Nancy S. Hager Graduate Student Award in Speech and Hearing Science

Samantha will complete her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology in August. She is particularly interested in the language development of children with autism spectrum disorder. She is a teaching assistant for a course on the language and culture of deaf communities and an academic coach for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Dean C. and Kathleen R. Garstecki Audiology Scholarship

Zoë will complete her Doctor of Audiology degree next year. She is working with Dr. Ian Mertes on an investigation of the effect of contralateral acoustic reflex on wideband tympanometry measurements, and presented her research at a conference of the American Acoustical Society. She will serve her fourth-year externship at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Seattle,Washington.

H. William Porterfield, M.D., and Linda Obenauf Porterfield Speech and Hearing Graduate Fellowship

Lauren will complete her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology in August. She is particularly interested in practicing as a medical speech-language pathologist and increasing her skill with vital stimulation, augmentative and alternative communication, and electrolarynx devices. Her clinical placements have included skilled nursing facilities, schools, clinics, and outpatient facilities.

Sylvia Wacker Herzog Scholarship

Laura completes her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology in May. She has been a volunteer coordinator for an elementary school, a research assistant for a Department of Psychology study of infants and children, and a staff member in a L’Arche community, where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together as peers. She also worked with adults with dementia in a skilled nursing facility.

Dean C. and Kathleen R. Garstecki Audiology Scholarship

Abbigail will complete her Doctor of Audiology degree in 2021. She is working with Dr. Justin Aronoff on a study of the perception-production loop of cochlear implant users. Her work has been published in the Journal of Voice and the Journal of Acoustical Society of America. She has worked with diverse patient populations in a variety of clinical settings and participated in community outreach programs about hearing health.

Frances L. Johnson Student Award

Tara will pursue a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after graduating in May. She was a research assistant in Dr. Renée Baillargeon’s Infant Cognition Lab in the Department of Psychology. A Dean’s List honoree and Edmund J. James Scholar, she was one of two students chosen to study at the Karolinska Institutet in 2018.

Joan Good Erickson Scholarship

Daphne will complete her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology next year. Mentored by Dr. Pam Hadley, she is interested in transgender voice therapy and services for individuals on the autism spectrum. She tutored children at Sylvan Learning Centers in San Francisco, California, and Carterville, Illinois, and was a clinical research coordinator for a pediatric craniofacial genetics study at Stanford Children’s Hospital.

Barbara Williams Hodson Scholarship

Kelsey will graduate in 2022 with a degree focused on Speech-Language Pathology. She is a research assistant in Dr. Mary Flaherty’s Child Speech Research Lab and a teaching assistant for a basic statistics class. She assists therapists and teachers with language development exercises for children with hearing loss at Carle Auditory Oral School. Kelsey is a Dean’s List honoree and Edmund J. James Scholar.

Phyllis Ariens Burkhead Memorial Fellowship

Lizzy will complete her PhD in 2022. She is a research assistant in Dr. Raksha Mudar’s Aging and Neurocognition Lab, where she is investigating the relationship between semantics and cognitive control in aging and age-related diseases. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she worked as a clinician with older adults in a long-term care setting and a short-term subacute rehabilitation facility.

Jerry D. Burnam Scholarship

Sylvia Wacker Herzog Scholarship

Malinda will complete her degree with a focus on Speech-Language Pathology in 2020. She is a research assistant in Dr. Keiko Ishikawa’s Voice Lab. As an AmeriCorps volunteer, she created activities to promote the language and social skills development of children in a summer camp. A Dean’s List honoree, Edmund J. James Scholar, and Coca Cola Bronze Scholar, she was named to the All-Illinois Academic Team.

Nanine S. Breon Scholarship

Jenna will pursue a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology after graduating in May. She is a research assistant in Dr. Brian Monson’s Auditory Neuro Experience Lab. She assisted with speech therapy for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and taught English as a second language. She also mentored students in local high schools as a volunteer with Young Life.

Sylvia Wacker Herzog Scholarship

Allison will pursue a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology after completing her degree in December. She is a research assistant in Dr. Marie Moore Channell’s Intellectual Disabilities Communication Lab. A Dean’s List honoree, Allison has worked with three-year-old children as a volunteer at Chesterbrook Academy Preschool.

Ehud and Janie Yairi International Graduate Student Award

Shraddha will complete her PhD in 2021. She is a research assistant in Dr. Raksha Mudar’s Aging and Neurocognition Lab, where she is investigating the cognitive and neural alterations of unaided age-associated hearing loss. As an audiologist and speech-language pathologist in India, she worked with a variety of clinical populations in hospitals, schools, and rehabilitation centers.

H. William Porterfield, M.D., and Linda Obenauf Porterfield Speech and Hearing Graduate Fellowship

Jessica will complete her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology in August. She is a research assistant in Dr. Laura Hahn’s Development in Neurogenetic Disorders Lab. She presented her work on the relationship between early communication skills and the risk of autism spectrum disorder in infants with Down syndrome at the Purdue Autism Research Conference.

Bob Bilger Graduate Student Award

Hannah will complete her PhD in 2021. She is a research assistant in Dr. Justin Aronoff’s Binaural Hearing Lab, where her research focuses on understanding and addressing the limitations that users of bilateral cochlear implants face in complex listening environments. She has published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and Hearing Research.

Bob Bilger Graduate Student Award

Yihsin will complete her PhD next year. She also has a Doctor of Audiology degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a research assistant in Dr. Fatima Husain’s Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, where she is investigating speech-in-noise recognition in individuals with tinnitus or hearing impairment. She received the 2018 Meritorious Poster Submission Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Joan Good Erickson Scholarship

JosseMia graduates in May and will continue her studies toward a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. She is a research assistant in Dr. Pasquale Bottalico’s Speech Accommodation to Acoustics Lab. JosseMia completed an internship with Chicago Speech Therapy and volunteered as a bilingual literacy tutor for second-grade children in Champaign. A Dean’s List honoree and Edmund J. James Scholar, she received a President’s Award Honors Scholarship.