By: Karlin Andersen Tuttle
Walking through Target last month, I was surprised to see aisles jammed packed with binders in a variety of sizes, locker organizers, and rainbow packs of crayons spilling out from the seasonal section and encroaching on the laundry detergent and electronics department. While I was enjoying a few calm days in the midst of summer travel and endless sunny days, small groups of parents and children were debating the strengths of pencil brands and if they really needed six glue sticks for a single school year. I felt thankful that I was many years past searching for the elusive package of highlighters in the correct quantity and colors my school list required, but I was also reminded of another group of students who spent their summer piecing together resources for the year ahead. 
I belong to a group chat of fifteen current and former mass communications graduate students who spent much of the summer months strategizing and planning how they could attend national and international conferences. Many of them are impressive scholars who regularly present top papers, win prizes often given to more seasoned researchers, and bring new ideas or interdisciplinary approaches to established areas. Yet those accolades do not solve their biggest hurdle: affording the registration, travel, and board expenses associated with conferences.
On average, attending a single conference cost members of that group chat $850. While some of their institutions and programs paid for at least part of that cost, they mentioned that their yearly conference funding rarely covered two conferences. That reality often pushes graduate students to attend fewer specialty conferences and skip conventions in which they are not presenting.
As a recent PhD graduate I faced those same challenges but, due to receiving a Sweeney Graduate Student Travel Stipend, attending the AJHA convention was never in question. The money raised during the auction helped bridge the gap between travel funding from Penn State and the full convention costs. Presenting at least year’s convention gave me an opportunity to receive feedback on my dissertation research, network as I entered my first year on the job market, and witness a level of scholarly comradery I had not experienced in other spaces.
For many of us, purchasing scratch and sniff markers or TI-84 graphing calculators never factors into our syllabi prep and finalizing lectures or class activities. However, most of us can remember the difficult years spent balancing limited financial resources with departmental expectations and personal desire to attend conferences. Donating to the Sweeney fund or bidding during the auction lessens those concerns for all graduate students attending the annual AJHA convention.
Anyone interested in donating an item to the 2024 auction should submit information about their donation before September 20 and bring their item to the conference in Pittsburgh. Bidding begins the week of the convention and winners must bring their items home after the conference.
Karlin Andersen Tuttle recently earned a dual-title doctorate in mass communications and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies from Penn State. She also received a stipend from the Sweeney Graduate Student Travel Fund which helped her attend last year’s AJHA convention and present her early dissertation research. She currently teaches at Penn State and serves as the editorial liaison for Mass Communication & Society.
