Top National Honor Goes to UC Student Organization Within CAHS

It took "teamwork and organization” to win the 2014 National Student-Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA) Chapter of the Year, say elated chapter members from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Allied Health Sciences.
 
"Nationally we are pretty much known as one of the best NSSLHA chapters for philanthropy, fundraising and volunteerism,” says Molly Murrison, a master of arts speech-language pathology candidate in the college’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD).
 
The UC chapter, made up of approximately 170 students, raises an average of $5,000 per year and devotes hundreds of hours to organizations, foundations and scholarship, says Murrison, who was a past secretary and currently serves as a National Delegate for Region 4—which includes Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Ontario.

NSSLHA has 319 independently operated chapters located on college and university campuses in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Greece, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Having an NSSLHA chapter on your campus ensures that a student will have access to resources and information to succeed in the field of audiology, speech-pathology and speech-hearing research.

"It is really unheard of for a chapter to win twice in such a short time, says current UC NSSLHA chapter President Bria Kramer, a senior in CSD.

The strength of the UC chapter, says graduate student member Katie Carstens, is exceptional "due to the fact that it is building on all its members’ skills and talents, and with such a large group everyone has something exceptional to offer.” Carstens, who is also a master’s candidate in speech-language pathology, has served as past chapter president and currently sits on the NSSLHA executive committee as the Region 4 Councilor.
 
In addition to student commitment, student members say that faculty support at UC allows them to be the best chapter in the nation, pointing specifically to their faculty advisor, associate clinical professor and undergraduate program director Carney Sotto, PhD.
Sotto won the NSSLHA Advisor of the Year award in 2003 and in 2014 was awarded the UC Student Organization Advisor of the Year Award.

The 2014 Chapter of the Year win is the second for UC NSSLHA, which also earned the top spot in 2011.