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Approximately 4,400 degrees conferred during Georgia Southern’s 2026 Spring Commencement ceremonies

Last week, approximately 4,400 graduates from Georgia Southern University’s Statesboro, Armstrong, Liberty and Swainsboro campuses received associate, baccalaureate, masters, specialist and doctoral degrees in five Spring 2026 Commencement ceremonies. Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero welcomed the graduates and their guests to the ceremonies, held at the Allen E. Paulson Stadium and Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center in Statesboro, Enmarket Arena in Savannah and East Georgia Campus in Swainsboro on May 11, 13 and 14. “To our graduates, congratulations,” Marrero welcomed the crowds. “Today we recognize and honor your hard work, perseverance and personal growth throughout your academic journey. The road to this moment has not been without its challenges, and your presence here is a reflection of your dedication, resilience and strength. You have every reason to be proud. This commencement is a meaningful milestone not only for each of you personally, but for the entire Georgia Southern community.” The Commencement speakers included: Bob Somers (’83) Nick Westbrook (’20) Berry Aldridge (’15) Kim Hartsock (’20, ’21) Rep. Butch Parrish Somers opened the ceremonies at Paulson Stadium with words of encouragement for the new graduates. “While this day marks your formal education coming to a close, the truth is your education and life is just now beginning,” he said. “When I look out at you, I don’t look at graduates. I see future leaders. And our future is bright because of what you’re going to bring to this world. “Georgia Southern gave me structure, opportunity and people who believed in me. One of my proudest moments was graduating from this incredible institution. Find your north star. What kind of person are you? What are your values? Be genuine with yourself and others. If you’re authentic, people will trust you and they will follow you. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. Real leadership requires vulnerability.” Westbrook relayed the importance of service and character alongside leadership. “You will have the opportunity to influence people, organizations, companies and industries,” he said. “Use that influence for good. Your opportunity will not only be for a better job, more income or a higher position. The highest calling of your opportunity will be what you can do for the people who are affected by your influence. In a world that is becoming increasingly transactional, be the leader that goes the extra mile to make your world a little more relational, more kind, more human.” Aldridge enthusiastically challenged graduates to consistently recalibrate the way they think, and to consciously surround themselves with support. “Class of 2026, you’ve accomplished something incredible, but you’ve done it during a very strange and chaotic time in history,” he said. “I’m not breaking any news when I say that we are standing on the edge of a massive change to our jobs, our technology, our society. “I don’t know how AI is going to change the way we work or influence the job market. I challenge you to be skeptical even in your own most passionately held beliefs. That’s the only way to keep ourselves in check, and it’s the only way to keep ourselves growing. Nurture three types of relationships — one who lifts you up, another who tells you the truth, and one who will always show up — in order to succeed, he continued. And then be that person for others. Hartsock reflected on the generational impact of earning a degree. “For some of you, this is not just a personal achievement, it’s a historic one,” she shared. “You may be the first in your family to earn a college degree, and that accomplishment carries special significance. You are changing the trajectory of your family and setting an example for generations to come.” She asked them to be intentional about who they learn from. “Seek out people who can teach you things that books never will,” she said. “It’s important to look for leaders whose lives are marked not only by achievement, but also by joy and purpose. “Invest in this university. Join the alumni association. Help recruit future Eagles. Create a scholarship. Create opportunities for students to learn from you and work with you. Stay involved,” she said. “You never know, 25 years from now, you might be standing right here where I am. Congratulations, class of 2026 and Hail Southern!” In the closing ceremony in Swainsboro, Parrish encouraged graduates to continue learning. “Today is by no means an end,” he said. “It’s just the beginning. Your education has prepared you for what lies ahead. Your education allows you to create your own path forward. You have a unique opportunity to define your own path. You don’t have to follow anymore. Education is like insurance for whatever you’ll be facing in the future. “Education comes in many forms. There’s formal and informal, traditional, nontraditional and learned education, just to name a few. So, I encourage you to pursue a career in something that you really have a passion for and something that you really want to do. Whatever you decide to do is up to you, and your future is bright and it’s unlimited.” Video and Photo Links Spring 2026 Commencement ceremony 9 a.m. video on May 11 in Statesboro Spring 2026 Commencement ceremony 6 p.m. video on May 11 in Statesboro Spring 2026 Commencement ceremony video on May 13 in Savannah Spring 2026 Commencement ceremony video on May 14 in Statesboro Spring 2026 Commencement photos here Credit: Courtesy of Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/R2 with a Carnegie Community Engagement classification, offers approximately 149 different degree programs serving nearly 31,600 students through 11 colleges on four campuses in Savannah, Hinesville, Statesboro, Swainsboro and online instruction. Founded in 1906, Georgia Southern is a leader in higher education in southeast Georgia with expert faculty and a focus on public impact research and engaging learning opportunities through knowledge and know-how that prepare our students to soar beyond and take ownership of their lives, careers and communities. Visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu.

UD experts break down the 2026 World Cup

As the world gears up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, experts from the University of Delaware are available to provide timely insight on the science, business, and human impact behind the global tournament. Player Safety, Concussions and the Future of the Game Tom Kaminski, professor of kinesiology and applied physiology, is a leading authority on player safety and head injuries. As the sole U.S. representative on FIFA’s Heading Expert Group, Kaminski is helping shape international guidelines around heading in soccer—particularly for youth athletes. He can speak to concussion risks, prevention strategies, and how evolving safety standards are influencing the modern game. Joining him is Tom Buckley, who also specializes in concussion research and athlete health, offering additional perspective on injury trends and recovery in elite competition. The Business of the World Cup: Tourism and Global Impact Matt Robinson from UD’s Lerner College of Business and Economics explores how mega-events like the World Cup drive tourism, economic growth, and global connection. Robinson can discuss how host cities benefit, the long-term economic ripple effects, and how sports act as a powerful unifier across cultures. Youth, Development and the Next Generation of Fans Sara Goldstein brings expertise in adolescent development, offering insight into how traditions with family shape youth identity, social development, and engagement with physical activity. Her perspective is especially relevant for younger audiences experiencing the World Cup through schools and community programs, including UD’s Lab School initiatives. Inside the Game: Sports Analytics in Action With the rise of data-driven performance, UD’s new Sports Performance Analytics major is preparing students to analyze gameplay at the highest level. Martin Heintzelman, department chair, can connect media with program leaders and practitioners including Jack Davis and Christina Rasnake, who are helping students apply real-time analytics to global competitions like the World Cup. The Science Beneath the Game: Playing Surfaces World Cup matches are required to be played on natural grass—a costly and complex requirement, especially for indoor stadiums. Erik Ervin can discuss how turfgrass systems have evolved, the science behind maintaining elite playing surfaces, and the massive investment required to meet international standards. Why Watching Together Matters Amit Kumar studies the psychology of happiness and shared experiences. He can speak to why gathering to watch World Cup matches—whether in stadiums, bars, or living rooms—boosts well-being and strengthens social bonds, making the tournament as meaningful off the field as it is on it. Connect with UD experts to explore every angle of the 2026 World Cup – from the pitch to the people. Email mediarelations@udel.edu to connect with these experts. 

Why disaster recovery in the Himalayas needs a rethink

After five weeks of fieldwork across Nepal, Bhutan and Northwest India, Aston University researcher Dr Komal Raj Aryal is calling for a more locally grounded approach to resilience and post-disaster recovery in one of the world’s most hazard-prone regions. What happens after the headlines fade from a disaster? That question sits at the heart of new field research led by Dr Komal Raj Aryal, Lecturer in Crisis and Disaster Management at Aston Business School. After returning from a five-week research visit across Nepal, Bhutan and Northwest India, Dr Aryal says the evidence points to a troubling reality: many communities remain highly vulnerable long after major recovery programmes are supposed to have helped them rebuild. The trip brought together field visits, stakeholder consultations and community observations linked to ongoing UKRI, NERC and ISPF-supported research on earthquake risk, disaster governance, resilience and post-disaster recovery in the Himalayan region. The aim was not only to understand current conditions, but to ask why repeated losses continue despite years of international development assistance, scientific research and investment. Across the region, the research found that resilience is being undermined by a combination of persistent governance challenges, fragmented institutions, weak local preparedness systems, livelihood insecurity and mounting environmental pressures. In other words, recovery is not simply about rebuilding infrastructure; it is about whether communities are genuinely better equipped to cope with the next shock. This challenge is especially striking in places still living with the legacy of the 2015 Nepal earthquakes, where long-term vulnerabilities remain visible despite the scale of international support directed towards recovery and reconstruction. Reflecting on his findings, Dr Aryal said: “One of the most striking observations from the field is that many communities affected by the 2015 Nepal Earthquakes continue to face similar vulnerabilities today, despite significant international support allocated for recovery and reconstruction. This raises important questions about how disaster recovery is planned, implemented, and sustained over time.” The fieldwork also highlighted the growing complexity of future disaster risks in the Himalayas. Large-scale earthquakes do not exist in isolation; they interact with environmental degradation, cascading hazards, climate-related stresses and rapid urbanisation in fragile mountain settings. He added: “The Himalayan region is entering a period of growing uncertainty where environmental change, socio-economic inequality, weak governance systems, and seismic risks are becoming increasingly interconnected. There is an urgent need to rethink conventional development approaches and invest more seriously in locally grounded, community-centred resilience strategies.” For Aston University, this work reflects a broader commitment to international research on disaster risk reduction, resilience governance and humanitarian response across South Asia. Aston researchers are working with government agencies, local authorities, universities, emergency responders and humanitarian organisations to strengthen evidence-based approaches to preparedness and recovery. The findings feed into wider international debates about sustainable development, climate resilience, risk communication and the future of disaster governance in vulnerable mountain regions. They also underline the importance of moving beyond short-term recovery models towards approaches that are participatory, practical and rooted in local knowledge. Dr Aryal’s research emphasises the value of integrating community knowledge, participatory governance, youth engagement and long-term livelihood security into resilience planning. As future collaborations and policy discussions develop, these themes are likely to be central to how the region prepares for the risks ahead. The recent fieldwork is expected to inform future international research partnerships, policy dialogue and resilience-focused initiatives between the UK and South Asian partners.

Expert Insights: Want More Engagement? Eliminate the Barriers.

Anyone born in the 70’s or earlier will probably remember it well. Time was when playing any kind of video game meant physically disporting yourself to the local arcade—a twilight zone of flashing neon, electronic beeps and bops, and the clink of quarters hitting the slot. As technology advanced, the videogame came to you. Home consoles and TV stations rigged with joysticks duly became the mainstay of gaming. The Atari 2600 brought the arcade experience into dens all over the US; Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Asteroids now at the fingertips of a generation of games who no longer needed to leave home to play. Fast forward to the era of smart phones and hi-tech, and gaming has evolved again. Today, Fortnite, Minecraft, and The Legend of Zelda can accompany you pretty much anywhere—onto a train or a bus, into the canteen at work or school, or under the covers at 2am. In our always-on, on-demand world, video gaming increasingly meets players where they are; a play-anywhere, digital user experience that empowers individuals to engage with their game of choice wherever they are, whenever it suits, and via whatever platform they prefer, desktop or mobile. For users, the benefits seem clear. But what about game producers? As availability expands to new channels and platforms, how does it change user behavior? Does it deepen engagement or does cross-platform continuity simply end up redistributing play—the addition of each new platform shifting players away from, and effectively cannibalizing, existing channels? It’s a conundrum, and not just for video game producers. Retailers, bankers, insurance firms, media, and hospitality providers—anyone with an online-first approach looking to meet their customers wherever they are—should also be cognizant of the potential downsides of channel expansion in the digital space. Weighing in here is research by Professor of Marketing and expert in the intersection of sports and cultural analytics and marketing Michael Lewis. Together with Wooyong Jo of Purdue, Lewis looks at the impact of omni-channel strategy on videogames—a proxy, he says, for other sectors and industries. What they find is critical for marketers and decision-makers in any context or business setting. Increasing the digital touchpoints between your product and customers does impact behavior—but the net results are overwhelmingly positive. Video game players play more, they spend more frequently, and they integrate gameplay more deeply into their everyday lives. In other words, the investment pays off. And the dividends in customer engagement are serious. Switching to the Switch To unpack all of this, Lewis and Jo partnered with a large US video game publisher to analyze player-level behavioral data for one its major titles in the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, or MOBA genre. Players form teams and compete to destroy opposing team’s bases, selecting a character from a set of 100+ options. Revenue for the publisher comes from a “freemium” business model—users can make voluntary purchases to unlock new characters or buy cosmetic enhancements. These purchases are geared toward enhancing the gaming experience but don’t affect competitive outcomes, making them a critical measure of engagement. In 2019, the game was released for the Nintendo Switch, which can be docked in home consoles but is most commonly used as a mobile, hand-held device. PC players were given the option to download this new version and continue gameplay seamlessly using their existing accounts. Analyzing player behavior before and after the adoption of the new Switch platform, Lewis and Jo were able to zoom in on some critical measures of user engagement including game usage or the total number of matches played, in-game spending—what, when and how much players spent—and player inactivity or churn. “We were able to really get into player behavior over time, and what happens when you introduce the Switch option and remove the constraints of having to play in one place—the home or gaming PC,” says Lewis. “What happens when you make it possible for players to access the game they love while they’re commuting or on their lunchbreak?” Plenty, it turns out. Mobile access: gameplay, spending and churn Crunching the data, Lewis and Jo find that mobile access dramatically increases gameplay. Players who adopted the Switch version played approximately 31% more games than before—a dramatic uptick that underscores how flexibility gains translate into new opportunities to play and engage. And that’s not all. Lewis and Jo also find that gameplay becomes less concentrated within narrow windows—after school or work, say—and is now more spread out across the day, the result of the “ubiquity effect,” says Lewis. “Take away the constraints of having to be in a fixed location and you see players adding additional play sessions. Interestingly though, we don’t find any adverse effect on PC gaming. Players are simply playing more, and playing longer, rather than replacing PC time.” Then there’s in-game purchasing. MOBA-type games typically give players the option to voluntarily buy modifications for characters, known as “skins.” These skins are cosmetic enhancements: new armor, costumes, skill animations or effects. Crucially, these kinds of purchases don’t advance players to new levels of success in the game. Instead, they are used for personalization—to demonstrate status or to celebrate an in-game event. Lewis and Jo find that mobile adopters make more frequent in-game purchases. While the overall total doesn’t increase materially, these players are spending small amounts, more often—almost 7% more frequently than before. This makes intuitive sense, says Lewis. If players are logging in more often, they have more opportunities to feel inspired to want to spend on skins. But there’s another factor that may be at work. “With this kind of in-game purchasing, it’s likely that a lot of it is about credibility. When you buy a skin or a character pack, it’s like you have more aura within the game; you want to signal something to other players and let yourself be known. And this is more than just monetary, it’s about a deeper kind of engagement,” says Lewis. “It’s possible that as mobile access makes the game more of a frequent companion, as the rate of play increases, there’s this effect that players fall deeper into the community—their engagement deepens even more.” Interestingly, the shift to mobile access had the most significant impact precisely on those players whose pre-Switch in-game purchasing was lowest. These users, who were arguably most likely to disengage and drift away from the game, became significantly more active once the hand-held option became available. “If you have players spending less and less inside the game, the intuition is that these are the customers you are most at risk of losing,” says Lewis. “Bringing in the Switch has seen these customers—those more prone to churn—actively reengage with the game, maybe because they have greater propensity for the mobile version.” Either way, this should be a particularly interesting finding for marketers, he adds; retaining existing users is typically cheaper than attracting new ones. “The evidence suggests that mobile access can serve not only as a growth strategy, but also a defensive one if it helps keep marginal users engaged; those who might otherwise have detached from the product altogether.” Help Them Switch So far, so encouraging. There is one potential downside to porting a game or online product to a new channel, however, and that is usability. Lewis and Jo find that players who switched between platforms experience a slight, initial decline in in-game performance—likely because of differences in the control systems between devices. Players who’ve been using keyboard and mouse controls may need time to adapt to hand-held controllers. To mitigate this, he and Jo suggest that producers could offer tutorials or introductory gameplay modes that accelerate the learning curve as users adjust to the new interface. In most cases, usability should be factored in as an additional, hidden cost, when developers and organizations are contemplating investing in more online customer touchpoints. “Expanding your online channels will always have some cost. Taking a game from one platform and porting it to another one isn’t free, so you will want to anticipate the hurdles, even as you weigh up the clear benefits,” says Lewis. “The key is to make sure you protect your users. With things like video games, you want to think about how to guide or upskill your players, maybe have them play bots at first to ramp up their capabilities. Whenever you create a new channel that has a different operating system from the user’s perspective, you’re probably going to want to provide some aid to your fan community.” The benefits of omni-channel access should always be weighted against the costs involved, counsels Lewis. Even so, today’s competitive pressures—the seemingly inexorable march of technological innovation and evolving user expectations—are likely to make platform expansion unavoidable for most online businesses. In the world of video gaming, as major franchises release new products across multiple platforms, and player preferences become more sophisticated, companies may simply have to adopt similar strategies to remain competitive. “As everyone else invests in the same new technologies, you almost have to do the same—just as a matter of doing business,” says Lewis. “If you are launching a video game, you’ve got to compete with whatever Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto are doing. You can’t just tell your players they can only engage on one platform. The competition is continuously raising the stakes just in terms of the bare minimum.” Building Fandom: the Connective Cultural Tissue More broadly, Lewis and Jo’s findings speak to how human beings form communities of shared passion around business entities and, perhaps more compellingly, around cultural phenomena: video games, for sure, but also sports teams, music, films, comic books, fashion, and more. Understanding the mechanisms that drive and deepen engagement sheds more light on what Lewis calls the “connective cultural tissue of fandom: ”the powerful social bonds, camaraderie, and shared identity that connect people to cultural entities and to each other. Fandom, he argues, is the “key to our world.” Understanding fan behavior is critical to understanding how it is that games, brands, sporting teams, or politics forge communities built on shared passion. “Whatever your organization or business is, you are going to be interested in driving passion. You want people to engage and love what you do. What we’re looking at in this study is a building block towards understanding how cultural entities fit into consumers’ lives, and how eliminating barriers helps to expand communities and drive relationships—extending reach and engagement by weaving cultural experiences more deeply into everyday life.” The real challenge in front of organizations, be they video game producers or online retailers, says Lewis, is to give their product the kind of “cultural meaning” that creates fans—and not just users. “When you think about the behavior of fans, the level of passion and engagement that exists around cultural phenomena—whatever they are from video games to FIFA, the English Football League to the Super Bowl, Taylor Swift to the Republican Party—that’s where you see the passion that really drives the world. And that to me, is critical in understanding how business works, how societies function, and how our world evolves.”

The Biggest Study Yet on School Cellphone Bans Shows Results Aren’t So Simple

As more schools move to restrict or completely ban smartphones in classrooms, the largest study ever conducted on school cellphone bans is challenging assumptions about what these policies actually achieve. The new U.S. study, involving roughly 4,600 schools and researchers from institutions including Stanford, Duke, the University of Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania, found that strict cellphone bans dramatically reduced phone use during the school day. In some schools, classroom phone use dropped from 61 percent to just 13 percent. It's a popular topic and media coverage of the results has been extensive. But the findings became more complicated from there. Researchers found little immediate evidence that phone bans significantly improved test scores, attendance, classroom attention, or bullying rates. Some schools even saw short-term increases in student discipline issues and declines in student well-being immediately after bans were introduced. Still, the study suggested that longer-term outcomes may improve as students adjust and schools refine enforcement strategies. Teachers consistently reported fewer classroom distractions and stronger learning environments. Mizuko Ito is a cultural anthropologist of technology use, focusing on children and youth's changing relationships to media and communications. She recently completed a research project supported by the MacArthur Foundation a three year ethnographic study of kid-initiated and peer-based forms of engagement with new media. View her profile The findings arrive as governments across North America continue expanding school cellphone restrictions amid growing concerns about distraction, screen addiction, anxiety, and the impact of social media on youth mental health. The study highlights a growing debate among educators, parents, and researchers: while limiting phone access may reduce distractions, the relationship between young people, technology, mental health, and learning is far more complex than simply removing devices from classrooms.

Gritty like his city: How the Philadelphia Flyers' mascot went from punchline to sensation

How did Gritty, the fluffy, orange, menacing whatchamacallit that backs the Philadelphia Flyers, go from a punchline when he was rolled out in 2018 to one of sports' most well-known and beloved mascots? The University of Delaware's Matt Robinson took a shot, and scored, with some answers. Robinson, a professor of sport management at UD's Lerner College of Business & Economics, said Gritty embodies the tough attitude that Philadelphia is known for. Also, some of his bizarre features and personality traits go straight to the heart of the demeanor and history of the Flyers, who are currently battling their way through the NHL playoffs. Those are among the ingredients that go into marketing and launching a successful mascot.  Robinson can discuss the following: • Why some mascots take off and others flop. After his launch, Gritty was ridiculed as a concept on late night TV and "Saturday Night Live." But he was still garnering billions of views on social media and millions in earned media for the franchise. The Flyers kept pushing the concept despite its early unpopularity, which led to his eventual success. "Any public relations is good public relations," Robinson said. • Mascots need to be authentic. Gritty embodies the team he represents and the city that team plays in. Robinson noted Philadelphia's "grit" and love of players who play hard, like the Broad Street Bullies – the nasty group of Flyers' players who led the team to two Stanley Cup wins in the 1970s.  • The best mascots transcend sports. Robinson pointed to the film and character "Rocky," whose statue sits in the front of the city's Art Museum, as well as the city's reputation as one with a bit of an edge. "We're the ones who threw snowballs at Santa Claus," Robinson said, referring to the infamous 1968 incident when Philadelphia Eagles fans pelted Kris Kringle from the stands. • Players and coaches come and go, but the mascot stays the same. Mascots can be part of ticket sales and community engagement in the offseason, when players may not be in the city or moving to another via free agency. • Mascots offer an attachment point for fans that is not sport related. Kids respond to mascots and, from there, connection with the team, players and the sport can grow. To contact Robinson directly for an interview, visit his profile and click on the "contact" button. Interested reporters can also email MediaRelations@udel.edu.

From Amateur Passion to Global Science: How Meteorites Tell the Story of Our Solar System

A recent article in Texas Highways traces how Oscar Monnig, a Fort Worth businessman with no formal scientific training, built one of the most significant meteorite collections in the United States. Beginning in the 1930s, Monnig identified and acquired rare space rocks, often working directly with scientists and collectors, ultimately assembling a collection that would later be donated to Texas Christian University. Today, that legacy is carried forward, and elevated, by Rhiannon Mayne, curator of the Oscar E. Monnig Meteorite Collection and Gallery. Mayne frames Monnig not just as a collector, but as a foundational figure in modern meteoritics whose contributions continue to enable global research. As she notes, his collection ensures that “decades from now” scientists worldwide will still be able to study these materials. “He was definitely one of the most important meteorite collectors of the 20th century,” says Rhiannon Mayne, the curator of the Oscar Monnig Meteorite Collection and Gallery at TCU. She adds that, although he was not a scientist, his gift enables ongoing research in meteoritics. “Decades from now, people all over the world will get to request samples to study because of him.”  Expert Insight: Turning a Private Collection into a Global Research Engine Mayne’s role is central to transforming Monnig’s passion project into a living scientific asset. Under her leadership, the collection, now one of the largest university-based meteorite repositories in the world supports both cutting-edge research and public engagement. Her work highlights a key insight: meteorites are not just curiosities, but critical records of planetary formation. By studying them, scientists can access information about the early solar system, and even Earth’s own origins that is otherwise impossible to obtain. Rhiannon Mayne is the curator of the Oscar E. Monnig Meteorite Collection, one of the world’s largest university-based meteorite collections, which also includes a world-class museum. View her profile The article ultimately becomes a story about continuity—how individual curiosity evolves into institutional impact. Monnig’s amateur pursuit laid the groundwork, but it is experts like Mayne who translate that legacy into ongoing discovery, education and global collaboration. In that sense, Mayne embodies the bridge between past and future: preserving a historic collection while ensuring it remains scientifically relevant, accessible and inspiring for the next generation of researchers.

How the Class of 2026 can keep resumes out of the digital black hole

Students set to graduate this May are entering a job market where the rules of engagement are being rewritten in real-time. AI is both friend and foe, and ghosting has become the norm. University of Delaware career expert Jill Panté shares how college students can navigate these challenges in a rapidly shifting economy. Panté, director of the Lerner Career Services Center at UD, can apply her expertise to the following: The AI recruitment gap • How to prevent resumes from falling into the "digital black hole" of automated tracking systems. • Current recruitment in 2026 is heavily filtered by AI. If resumes don't mirror the language of the job description, a human might never even see it. • In 2026, AI is the gatekeeper. Students who aren’t using AI for assistance are working twice as hard for half the results. However, the goal is to use it as a co-pilot, not an autopilot. Beat the bots (tailor your content) • Use tools like Resume Worded or Generative AI like Microsoft Co-Pilot or Gemini to see how resumes stack up against specific job postings. • It is better to send five highly tailored, thoughtful applications than 50 generic ones that get auto-rejected by an algorithm. • Use AI to run a mock interview based on the job description and company. The "hidden” job market • If a "job search" consists solely of clicking "Easy Apply" on LinkedIn for six hours a day, it’s not searching; it’s just doom-scrolling with a resume. Roughly 80% of your time should be spent talking to humans. The other 20% should be spent on applications and research. • Find the recruiter or a department head on LinkedIn. Send a brief (2-3 sentence) note reiterating your interest. • Leverage alumni networks through LinkedIn. Narrative branding • Especially for Gen Z: Hiring managers don't just want to know what you did; they want to know the impact you made. • Instead of saying "Responsible for social media,” say "Increased engagement by 40% over 3 months by implementing a new video strategy." • Always lead with results (LinkedIn, resume, Interviews) to showcase the value you bring. Workforce anxiety • Managing the mental toll of the modern, high-speed job search and the professional "ghosting" epidemic. • Establish a personal "Board of Directors" to provide a balance of support, accountability and feedback. • Maintain momentum by volunteering, attending local networking events and learning new skills on platforms like LinkedIn Learning and Coursera. To reach Jill Panté directly and arrange an interview, visit her profile and click on the “contact” button.

From “Covfefe” to commanding the algorithm: How Trump turned memes into political power

A recent analysis by CNN traces how Donald Trump’s relationship with internet culture has evolved from accidental viral moments into a deliberate, highly effective communications strategy. The article highlights how memes, once unpredictable and grassroots, have become a central tool in shaping political narratives, driving engagement and bypassing traditional media channels. Some of the great insight and perspective in the article comes from Dannagal Young, whose insights help explain why this strategy resonates so strongly. Young emphasizes that memes act as powerful emotional and cultural signals, allowing political messages to travel quickly while reinforcing identity and belief among audiences. What began with moments of internet spontaneity has matured into a calculated approach that blends humor, provocation and simplicity to dominate attention in a crowded digital landscape. “The entire ethos and aesthetic of this administration is spectacle and subversion of norms,” Young said. “You don’t do that through deliberation or argument, but through symbols.”  Her perspective, as presented in the CNN article, underscores a broader shift: political influence is increasingly shaped by content that feels native to the internet, where relatability, repetition and shareability often matter more than traditional policy-driven messaging. ABOUT DANNAGAL G. YOUNG Dannagal G. Young is a Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Delaware where she studies the content, audience and effects of nontraditional political information. She has published over sixty academic articles and book chapters on the content, psychology and effects of political information, satire and misinformation. 

Using AI tools empowers and burdens users in online Q&A communities

Whether you’ve searched for cooking tips on Reddit, troubleshooted tech problems on community forums or asked questions on platforms like Quora, you’ve benefited from online help communities. These digital spaces rely on people across the world to contribute their knowledge for free, and have become an essential tool for solving problems and learning new skills. New research reveals that generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT are creating a double-edge effect on users in these communities, simultaneously making them more helpful while potentially overwhelming them to the point of decreasing their responses. “On the positive side, AI helps users learn to write more organized and readable answers, leading to a noticeable increase in the number of responses,” explained Liangfei Qiu, Ph.D., study coauthor and PricewaterhouseCoopers Professor at the University of Florida Warrington College of Business. “However, when users rely too heavily on AI, the mental effort required to process and refine AI outputs can actually reduce participation. In other words, AI both empowers and burdens contributors: it enables more engagement and better readability, but too much reliance can slow people down.” The study examined Stack Overflow, one of the world’s largest question-and-answer coding platforms for computer programmers, to investigate the impact of generative AI on both the quality and quantity of user contributions. Qiu and his coauthor Guohou Shan of Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business measured the impact of AI on users’ number of answers generated per day, answer length and readability. Specifically, they found that users who used AI tools to generate their responses contributed almost 17% more answers per day compared to those who didn’t use AI. The answers generated with AI were both shorter by about 23% and easier to read. However, when people relied too heavily on AI tools, their participation decreased. Qiu and Shan noted that the additional cognitive burden associated with heavier AI usage negatively affected the impact on a user’s answer quality. For online help communities grappling with AI policies, this research provides valuable insight into how these policies can be updated in the current AI environment. While some communities, like Stack Overflow, have banned AI tools, this research suggests that a more nuanced approach could be a better solution. Instead of banning AI entirely, the researchers suggest striking a balance between allowing AI usage while promoting responsible and moderated use. This approach, they argue, would enable users to benefit from efficiency and learning opportunities, while not compromising quality content and user cognition. “For platform leaders, the takeaway is clear: AI can boost participation if thoughtfully integrated, but its cognitive demands must be managed to sustain long-term user contributions,” Qiu said.