Winner at the February 2022 American Advertising Federation Awards in Birmingham, Alabama Gold Award and Best in Show Student Award.

Winner of Student Silver at District 7 Awards by the American Advertising Federation in May of 2022.

Winner of a National Student Gold and Judge's Choice at the National American Advertising Federation Awards in June of 2022.

For my senior project I wanted to address the issue of verbal harassment, or catcalling, that 97% of women ages 18-24 experience in their lives. This topic is special to me because when I was sixteen, I was pumping gas one hot summer day and I had a man on the other side of the pump address me with “Ma’am” I replied, “Yes?” and he responded, “I just wanted you to know you’re wearing those shorts well.” I was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts. I was immediately embarrassed but just shrugged it off. Every so often I’ve recalled his statement as it’s replayed in my mind over the years, and it has stuck with me, kind of like something sticky that you get on you but quite can’t get off. But, I know I’m not alone when it comes to my experiences. In January, one of my best friends stormed into my dorm room and told us about her own experience she had just had, on the campus of Samford University, a Christian campus. She was walking back from class, right outside of this building, and a group of guys was behind her talking about her butt and going “Ass, ass, ass, ass.” I was already contemplating doing something about women’s experiences with catcalling for my senior project, but when my friend told me about her experience with verbal harassment, it solidified my idea to create a book about this.

The mark I created for the front of my book is based upon the “It’s Nice to have You in Birmingham” mural that is around our city. I thought this would be a fun way to pay homage to the city that I spent my college career in, and is also the city I had the most entries for my book from.

I chose to typographically illustrate what was said to the women in a way that would be beautiful to contrast the words. At first, the pages look beautiful but as you read it you realize this was said to someone. This reminds me of how when women are catcalled, it may appear to be a compliment on the surface, but then they realize it’s not and it’s actually a vile remark.

Display of Thanks for the Verbal Harassment in the Samford University Art Gallery, Dec 2021