Dang Le

Dang Le
College of Liberal Arts
2nd-year
Vietnam

What inspired you to pursue graduate school?
I’ve always done well in school, so the idea of pursuing graduate study has never intimidated me. When an opportunity arose two years ago, I evaluated my finances along with the time and effort I could commit and decided to become the first in my family to pursue a graduate degree.

Why did you choose your current program or area of study?
I earned my bachelor’s degree in journalism at UTA, so I was already familiar with the Communications program. As I looked through the degree plan, several courses stood out to me, including Crisis Communication, which offers valuable skills as I pursue a career in journalism. As someone who often reads research studies to prepare for interviews, I also became curious about how communication can be studied both quantitatively and qualitatively, which sparked my interest in the program.

What motivates you on challenging days in graduate school?
I remind myself to take things day by day and to recognize both my strengths and weaknesses. I’ve never been the smartest person or someone who can retain knowledge after reading something just once. Instead, I trust my ability to put in the time and effort until I get it right. On tough days, I rely on that self-awareness—to be patient with myself and give myself grace.

Please provide a brief description of your research or current project.
My project examines how different generations and gender identities within the LGBTQ+ community assess mainstream news coverage. As a reporter, I often hear people say that certain coverage is biased or unfair. This project aims to analyze those perceptions by exploring how generational differences and gender identities—which may experience different types of coverage—influence people’s overall judgments of the news.

What impact do you hope your research or work will have?
The goal is to build a bridge between journalists and audience members by understanding how life experiences and worldviews shape people’s assessments of news coverage. As a working journalist, I believe those who study and critique media may sometimes see things differently from those who have recently worked in the field, and I want to offer that perspective through how I frame my research. Journalists and news outlets are often blamed when coverage is perceived as unfair or biased. I want to explore whether people’s worldviews already influence how they evaluate coverage, regardless of its actual quality. From there, the question becomes how journalism can address that bias and how coverage can be framed in ways that move past people’s preexisting judgments.

What has been your favorite part of your graduate experience so far?
It has been rewarding to progress through the classes, absorb the material, and realize that I can keep up with the course load.

What achievement during grad school are you most proud of?
While not directly tied to graduate school, I’m proud that my graduate studies have helped me develop a more analytical mindset, grow more comfortable working with datasets, and become a more confident communicator in my journalistic interviews. All of these skills have contributed to receiving about 10 statewide and national awards since returning to graduate school.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned as a graduate student?
That I’m capable of accomplishing many things once I put my mind to them.

How has your perspective on your field changed since you started your program?
There’s much more to communications than simply communicating. The field examines patterns and analyzes why people communicate in different ways. It has shown me how communication knowledge can be applied across many areas, whether it’s public relations, journalism, marketing, A/B testing, or any field that explores how and why people choose to communicate.

What career path are you hoping to pursue after graduation?
After graduation, I’ll return to the Fort Worth Report, where I interned before graduate school, to continue my work as a reporter.