The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) Chapter at Wichita State University has been awarded Gold Chapter Honors for attaining a distinguished level of achievement in the areas of member recruitment and engagement, community outreach, and service, legislative advocacy, and fundraising during the 2022-23 academic year.
The announcement was made on May 15, 2023, by the parent organization, National NSSLHA, whose members are studying communication sciences and disorders (CSD), speech-language pathology, and audiology at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels at colleges and universities nationwide.
“We are so proud of the 2022-23 Gold Chapter Honors awardees, and we congratulate them on all they’ve achieved this year,” said NSSLHA Executive Council President Gabrielle Howard. “Each chapter demonstrated a deep commitment to its members, its community and the professions, and embodied NSSLHA’s values in the areas of collaboration, diversity, education, integrity, leadership and service.”
Through its annual honors program, NSSLHA recognizes outstanding affiliated chapters that have made significant contributions to CSD programs, the national organization and their local chapters. Chapter Honors are awarded at the bronze, silver and gold levels.
Throughout the 2022-23 academic year, the chapter prioritized community outreach activities, recruitment, fundraising, legislative advocacy, and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in its program. The events they organized were varied and impactful, such as collecting donations for the Virtual Walk for Apraxia, creating bibs for the Speech Swallow and Voice Center, traveling to Topeka to meet with legislators, and hosting an ASD Acceptance night at a Wichita Thunder Hockey game.
WSUSSLHA President Cierra Farris noted: "Over the last academic year members of the Wichita State University Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association devoted their time to not only serve the Wichita State campus, but also advocate and aid the surrounding Wichita community. To be nationally recognized with the highest honor is an extraordinary accomplishment for every member, and I am incredibly proud."
“I'm so proud of this group of students. They were dedicated and focused all academic year on supporting the community and raising awareness of our professions. They sought additional educational opportunities by bringing in expert guest speakers in the areas of audiology, bilingual speech therapy, autism and augmentative alternative communication. Achieving gold status is an amazing accomplishment, and the first for our chapter since I've been on faculty at WSU,” said Dr. Karissa Marble-Flint, academic faculty advisor.
The Wichita State University NSSLHA Chapter is one of only 93 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to receive Gold Chapter Honors in 2023. Only two universities in Kansas received Gold Chapter Honors, with Wichita State University being one of them.
Efforts made by the WSU chapter helped National NSSLHA:
- Increase awareness of communication sciences and disorders (CSD) on more than 140 local college campuses and communities across the country as well as through virtual platforms.
- Increase advocacy efforts by sending more than 5,400 letters to state and federal legislators.
- Provide scholarships to students in CSD programs by contributing more than $22,500 to the ASH Foundation’s NSSLHA Scholarship.
- Support CSD-related organizations by donating $60,000 and more than 25,000 hours of chapter members’ time.
See a gallery of photos from recent chapter events
What others say about this honor
"The WSU chapter reaching gold honors is such an exciting accomplishment! It is encouraging
to see that the work we are doing is making a difference in the community and preparing
us for continued high-level professional development." — Julia Edmondson, WSUSSLHA
secretary
"Being awarded gold honors means that we've gone above and beyond and have set a high
standard for ourselves. It's evidence of our dedication and commitment to excellence.
I'm so proud of our WSU chapter for achieving this recognition!" — Elda Santos, WSUSSLHA
treasurer
About the NSSLHA Chapter at Wichita State University
The Wichita State University Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (WSUSSLHA) is a student organization open to all WSU students studying communication sciences and disorders. WSUSSLHA encourages professional interest among all students in the study of both normal and disordered human communication. It also provides a vehicle for student representation in matters of professional concern.
WSUSSLHA is a local chapter of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA), a pre-professional organization for undergraduate and graduate students in speech-language pathology and audiology. This organization promotes departmental and community involvement as well as opportunities for national membership and participation. NSSLHA is the student branch of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), which is the national professional organization for this field.
Social events sponsored by WSUSSLHA include the Faculty/Student "Back-to-School" picnic and the Winter Holiday party. WSUSSLHA serves as a service organization by hosting guest speakers from non-profit organizations and donating both time and money to special events throughout the year.
About NSSLHA
The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) is the only national student organization for pre-professionals studying communication sciences and disorders (CSD) recognized by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Established in 1972, National NSSLHA is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, and supports nearly 11,000 members and more than 350 chapters at colleges and universities nationwide.