Emily Acosta Lewis

About

I am proud to be First-gen because education has profoundly changed my life and trajectory. Being a First-gen student and subsequent graduate student and Faculty member is incredibly different from those who aren't. The path is different and the reliance on self for support is greater.

Students can contact me regarding questions about graduate school, navigating college, networking, job search, leadership, service learning, and studying abroad.

Biography

Dr. Emily Acosta Lewis received a PhD in Communication Arts from University of Wisconsin-Madison, a MA in Journalism and Mass Communication from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a B.A. in Public Relations from San Diego State University. She has taught courses in public relations, mass communication, persuasion, public speaking, new media, and interdisciplinary first-year living-learning community courses. She is the faculty advisor for the student-run PR agency, Primitivo, and is also the Center for Community Engagement Arts and Humanities Faculty Fellow. Her most recent research is in high-impact educational practices with a focus on service-learning. Emily has a student-centered approach to teaching and believes in engaging students with high impact educational practices in her classes. She does this through service-learning, first-year seminars and experiences, learning communities, collaborative projects, undergraduate research, and ePortfolios. Emily believes that experiential education is vital to a well-rounded college experience and encourages this in her classroom through service-learning projects and engaging in real-world PR work in Primitivo. Emily is a first-generation college student who understands the unique challenges that students can experience while navigating college from this perspective. She strives to educate her students on skills that will get them ready for the job market, such as resumes, cover letters, networking, and salary negotiations. She was a professor with Semester at Sea while visiting twelve countries over 106 days and also studied in Paris as an undergraduate. Please reach out to her if you have any questions about the COMS major, public relations, service-learning, studying abroad, graduate school, or attending college as a first-gen student. Emily is passionate about leadership development and diversity, equity, and inclusion work on campus. She recently completed the Cornell DEI Certificate and participated in CSU Student Success Network Middle Leadership Academy to focus on addressing equity gaps at SSU. She has co-created a three-course leadership certificate program at Sonoma State University, which has been taken by students internationally. She volunteers with Phi Delta Fraternity nationally as a member of their Education Committee, which focuses on leadership education with their members across the US and Canada. She is also the Academic Advisor for the Phi Delta Theta chapter at SSU and the Faculty Advisor for Lambda Sigma Gamma, the only multicultural sorority at SSU. Emily spends weekends with her three kids (aged 4, 6, and 8) exploring North Bay beaches, parks, and museums. She enjoys sports in any form, watching questionable television shows, drinking matcha/chai, yoga, and hiking.

Education

Ph.D. in Communication Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison 

M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison

B.A. in Public Relations, San Diego State University