Students Learn Healthy Communication in Interpersonal Relationships Class

by Aryanna Bartholomew
March 7, 2025

“My students, everyone, we are all worthy of good loving relationships,” says James Myers, Assistant Professor of Human Services and Alcohol and Substance Abuse Studies. This belief lies at the core of his Interpersonal Communications course, and it’s the one thing he hopes students take away with confidence as the course concludes.

Interpersonal Relationships (HUS102) helps students understand and reflect on the interactions and relationships that shape their daily lives. Throughout the course, they are equipped with various tools to improve their communication skills.

Myers firmly believes that self-awareness and reflection can significantly enhance how we communicate. “I want students to look back on past conversations and ask themselves, ‘How could I have done better?’ And have the courage to admit those faults and apply them to the present,” he said.

Myers’ version of the course also delves into challenging topics, such as intimate partner violence and mental illness. He said that omitting these issues would neglect a crucial aspect of interpersonal relationships: ensuring that the relationships in students’ lives—both with others and with themselves—are healthy.

While he acknowledges that getting students to open up can be difficult, he leads by example. His goal is to create a classroom environment where everyone feels safe, valued, and capable. He said, “I try to be vulnerable, the same way I encourage my students to be. If they can’t see me being open to communication, how can I expect them to?”

Some core projects throughout the course are designed to help students adopt a more open mindset and be more comfortable with each other. One of the most effective assignments, said Myers, is the presentation given within the first few weeks. Students present a topic that is both familiar and challenging: themselves.

They must decide how much they’re willing to share while introducing who they are. The project is sensitive and sometimes intimidating; it is rare for students to be required to be open to their peers, but after the project, he said the students are visibly more comfortable with each other. Myers said that even the most reserved students begin to share and contribute a broad perspective. “Students form connections and bonds over shared life experiences, which brings everyone together,” he said.

Another assignment that he believes refines students’ communication skills is the Observation Assignment. During this assignment, students are encouraged to go to a public place and people watch. This is the first assignment in the course as Myers wants students to begin observing others with the question in mind: “What can I identify in others that I can also see in myself?”

Myers is confident that better interpersonal communication skills can improve both students’ professional and personal lives. He said, “How we express ideas and listen to other people will improve any and every relationship.”