After completing his undergraduate degree at the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City, Jorge Cruz Ibarra decided to move his life to America, and pursue a PhD in political communication at Ohio State.
Cruz Ibarra worked with advisor and School of Communication Director Dr. Kelly Garrett to determine the specific area of political communication to look further into. Currently, Cruz Ibarra is studying the effects of political-based messages on its viewers.
“My research agenda touches on populist messages in false information and how they influence attitude, perceptions and beliefs.” Cruz Ibarra said. “Everything populist and everything populist communication.” Most politicians engage in populist messages as a way to connect to the ordinary people of their audience.
The political reality of Mexico influenced Cruz Ibarra’s topic and choice of research. This gave him the opportunity to connect to his research on a personal level and incorporate past experiences.
“I came here very concerned, probably about the political reality in Mexico and where I’m from, with a particular interest in populism and populist communication,” Cruz Ibarra said. “We have a lot of examples all around the world, but of course, the one that concerned me the most was the Mexican case.”
His passion for communication didn’t develop overnight. Cruz Ibarra admired the freedom and wide range the major offers, as well as how relevant communication is in all of our lives.
“Before starting my undergrad, I had too many interests. I knew they were all social. I wanted to learn about people and how people work from the inside out,” Cruz Ibarra said. “What brought me into communication was that it was very broad and general. What kept me interested in communication is that I realized that it’s very important. It’s a very interesting perspective for social realities or social problems.”
The overlap between political science and communication is what drew Cruz Ibarra to Ohio State. This program was able to offer him an education where both subjects are intertwined.
“Their communication Ph.D. program is one of the best in the states. Also, for the focus on political communication, they have excellent faculty, Ibarra said” Ever since the beginning, I knew I was going to apply to (Ohio State) because they were doing a lot of political stuff.”
As a third-year Ph.D. student, Cruz Ibarra created a tight-knit community at Ohio State and accessed unique opportunities through the graduate program.
“The program is amazing. We have great faculty, great classes. It’s very stimulating research, at least what I’ve experienced. We have very good resources. We start working on research right away; get involved in projects right away,” Cruz Ibarra said.“I went to Paris this summer for the International Communication Association Conference and had a great time there with a lot of my peers.”
Cruz Ibarra emphasized the importance of the research happening at Ohio State and how it can have a large impact on the public.
“Take some time to think about the huge responsibility you have on your back because someone is going to see your work, someone is going to receive your messages, what you’re trying to communicate. That’s going to have effects,” Cruz Ibarra said.
Article by student Sadie Yarosh
