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Department of Speech and Hearing Science Student Awards

AHS E-News Spring 2020

SHS Undergraduate Awards for 2020

Nanine S. Breon Scholarship

Mary Kate Buchheit

Mary Kate Buchheit

Mary Kate will pursue a master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology after graduating next year. She is a research assistant in the Applied Psycholinguistics Lab of Dr. Pamela Hadley and Dr. Matthew Rispoli and the Voice and Speech Rehabilitation Research Lab of Dr. Keiko Ishikawa. A Dean’s List honoree and James Scholar, she also volunteers with the Carle Auditory Oral School.

Joan Good Erickson Scholarship

Katrina Blum

Katrina Blum

Katrina will pursue a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology after graduating this year. A Dean’s List honoree, she is a research assistant in Dr. Marie Moore Channell's Intellectual Disabilities Communication Lab and has worked with older adults at a Symphony Post-Acute Network facility in Chicago and the Amber Glen Alzheimer's Special Care Center in Urbana.

Sylvia Wacker Herzog Scholarship

Brianna Brodeur

Brianna Brodeur

Brianna will pursue a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology after graduating next year. She has worked at a therapeutic school for children with special needs and is an intern with The Autism Program. A Dean's List honoree and Edmund J. James Scholar, Brianna is a member of Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society.

Sylvia Wacker Herzog Scholarship

Brianna Legner

Brianna Legner

After graduating in May, Brianna will work toward a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. A Dean’s List honoree and James Scholar, she assists Dr. Pasquale Bottalico with studies of the Lombard Effect. She attended the Illinois Craniofacial Acceptance Picnic last year and worked with Carle Hospital’s Cleft Palate Team to provide care packages to children following cleft palate surgery.

Barbara Williams Hodson Scholarship

Kelsey Liebert

Kelsey Libert

Kelsey will pursue a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology after graduating in 2022. She is a research assistant in Dr. Mary Flaherty’s Child Speech Research Lab and Dr. Cynthia Fisher’s Language Acquisition Lab. A Dean’s List honoree and James Scholar, Kelsey volunteers with The Caring Place and Auditory Oral School of Carle Foundation Hospital.

Frances L. Johnson Award

Malinda Mullet

Malinda Mullet

Malinda will pursue a doctoral degree in Audiology after graduating in May. She is a research assistant in Dr. Keiko Ishikawa’s Voice and Speech Rehabilitation Lab and presented her research on speech intelligibility at the University of Illinois Undergraduate Research Symposium. A Dean’s List honoree and James Scholar, Malinda volunteers at the Carle Auditory Oral School.

Graduate Awards

Bob Bilger Graduate Student Award

Shraddha Shende

Shraddha Shende

Shraddha will seek a postdoctoral research position after completing her PhD next year. Mentored by Dr. Raksha Mudar, her research focuses on the effects of age-related hearing loss on cognitive control. She has presented her work at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. She received the prestigious Lady Meherbai D. Tata Education Scholarship for Indian women studying abroad.

Bob Bilger Graduate Student Award

Jungeun Jenny Won

Jungeun Jenny Won

After graduating in December from the Grainger College of Engineering with a PhD in Bioengineering, Jenny will pursue an academic career. Mentored by Dr. Stephen Boppart, she is working to develop an optical imaging technique for studying infections of the middle ear. She received a Baxter Young Investigator Award and a McGinnis Medical Innovation Graduate Fellowship.

Dean C. and Kathleen R. Garstecki Audiology Scholarship

Ali Marquess

Ali Marquess

After completing her degree in Audiology in 2022, Ali plans to become a board-certified pediatric cochlear implant audiologist. Mentored by Dr. Ian Mertes, her research focuses on the use of otoacoustic emissions for audiological assessments. She is a teaching and research assistant in both the Department of Speech and Hearing Science and the Department of Human Development and Family Studies.

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

Elizabeth Ehrendreich

Elizabeth Ehrendreich

Elizabeth plans to work as a speech-language pathologist in the public schools after completing her master’s degree in August. She hopes to work with older students with complex communication difficulties, particularly students in transition programs and life skills classrooms. She previously worked as a special education paraprofessional in a high school.

Sylvia Wacker Herzog Scholarship

Erin Fabry

Erin Fabry

After completing her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology in August, Erin hopes to work with adults with dysphagia and acquired communication disorders in a hospital or rehabilitation setting. This summer, she will complete her medical placement at Edward Hines Jr., Veterans Administration Hospital. She is a research assistant in Dr. Julie Hengst’s Discourse Analysis Lab.

Ida Levinson Award for Distinction in Clinical Practice

Caitlyn Boni

Caitlyn Boni

Caitlyn hopes to work with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities after completing her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology this year. She has been a research assistant in both Dr. Marie Moore Channell’s Intellectual Disabilities Communication Lab and Dr. Laura Hahn’s Development of Neurogenetic Disorders Lab. She also is an academic coach with the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services.

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

Tracy Preza

Tracy Preza

After completing her degree in August, Tracy plans to do a clinical fellowship in an early intervention or preschool setting. She has worked with a variety of populations as a graduate clinician in the University of Illinois Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Clinic, Carle Home Health, and OSF Children’s Hospital. She will complete her medical placement at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.

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

Linnea Sandstrom

Linnea Sandstrom

Linnea will complete her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology in 2021. As a research assistant in Dr. Marie Moore Channell’s Intellectual Disabilities Communication Lab, she is investigating the development of mental state language in children with Down syndrome. She also has assisted clinical assistant professor Clarion Mendes to conduct a voice workshop in gender affirmation services.

Ehud and Janie Yairi International Graduate Student Award

Simin Soleimanifar

Simin Soleimanifar

Simin will pursue an academic career after completing her PhD in 2023. Her research focuses on vocal production in cochlear implant users and how it is affected by changing pitch. She presented her research at the 2020 Conference on Implantable Auditory Prostheses. She has served as a teaching assistant to SHS professors Cynthia Johnson, Marie Moore Channell, and Ian Mertes.