UMaine Chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association

What is UMaine NSSLHA?

The University of Maine NSSLHA is a chapter of a national association for students interested in the study of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD). We represent an on-campus student group that engages in various activities associated with speech, language and hearing. Our chapter includes both undergraduates and graduate students.

2008-2009 Academic Year

NSSLHA is a student group for Communication Sciences and Disorders majors at the University of Maine. It is open to anyone, including undergrads and grad students alike! Our mission is to support each other in our coursework by serving as a support system for students, volunteer within our community with speech and language in mind, and also to aide the CSD department in their endeavors. We fundraise for various causes and seek volunteer opportunities whenever we can. As a group, we also like to have "socials" and get together in a casual setting to talk, hang out, and get to know everyone in our major!

In the past, we have taken part in several activities and have a number of events planned for this year. The events scheduled for this year are:

 Graduate Panel Night: In October, NSSLHA has organized a discussion/information panel that involves CSD faculty members answering questions that students have provided. Students will be able to ask anything about graduate school, from the application process, to what the work load may entail. Refreshments are served and many questions are answered. This event, unlike any of the events, is open to anyone in the major. Positive feedback from the previous years found this even to be very worthwhile. This event is scheduled for Thursday, October 23 in the Bangor Room in the Union.

MSLHA Conference: Bi-annually, the Maine Speech-Language-Hearing Association holds state-wide conferences for Speech-Language Pathologists in Maine. MSLHA asks NSSLHA members to volunteer as liasons for the speakers. It's an excellent opportunity to hear experts in the field present their research, and also to experience what a professional conference is like. To become a liason, contact any one of the current officers for more information. The MSHLA conference is schedule for

Smile Train Project: As part of our mission of community service in the field of speech and hearing, NSSLHA fundraises for the Smile Train Project each year. The Smile Train is an organization that performs cleft-palate surgery for children from families who cannot afford this costly procedure. It costs only $250 to sponsor one child's FULL surgery. Last year, NSSLHA put on a raffle and sold tickets. To sell those tickets we had a list of items to win as prizes that local companies kindly donated. Our goal is to always raise enough money for at least one full surgery. Last year, our group was fortunate enough to raise enough money for the cost of three full surgeries!

Check out the Smile Train at http://www.smiletrain.org/.

Adopt-a-Family at Conley Speech, Language and Hearing Center: During the holidays, NSSLHA has adopted a family that receives services from Conley Speech and Hearing Center and purchased gifts for each member of the family. We ask for a "wishlist" from the family and try to get as much as we can! We will be doing this project once again this year. We also make goody-bags for the kids at CSLHC for specific holidays. Our first load of goody bags will be made for Halloween.

Super-Bowl Subs: This is our newest idea for fundraising for the Spring semester. For this event we will making super-bowl subs and hand delivering them to and around campus. Anyone can fill out a form of what they want their sub to consist of and we will collect all of the forms and personally make the sandwiches then deliver them in time for the super bowl. More information on this will be discussed at meetings.

Panel Night: In the Spring, NSSLHA will also be sponsoring a general Panel Night for all CSD majors. This time questions will be directed to anything into the major and not just around graduate school. Refreshments will also be served. For the time and date of this event, please e-mail one of the officers or check for the posting in the NSSLHA folder on First Class.

Our meetings are held every Monday at 3:10 PM in the lobby of Dunn Hall. We also have a folder on First Class where we post our agenda for the upcoming meeting, meeting minutes and discuss things in between meetings. Get involved and join us at our meetings! We'd love to have you!

How does someone join?

To become a member, all you have to do is show up at meetings and get involved. If you have questions, please e-mail the president or vice president listed below (using FirstClass).

CSD students also can join NSSLHA at the national level, although national membership is not required in order to belong at the local level. Nevertheless, national membership (which costs $60 annually) has many benefits including receiving a journal of your choice and postal and e-mail newsletters. For more information on the benefits of national membership check out  http://www.asha.org/NSSLHA/memberbenefits.htm NSSLHA's benefits page.

 President: Heidi Choate                  

Vice President: Carolyn Roy                     

Secretary: Jocelyn Kennedy                                             

Treasurer: Sarah K. Marshall

Historian: Stacy Pinkham

(Pictured at left:
bottom left to right: Carolyn Roy, Heidi Choate
top left to right: Sarah Marshall, Jocelyn Kennedy, Stacy Pinkham)

Faculty Advisors for 2008-2009
Judy P. Walker
Susan Lambrecht Smith
Judith L. Stickles