I have a strong passion for teaching and mentorship. When I am not in the field conducting interviews or working on new manuscripts, I can often be found in the classroom. Teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students is a core pillar of my scholarly identity. I have served as both an Instructor of Record and Teaching Assistant across various classes in the Hussman School's Political Communication Program as well as George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs. Below is a brief overview of the classes I have taught or served as a teaching assistant for. I am happy to share materials upon request. 

Instructor of Record 

MEJO 144: Introduction to Political Communication (UNC)

• Fall 2025, 30 students 

• Course Descripton:  

Introduction to Political Communication is a hands-on, “of the moment” course that introduces students to both political communication as an academic area of study as well as a professional field that stretches across politics, media, and technology. The course centers on a variety of actors, institutions, and organizations crucial to political communication in the digital era, including citizens, journalists, government bodies, political actors, campaigns, social media platforms, technology companies, and celebrities. This course will feature a variety of different readings, podcasts, and other forms of media that will foster a discussed-based course where students will also have the opportunity to practice and refine practical, real-life skills through collaborative, group-based work. 

Thematically, this course is uniquely structured around the intersection of political communication and democracy in 2025. Throughout the course, we will discuss how we reached our current political moment and the role that political communication and political communicators continue to play in the ongoing global retreat from democratic principles. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which contemporary media systems interact with political actors to influence public debates, social movements, and elections from both pro- and anti-democratic perspectives. Finally, we will interrogate what the future holds for both American democracy as well as democracy around the world, focusing on possible avenues of democratic rejuvenation and restoration.    

• Syllabus and evidence of teaching effectiveness availble upon request

Graduate Teaching Assistant / Co-Instructor

MEJO 644: The Washington Experience (UNC) 

• Fall 2023 & Fall 2024, 16 students 

• Co-instructor with Dr. Daniel Kreiss

• Course Description: 

The Washington Experience is an intensive, semester-long course that introduces students to careers in journalism and political communication and D.C.-based organizations and people. This course provides students with a deep dive into the state of U.S. media and politics. The hallmark of this capstone course is a campaign simulation where students are responsible for running political candidates or covering those candidates. Students also make a trip to Washington D.C. over UNC’s fall break and visit various media and political organizations and meet UNC alumni, as well as learn professionalization skills.

SMPA 2102: Introduction to Political Communication (GW)

• Fall 2020 & Spring 2022, 30 students

• Graduate Teaching Assistant to Dr. Steven Livingston

• Course Description: 

This course is the traditional gateway course into the political communication major at the School of Media and Public Affairs. Students in the class will be exposed to core political communication theory that spans the entire lifespan of the field. This includes class periods, readings, and papers devoted to exploring such concepts as individual and institutional media effects, agenda setting, connective action, and much more.    

SMPA 1050: Media in a Free Society (GW)

• Fall 2021, 150 students 

• Graduate Teaching Assistant to Dr. Sean Aday

• Course Description: 

This course provides an introduction to, and overview of, major themes, both theoretical and applied, in the study of political communication, journalism, and mass communication. Its goal is to provide non-SMPA majors, especially underclassman, with an understanding of the role of media in society, their effects, and their relationship to public opinion and, especially, the political world.