I've attended the New Member, Student, and Early-Career Scholar Orientation Session at the ICA annual conference only twice, but one question that many attendees seemed to have was how the Executive Committee members rose to the leadership positions they currently hold. Indeed, I never dreamed of becoming the President of ICA until… I was nominated. So how did it happen?
Just like most of our members, my early engagement with ICA was limited to presenting papers at and reviewing submissions to ICA annual conferences. If anything, I was more or less active in my service as a journal reviewer. After I published in a journal, the editor would invite me to review, and I always accepted. It was my way of paying it forward – I felt I owed much to many anonymous reviewers who had evaluated my (often prematurely submitted) papers and offered sound (and brutally honest) comments. I don't know how good my reviews were, but I was never late, and soon I was invited to join the editorial boards of several journals.
When I returned to my alma mater, Seoul National U, in 2008 after 6.5 years of service at UC Davis, I was nominated for ICA Board Member-at-Large (East Asia). Because there was a strong nationwide push for "globalization," I accepted the nomination. To my surprise, I won. This put me on the ICA leadership's radar and I was subsequently invited to join various ICA Committees. At the same time, I continued to review for journals and was asked to serve as one of the Associate Editors for the Journal of Communication, and later as Co-Editor of Media Psychology. Eventually, I was appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of Human Communication Research. (By the way, the call for the next editor(s) of HCR is out.)
Looking back, I never volunteered for a leadership position at ICA, mostly because I felt inadequate and unqualified. Being a non-native English speaker located outside of North America, I still feel rather intimidated when chairing meetings, delivering a speech, and to a lesser extent, writing a column. Still, when asked to take part, I accepted. To me, ICA is where I can find like-minded individuals who deeply care about and find profound value in research just as I do. It's where I have my thinking challenged, validated, and/or expanded, and see great minds presenting their latest work in person whose scholarship I have long admired. I want ICA to continue to be the intellectual home for countless scholars around the globe who take communication seriously. As such, if I can be of any help, why not?
Earlier this year, while working with Julie Arnold, our Director of Governance and Member Services, to fill vacancies on various standing committees and task forces, I was tremendously encouraged to find that not only a wonderful crop of early-career scholars but also many senior scholars had completed the Expression of Interest form, demonstrating their continued willingness to serve in various roles after years of their service to ICA and the discipline. Now, it's your turn to fill out the form if you are wondering how you can contribute to our community. Based on my own experience, I can assure you that your service won't go unnoticed! (For descriptions of Committees and Task Forces, please visit here.