鈥 and how these identities matter when it comes to learning. Davis presented on the topic with her abstract 鈥淲hat the White Savior Forgets to Save鈥 at the .

鈥淚 have an opportunity to use my voice and deliver messages that resonate with people to look at life in various perspectives,鈥 Davis explained. 鈥淧ublic speaking also gives me the opportunity to use my voice and be a voice for people who look like me.鈥

Richard T. Craig, director of the master鈥檚 program in communication and associate professor, who served as Davis鈥 advisor during the 2021-22 school year, describes her as a very talented scholar who can take complex concepts and make them relevant to her audience.

鈥淏riana consistently looks at the means in which she can use her research to help the learning processes/environments of children from marginalized groups,鈥 Craig said. 鈥淚 like to think for my part I am a positive influence on Briana's development, particularly as a qualitative/critical scholar, I can certainly attest she has been a positive influence on me.鈥

In Fall 2020, the day after she submitted her application to the PhD program at Mason, Davis received an email that she had qualified for the .

鈥淲hen I applied to the GIA scholarship and received it, I was told it is a very competitive scholarship that was open to new PhD first-generation college student applicants in need of financial aid,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淲hen I read that I had been chosen, I swallowed that with a lot of pride because I鈥檇 been given the opportunity to teach and continue my passion for communication.鈥

Davis says the scholarship makes her think about her positionality when conducting research and gives her confidence knowing she has a space to work, talk, and connect with individuals that are outside of the standard, hegemonic views of society.

鈥淲hen I get to be with these groups of people or lead them, it makes me reflect on my own identities and that influences my work,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淚鈥檓 writing not just as a scholar, but as a Black scholar. I鈥檓 writing as a Black graduate student. I鈥檓 writing as a Black queer scholar in my work.鈥

Brennan-Moran is fond of Davis鈥 writing abilities and the way she weaves together theoretical insights with a stunning narrative voice. 鈥淏riana is an incredibly gifted writer鈥攊t is a treat to read her work,鈥 Brennan-Moran said.

Davis鈥檚 main desire is for her degree to inspire people and to use the privilege of her current education to be the voice and advocate for people who don鈥檛 possess similar opportunities.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want anybody that鈥檚 from my hometown or that I grew up with or went to school with to ever say that they don鈥檛 know anyone with a PhD,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淚 want my work to connect to them. I want to make research articles and papers that are understandable to not only my faculty and staff but to the people back home.鈥

Laurence Bray, associate provost of graduate education sees Davis鈥 story as an inspiration to future GIA scholars. 鈥淏riana鈥檚 story is a wonderful example of why scholarships, like the GIA one, are critical to higher education and can give every student an opportunity to pursue their dreams regardless of their background,鈥 Bray said.