The L.E. Norton Higher Education Student Award is named in recognition of Dr. Norton, who was a professor of communication studies at Bradley University and a founder of Bradley’s speech and debate team for collegiate competition. Clinton Brown, graduate research assistant for CATS and a communication studies major, was the recipient of this year’s award.
The L.E. Norton Higher Education Student Award is given to students who demonstrate commitment to their discipline and commitment to their university through service. A student has to be nominated by a faculty or staff member and is then chosen by a panel in order to receive the award. Any student within communication arts discipline in higher education in Illinois was eligible for nomination of the award.
Dr. Richard Jones, assistant professor, nominated Brown towards the end of the spring semester. Brown then had to provide his vitae, supporting documentation, and letters of support to be reviewed by the panel. Brown found out in July that he was the recipient of the award and was asked to give an acceptance speech at the Illinois Communication and Theatre Association (ICTA) conference in Naperville, Ill. in September.
Brown also noted that one of the individuals who is a member of the organization and is on the executive board of the panel was Brown’s high school English teacher and speech coach. He stated, “She was part of my past, Dr. Jones is my present, and this award is me making my own future.”
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| Dr. Richard Jones presenting award to Clinton Brown |
Clinton stated that his experiences, not only throughout school, but also at his current job have helped him to achieve greatness. “I was in the department honors program, which gave me opportunities to go to conferences and present that I may not have had otherwise,” Brown said, “and to be able to do my own research through my position at CATS has just enhanced it.”
Brown’s job at CATS also enables him to be able to provide service, such as working one-on-one with faculty on their projects and initiatives. “It has allowed me to create a great deal of contacts,” stated Brown. His graduate studies also indirectly involve his experiences at work by completing assessments for different departments and running statistics and compiling the information for them.
Outside of his studies and work, Brown also tries to reach out to students and the community by completing service projects. Brown recently organized a trip for students to go and complete the march for marriage equality. “To do service, you have to see there is an opportunity to do something and you have to take that initiative,” added Brown.
“There were many students who were equally deserving and I just happened to have received this award, and I am very thankful for it,” he said. “But I wanted to communicate to them … there’s no way I could have imagined that 20 years later I would be standing here recalling the ICTA conference, and accepting the L.E. Norton Higher Education Student Award. However, my own story, I believe, raises an important question. That is, what if we strive to ensure that every student has such positive experiences within the communication arts?”
For more information contact Clinton Brown via email: clbrown3@eiu.edu.
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