Hello all!
Purdue NSSLHA’s chapter has done a wonderful job thus far, in getting involved and making a difference. Below are a few short summaries of the events we have had this year:
• “Let Indiana Hear” – NSSLHA members recorded a short clip to be in one of the advocacy videos for Indiana Hands and Voices. This organization provides support for families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. They provide education, hope, advocacy, and resources to hundreds of families throughout the state of Indiana.
• NSSLHA Loves Campaign-NSSLHA members raised funds throughout the year and made a donation of $250 to the NSSLHA Loves Campaign, which supported Hands & Voices.
• Purdue Crossroads Conference–This conference was open to professionals and students in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Professional speakers covered a wide variety of topics, and NSSLHA members helped run and organize the entire two day conference with approximately 200 attendees. Afterwards, NSSLHA hosted tours of the new building at the conference reception for attendees. Additionally, our chapter wrote for a grant and received $5000 from the Purdue Student Organization Grant Allocation Board to support the annual conference.
• Arc Dance-NSSLHA organized and attended a Valentine’s Day dance for adults with intellectual disabilities.
• ASHA conference- NSSLHA executive team member Katie Courtaney and NSSLHA faculty advisor Christi Masters presented at the 2014 ASHA Conference on the topic "Developing Intercultural Competence". They collaborated with three Purdue Audiology Students Association (PASO) members and the PASO faculty advisor after a study abroad trip where they provided clinical speech and audiology services in Zambia.
• Career Awareness Day- Two general members planned activities related to speech and hearing, and then presented it to sixth graders involved in College Mentors for Kids. They created a Power Point explaining the roles of SLP’s and AuD’s, and then had stations set up with activities that SLP’s and AuD’s do with clients. Another fun component these members added was providing earplugs. They educated the students about listening to music at a safe volume to help prevent hearing loss.
• Professional panel- NSSLHA invited a professional panel of seven certified SLP’s and AuD’s to talk about their experiences within their professions.
• Tour to Ambassadors-NSSLHA members provided information about the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences major as well as a tour of the new building to a group of ambassadors who give tours of Purdue's campus to potential incoming students.
I’m proud to say that all of these events were a complete success! However, the school year isn’t over just yet. We still plan on having a few more fun-filled events:
• Egg Hunt- NSSLHA will organize this event close to Easter holiday. All the children that come to our speech and hearing clinic will be invited to enjoy an adventurous day of looking for candy-filled eggs.
• Student/Faculty Snack-NSSLHA and PASO are collaborating to organize a lunch where undergraduate and graduate students mingle and get to know professors and other students in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Purdue.
• Spring Fest-This free annual university event will be held at Purdue on April 18 and 19. It is open to adults and children as an opportunity to learn from many departments on campus through fun hands-on activities. NSSLHA will have a table and provide participants information about speech-language pathology and audiology.
• Seniors- Graduating NSSLHA seniors will give the undergraduate students an insight on their senior year. They will mostly provide us with information pertaining to filling out graduate school applications.
• Virtual Advocacy Day- On Tuesday April 21, we will anticipate on having at least 50 NSSLHA members partake in this event. To find out more, check out this link: http://www.asha.org/NSSLHA/events/Virtual-Advocacy-Day/
