Meet our advisor: The Griffin’s fun aunt

By: Kaitlyn Belile, Features Editor and Hannah Wiley, Managing Editor

With our final (regular) edition of the year, I want to introduce everyone to one of our advisors, Dr. Snyder! If you know anyone on The Griffin staff, you know how much we love our Dr. Snydey! She came to Canisius in August of 2023 and joined The Griffin last year by accompanying us on the California trip after our former advisor left. 

Dr. Snyder attended St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA for undergrad where she got a degree in psychology with minors in communications and child and family studies. She then spread her wings to University of Wisconsin, Madison (UW) where she got her master’s and doctorate degrees in communication arts, specifically communication science, which is the social science arm of the communication world. 

Following her graduation from UW, she made her way to a place where we’ve gotten to know and love her: Canisius. “I went to a Catholic liberal arts institution for undergrad and after going to a big public research university for grad school, I realized that I did not want my students to be a number to me. I instead wanted to know them individually the way that my undergrad professors knew me. I felt like Canisius was the best place to have that relationship,” Dr. Snyder said. And she has certainly fostered those relationships, so many students – especially staff members of The Griffin – can confidently say she’s impacted our college experiences in such a positive way. 

Last year, even though Dr. Snyder was not officially our advisor yet, she came to Long Beach, Calif. with us for our annual trip to the Associated Collegiate Press Spring National College Media Conference. Dr. Snyder said, “I loved the students so much that I forced them to let me be their advisor,” while reflecting on the trip. 

Dr. Snyder loves all memories with the staff, but specifically the trips to California. She “really enjoyed being at Alcatraz with everyone this year…It was just cool to be in a place that is so important historically in America, being with people that are going to change the world.” She reflected on the trip, acknowledging that we had a good mix of having fun and attending the conference. We stayed at a hotel in Chinatown and Dr. Snyder enjoyed staying there because, “[she] thought that it was a really cool way to experience a subculture that we don’t really have in Buffalo.” Dr. Snyder says that one of the coolest parts of staying in Chinatown was being there during the Lunar New Year Parade. 

If you are wondering what Dr. Snyder does for The Griffin other than bring the vibes 24/7, she is also incredibly helpful for us students when approaching the subject of publishing stories. She helps us know what stories should be told and is also a sort of liaison on campus so that faculty members and staff can connect with us staff and tell us what events are happening on campus that they want to see in the paper. 

Dr. Snyder loves all sections of the paper but speaks on how she loves features because “it is the section that captures the true spirit of Canisius students.” 

Outside of the newspaper, Dr. Snyder is an incredible professor. She teaches six classes over the course of the year, and she said “I like to teach classes that are all about how the audiences interact with media and how we can deconstruct the media that we are consuming whether it be from a representation lens or an overall media literacy lens or the social media lens.” 

Dr. Snyder loves The Griffin and staff and said “I encourage all students who are interested in telling Canisius’ stories to get involved with The Griffin.”