Student Spotlight: Calandra Lindstadt

TXADPR had the pleasure of interviewing Calandra Lindstadt, a recipient of the Roderick P. Hart Student Achievement Award. The Hart award recognizes students who have put their communication education to work in practical ways and supports practical imagination, great execution, and task completion. The work that Calandra has done is making a true difference and we at TXADPR are excited to see where the next chapter in her life takes her.

What brought you to the University of Texas?

My dad was getting his master's degree at UT when I was a little girl. Some of my earliest memories are bringing him lunch on campus. I just always knew I would try to come here too.

 What is your primary focus/research within the communications school?

 I study health communication - in particular message effects and campaign strategy in sexual, health-related contexts. My dissertation examines college students' most memorable messages of sexual consent to understand what messages students are receiving about sexual consent and how they relate to consent communication and sexual violence experiences. 

You just recently won the Roderick P. Hart Student Achievement Award. Could you briefly tell us about this award and how you achieved it?

I am so humbled to receive this award. The award honors students whose work is applied. I was nominated by faculty in the Stan Richards School because of my work on several projects (particularly with the Department of State Health Services) to prevent child blood leading poisoning in the state of Texas and with the Vick Center on UT's campus [and] to understand how best to support college students experiencing career decision-making difficulties. 

As someone who continues to excel, what would you say keeps you motivated and focused?

I need my work to be meaningful and provide the opportunity to impact the world. Because of that, I have continued to seek out the tools and training that will allow me to make the biggest, positive impact possible. 

 Where do you see yourself after college?

I am super excited to have accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at Rutgers in the SC&I department studying policymakers' use of research evidence. Hopefully, this position will give me the training to take my research to the next level where I can begin to work on reducing the incidence of sexual violence on college campuses and beyond. 

If you had one tip for incoming freshmen that you wish someone would have told you, what would it be?

I have been fortunate to work with some incredible mentors. The easiest way to find a mentor is to get involved with projects and activities related to your hopeful career. The word "networking" is overused, but whenever possible try to engage people doing the work you care about; at best you could discover a lifelong supporter and at worst you could learn you don't enjoy the topic as much as you thought and can avoid committing too deeply.