This research explored how mission trip volunteers assume various roles throughout their volunteer experience. By seeing the various roles that emerge in mission volunteer work, the identities that they construct based upon these roles are revealed. Discovering the ways in which these roles and constructed identities affect the way that mission trip volunteers could potentially help colleges improve their recruitment messages and distinguish themselves from other institutions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain data from the participants, and the data were analyzed through a thematic, constant comparative method. Findings revealed the types of stories heard from other mission trip volunteers prior to serving, the impact of those stories on decisions to volunteer, the various identities that emerge while serving on a mission trip, and how mission trip volunteers make sense of their experiences after serving. This study applies several well-known aspects of organizational communication to the context of mission trip volunteers, offering new and interesting data. This study also provides practical implications for mission trip coordinators and individuals who might be interested in being a mission trip volunteer.
","abstract_html":"<p>This research explored how mission trip volunteers assume various roles throughout their volunteer experience. By seeing the various roles that emerge in mission volunteer work, the identities that they construct based upon these roles are revealed. Discovering the ways in which these roles and constructed identities affect the way that mission trip volunteers could potentially help colleges improve their recruitment messages and distinguish themselves from other institutions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain data from the participants, and the data were analyzed through a thematic, constant comparative method. Findings revealed the types of stories heard from other mission trip volunteers prior to serving, the impact of those stories on decisions to volunteer, the various identities that emerge while serving on a mission trip, and how mission trip volunteers make sense of their experiences after serving. This study applies several well-known aspects of organizational communication to the context of mission trip volunteers, offering new and interesting data. This study also provides practical implications for mission trip coordinators and individuals who might be interested in being a mission trip volunteer.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Frederick, Katelin"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jennifer Mize Smith (Director), Blair Thompson, Angela Jerome"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:26Z","subjects":["Storytelling","Cultural Identity","Identity Construction","International Mission Trips","Volunteer Workers","Communication in Organizations","Communication","Interpersonal and Small Group Communication","Organizational Communication","Social Influence and Political Communication"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1267","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jennifer Mize Smith (Director), Blair Thompson, Angela Jerome"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Frederick, Katelin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Storytelling","Cultural Identity","Identity Construction","International Mission Trips","Volunteer Workers","Communication in Organizations","Communication","Interpersonal and Small Group Communication","Organizational Communication","Social Influence and Political Communication"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1267"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This research explored how mission trip volunteers assume various roles throughout their volunteer experience. By seeing the various roles that emerge in mission volunteer work, the identities that they construct based upon these roles are revealed. Discovering the ways in which these roles and constructed identities affect the way that mission trip volunteers could potentially help colleges improve their recruitment messages and distinguish themselves from other institutions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain data from the participants, and the data were analyzed through a thematic, constant comparative method. Findings revealed the types of stories heard from other mission trip volunteers prior to serving, the impact of those stories on decisions to volunteer, the various identities that emerge while serving on a mission trip, and how mission trip volunteers make sense of their experiences after serving. This study applies several well-known aspects of organizational communication to the context of mission trip volunteers, offering new and interesting data. This study also provides practical implications for mission trip coordinators and individuals who might be interested in being a mission trip volunteer.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Making Good: An Exploratory Study of the Socialization, Identity, and Sensemaking of Mission Trip Volunteers"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jennifer Mize Smith (Director), Blair Thompson, Angela Jerome"],"dc:creator":["Frederick, Katelin"],"dc:description.abstract":["This research explored how mission trip volunteers assume various roles throughout their volunteer experience. By seeing the various roles that emerge in mission volunteer work, the identities that they construct based upon these roles are revealed. Discovering the ways in which these roles and constructed identities affect the way that mission trip volunteers could potentially help colleges improve their recruitment messages and distinguish themselves from other institutions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain data from the participants, and the data were analyzed through a thematic, constant comparative method. Findings revealed the types of stories heard from other mission trip volunteers prior to serving, the impact of those stories on decisions to volunteer, the various identities that emerge while serving on a mission trip, and how mission trip volunteers make sense of their experiences after serving. This study applies several well-known aspects of organizational communication to the context of mission trip volunteers, offering new and interesting data. This study also provides practical implications for mission trip coordinators and individuals who might be interested in being a mission trip volunteer.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1267"],"dc:subject":["Storytelling","Cultural Identity","Identity Construction","International Mission Trips","Volunteer Workers","Communication in Organizations","Communication","Interpersonal and Small Group Communication","Organizational Communication","Social Influence and Political Communication"],"dc:title":["Making Good: An Exploratory Study of the Socialization, Identity, and Sensemaking of Mission Trip Volunteers"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Communication"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:26Z"}