Communication Sciences and Disorders - Spring 2024 Newsletter
Undergraduate CSD Program News
Class of 2024 CSD Graduates
Congratulations to the CSD seniors for graduating with the Class of 2024! All eleven will be continuing their studies at Thiel College and starting the MS-SLP program in June.
Departmental Honors were given on May 9th during a special luncheon to honor the graduates. The Dr. Sonya Wilt Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award was given to Madison Yurich and the Dr. Nancy Antonino Outstanding Undergraduate Clinician Award was given to Alayna Flynn.
Honors Thesis
Bethany Brodock presented her senior honors thesis Melodic Intonation Therapy Via Teletherapy: A Case Study with an Adult with Non-Fluent Aphasia during the 2024 Scholarship and Arts Symposium. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Mary Beth Mason, Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Bethany expressed interest in continuing her research on this topic in graduate school. She was also the recipient of the “Beyond the Page” Library Award for her Statistics for the Social Sciences research project entitled The Association Between Education and Healthcare in Adults in the United States.
MS-SLP Program News
Program Welcomes New Faculty
Cassandra Shearer, MS, CCC-SLP
Externship Coordinator/Lecturer
Cassie received her master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 2017 and has been working with the pediatric population for 7 years in private clinics, education settings, and home-based services. Cassie has worked within the CSD/SLP Department at Thiel as a clinical educator and has taught an undergraduate level course during Fall of 2022. She is looking forward to joining the CSD/SLP faculty at Thiel College full time this summer!
Erin Williams, MS, CCC-SLP
Adjunct Faculty
Erin graduated from Clarion University with her bachelor's degree in 2007 and her master's degree in 2008. She previously worked in skilled care for 14 years and is currently providing online therapy through a virtual school in Ohio for grades K-12. Erin is a certified VitalStim provider and is newly licensed as a SPEAK OUT! provider. She lives in Greenville with her husband and two children.
And Celebrates a Retirement
Dr. Nancy Antonino
Faculty, staff and students celebrated the service and accomplishments of Dr. Nancy Antonino at a campus gathering on May 9th. Dr. Antonino was a pillar of the Communication Sciences & Disorders Department for 35 years. She assisted with development of the College’s first five-year master’s degree program. Dr. Antonino was also one of the founding members of the Joining Generations program which has been a fruitful collaboration between Thiel College and St. Paul’s Senior Community since 2005. She was beloved by the many students she has taught throughout the years and will be missed by all. She will continue to have a connection with the program by volunteering with the NSSLHA chapter. Best wishes to Dr. Antonino in this next chapter in life!
May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month
We find that most of our students want to be speech-language pathologists because they have been personally impacted or have a friend/family member impacted by speech-language pathologists. To all of our SLP friends, please spread the word about the great educational opportunities at Thiel College!
Thiel College offers multiple pathways to become a certified/licensed SLP.
- Pathway 1: 5-year BS-CSD/MS-SLP program for incoming freshmen and transfer students.
- Pathway 2: MS-SLP program with January and June cohorts for those with undergraduate CSD degrees.
- Pathway 3: Post-baccalaureate program for those with non-CSD undergraduate degrees.
For more information, please contact Dr. Mary Beth Mason at mbmason@thiel.edu.
Concussion Awareness Event Receive National Recognition
The Thiel College Concussion Management Team hosted a Common Hour event on March 21st during Brain Injury Awareness Month in an effort to increase awareness and education of concussion for students, faculty, and staff. The event was called Concussion Awareness -Take the Melon Pledge! Professor Julie Kobak, who leads the Concussion Management Team, said “One in every 75 college students is expected to sustain a concussion every year. Therefore, it is important to educate students regarding how to recognize the symptoms of concussion and the steps to seek help for a proper recovery.”
The team organized the event using resources from the Brain Injury Association, Concussion Awareness Now, Fatal Vision, and CrashCourse at Standford University. Students particularly enjoyed the experience using the concussion simulation goggles. It was interesting to hear how many students reported already experiencing one or more concussions in their lifetime. Many of them were aware of the multitude of symptoms that can occur following a concussion, however, they learned more about the physiological changes that occur in this “invisible” injury from the great animation that was provided in the Crash Course video. Additionally, the students learned that there is a whole team available to support them here at Thiel.
This event was featured on the Brain Injury Association of America’s website: Volunteering Through Advocacy: Three Stories for National Volunteer Month | Concussion Awareness Now
Academic News
Quota Club Scholarship Awarded to Thiel Graduate Student
The Quota Club of Hermitage is a non-profit organization which is dedicated to making a difference in the local community. One of the programs that they support is Hearing Aid Refurbishment for any age group that needs hearing aid assistance. In addition to this mission, they continue to offer scholarships that recognize outstanding graduate students committed to pursuing a speech language pathology or audiology degree and or high school seniors and college students with educationally significant hearing loss. Quota’s $1,000 individual scholarships help Mercer County residents that are in graduate school, college or trade school with their tuition. This year the scholarship was awarded to Alana Hellmann who stood out by being the candidate that best exemplifies the mission of the Quota Club. Alana was honored at a dinner with the Quota Club at the Avalon Country Club – Buhl Park on May 8th.
Clinic News
Grant Enables Clinic to Offer Specialized Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease
Thiel College has been awarded one of the 2024 SPEAK OUT! Clinical Education Grants.
The SPEAK OUT! Therapy Program, developed by Parkinson Voice Project, is an evidence-based program helping individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s and related neurological disorders regain and retain their speech and swallowing. This comprehensive program combines individual speech therapy with education and ongoing group support.
The grant made it possible for all the Thiel SLP clinical faculty and graduate student clinicians to receive free training as well as therapy materials, a value of $17,000.
The Thiel Center for Speech-Language Services is committed to serving its Parkinson’s community by offering the SPEAK OUT! Therapy Program. Evaluations for enrollment in this therapy will be offered starting July 1st. Please contact the clinic at (724)589-2020 to schedule an evaluation.
Client Inspiration
The nonprofit support organization, Friends - The National Association of Young People Who Stutter, organized a wonderful opportunity for a client from our clinic. Bryar Beckstein received complimentary tickets to attend a Pittsburgh Penguins game with a family member at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, and then have a meet and greet with Bryan Rust, a player who stutters. Bryar said “Being chosen to meet someone who struggles with this was the best experience! Bryan told me not to let a speech struggle affect my confidence in life. That’s very powerful!”
NSSLHA News
Chapter Honors
The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) Chapter at Thiel College has been awarded Gold Chapter Honors for a second year in a row 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 2023-24 academic year.
The Thiel College NSSLHA Chapter is one of only 100 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to receive Gold Chapter Honors in 2024.
“National NSSLHA chapters made a big difference in their communities this year.” said Hailey Kingsbury, National NSSLHA President, “We are so proud of the work each chapter has done to support students, campuses, and their communities. They embody the NSSLHA core values of leadership, diversity, service, collaboration, education, and integrity every day.”
Here are just a few of the recent activities of our chapter.
Sip and Paint Event
NSSLHA hosted another fun and engaging event in collaboration with St. Paul’s Senior Community in March. The students and 25 seniors participated that day and enjoyed painting a ‘spring pig’ picture while enjoying wine, cheese and other refreshments. The event was coordinated by NSSLHA President, Emma Park and Events Coordinator, Alayna Flynn.
PSHA Conference
Members of NSSLHA attended the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention this April in Pittsburgh. Students attended continuing education sessions and visited tables in the exhibition hall to learn about current evaluation and treatment approaches and products. The students joined faculty Dr. Nicole Billak during her presentation at the conference entitled Behavior is Communication: Managing Challenging Behaviors in a School Setting.
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