Department ofCommunication Arts and Sciences
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Yanitza A. Cruz Crespo

Students Teaching Students

In coordination with an undergraduate-run organization called Students Teaching Students, CAS department faculty members mentor exemplary students who develop and teach 1-credit courses on a variety of subjects that advance expertise in communication and its role in public life. This semester, Associate Teaching Professor Lori Bedell is supporting undergraduates Kara Miller (who was in Lori’s RCL course a few years back) and Jess Strait as they teach a course titled “Period Talk: The Impact of Stigma on the Menstrual Equity Movement.”
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Yanitza A. Cruz Crespo

Graduate Assistant in Communication Arts and Sciences
yac5050@psu.edu
316 Sparks Building University Park, PA 16802

Education

B.A., Universidad de Puerto Rico, 2019
M.A., Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2020
M.A., Penn State University, 2023
Ph.D., Penn State University, anticipated 2027

Websites

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6188-3543
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ycruzcrespo/

Professional Bio

Yanitza Cruz Crespo is a communication scientist specializing in social influence, persuasion, and health and disaster communication. Her recent work focuses on online activism related to health interventions, such as COVID-19, using text as data methods and semantic and social network analysis to explore public conversations about vaccination intentions on social media. Her work has been presented at national and international conferences and published in Computer in Human Behavior.

Currently, Yanitza is a research assistant on a CDC-funded grant, investigating public perceptions of a potential Lyme disease vaccine to develop effective messaging for improved vaccine acceptance. Previously, she was a research assistant on a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture-funded project led by Dr. Shannon Cruz and Dr. Dave Keating (Arizona State University). Alongside her research, Yanitza teaches Effective Speech (CAS 100A) and serves as a Teaching Assistant for Quantitative Research Methods (CAS 304)

Advisor: Dr. Shannon Cruz