It’s with great humility to share that my first scholarly paper, Influence of Buddhism on Communication Behavior – Search for the Middle Path, has been conferred the Top PhD Student Paper at the National Communication Association – in Dallas, Texas. I am simply overwhelmed to be embraced into the big league of communication scholars, as my foray into the field of academia happened only a few years ago. I am still a “young” scholar – and this is a 102-year old organization that has defined, and continues to redefine, the media and communication scholarship globally. I was informed of the award a month back but was in disbelief that I didn’t have the confidence to share with many people until now – until I was formally inducted to the awardees. I am still processing this recognition in my head.

I am very humbled that this somewhat crazy idea of middle path communication, which I first presented at the Bhutanese Bloggers Meet in Paro, would get this far. I would like to thank everyone (including our deities and denizens back home) for the support, love and friendships. Special thanks go to my blogger friends, who sat through that first presentation in Paro – and my gratitude to the The Centre for Bhutan Studies and GNH​ for Bhutan Studies for giving me the first international platform by accepting my semi-developed article at the International GNH Conference in Paro in 2015. And, of course, to my guru, Professor Todd Sandel and the people at the Department of Communication, University of Macau​ of Macau, for having me there and treating me in the most generous and gracious manner.

Greetings to all from Texas, where they say “everything is big.” This award is definitely one for me.

NB - Influence of Buddhism on Communication Behavior – looks at how the core philosophical concept of emptiness and middle path of Mahayana Buddhism are reflected in the everyday communication behaviours among the Bhutanese people. It also introduces to the challenges posed by the social media and mobile phones.