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- Center for Addiction and Mental Health Research
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Faculty and Staff Profile
Rikishi T. Smith (Rey)Assistant ProfessorFormer Division I Student-Athlete Office: Daniel Hall 430A Phone: Email: rrey@clemson.edu | |
Educational BackgroundPh.D. Communication M.A. Communication B.A. Communication | Courses TaughtAdvanced Sport Communication
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Profile
I am an assistant professor of Health and Sport Communication in the Department of Communication and a faculty fellow at the Robert H. Brooks Sport Science Institute. Originally from Southern California, I grew up and attended CSU, Fullerton with a scholarship to play Division I soccer. After my collegiate career I went on to coach for 8 years at the Pateadores Soccer Club where I co-coached two teams that competed at the ECNL level. My passion for creativity, sports, health, and research led me to complete her MA (CSUF, 2019) and Ph.D. (Chapman University, 2022) researching strategic communication and marketing, athlete mental-health and well-being, and the overall outcome of sport participation and promotion of athlete success. I am fully trained in mixed-methods and have professional experience with B2B & B2C communication, marketing, advertisement, campaigns, and grant writing (NIH, CDC, and foundations). My professional experience also includes 5 years as a professional wedding photographer shooting 60+ events a year, 8 as a social media director (in charge of B2B, B2C, and content creation), and 8 as a club soccer coach. I am currently training for my third half marathon, I enjoy baking, making sourdough bread, and cooking in my free time, am often traveling, and am always playing with my two dogs, Finley and Harper. Currently, I am on four research teams pursuing grant funding. First, I am the Lead-PI working on a Student-Athlete Wellness Portal to be implemented into high school athletic programs. Second, I am a part of a larger research team for Power of Patients® (powerofpatients.com) working with Sallie®, a virtual therapy dog who guides patients in their recovery from a brain injury by tracking their brain injury symptoms and triggers. Sallie® is a private HIPAA, GDPR, CCA, EU secured platform designed to provide a personalized approach to TBI management. Third, I am consulting for SOS E-Charging (sosecharging.com) to find and write a foundation grant + SBIR grant for a minority-owned business. Finally, I am a Co-PI working with The Concussion Legacy Foundation (concussionfoundation.org) and PlaySafe (playsafeusa.org) conducting a field intervention to test the efficacy of CLF's Team Up Against Concussions Intervention. Recently, I was invited to Clemson Football's Faculty Appreciation Event (April 2024), was nominated for Emerging Scholar of the Year (Communication & Sport Research, November 2023), Dissertation of the Year (National Communication Association, November 2023), and the Ecroyd Teaching Excellence Award (Eastern Communication Association, April 2023). I have obtained $7500 in grant funding this year from the Robert H. Brooks Sport Science Institute as Co-PI investigating the efficacy of Concussion Legacy Foundation's Team Up Against Concussions intervention in high school student-athletes and The US Center for Mental Health and Sport. Last year, I concluded my role as Director of Social Media for the Eastern Communication Association (2020-2023) where I grew their social media platforms. During my time, I grew their Facebook likes by 16.57%, Facebook followers by 18.91%, Twitter by 6.88%, and Instagram by 81.49%. I am also actively assisting with Clemson Athletics (2023-Present), serve on the awards committee for the Department of Communication (2023-Present), and am the Director of Communication for Communication and Sport at NCA. ___ Advisees Clemson University Marissa Bennett (Expected '25) - Project Jalen Terrell (Expected '25) - Thesis Brannon Timms (Expected '25) - Comprehensive exams Nicole Pfaff (May '24) - Comprehensive exams Chapman University Jeffrey McDaniel ('22) - Northwestern University - Master of Arts in Sports Administration program Cristina Molina ('22) - 2022 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship - "Assessing Latinx Young Adults with ADHD: Late Diagnosis and its Affects." Committee Member Clemson University Hannah Gertz (May '24) - Thesis Lexi Merriman (Expected '25) - Thesis University of Delaware Claire Wanzer (Expected '26) | |
Research InterestsStrategic Communication
Research PublicationsRey, R. T., Miller-Day, M., Craw, E. S., Buckley, T. M., Wozniak, T. R., Hopfer, S. (2023). Engagement with and persuasiveness of HPV vaccination promotion videos: An examination of narrative engagement theory. Atlantic Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2023.2298858
Honors and AwardsJake Liang Outstanding Ph.D. Student of the Year (2022)
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