Communication Studies

Kristi Short – M.A. 2005

Two years after graduating from UNCG with a B.A. in Communication Studies, Kristi Short returned to the Communication Studies Department to enroll in the M.A. program with a goal of teaching at the collegiate level.  The master’s program helped Kristi enhance indispensible research and writing skills, and the excellent instruction in pedagogy and invaluable classroom experience she gained as a teaching assistant prepared her well for a career in education.

After graduating in 2005, Kristi taught full-time in the Communication and Foreign Language department at Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) for six years.  The courses she taught include Introduction to Communication, Introduction to Interpersonal Communication, Public Speaking, and Introduction to Mass Communication.  Kristi received the Excellence in Teaching award in 2009, and she has been recognized for her work to promote student life at GTCC.

In 2011, Kristi sought a new challenge and accepted the position of eDegree Program Coordinator at GTCC.  In this role, she oversaw 35 completely online degree, diploma, and certificate programs with a total enrollment of over 600 students.

In the spring of 2012, Kristi was selected to provide organizational and administrative leadership for Completion By Design, a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation initiative intended to significantly increase completion and graduation rates for low income community college students.  In her role as Implementation Director of Completion by Design at GTCC, Kristi leads the campus effort to accelerate students’ entry into programs of study, restructure programs of study, transform academic advising, and improve new student orientation.

In the fall of 2013, Kristi will begin the Education Specialist program at Appalachian State University in Higher Education Leadership with a concentration in Community College and University Administration, with the eventual goal of earning a doctorate in Educational Leadership.