CHCS - Perspectives Summer/Fall 2017

46 Nova Southeastern University Speech-Language Pathology Fort Lauderdale Student Government Association: An Enthusiastic Group Striving to Make a Difference By Elizabeth Roberts, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Associate Professor A group of enthusiastic speech-language pathology (SLP) graduate students formed the Speech-Language Pathology Student Government Association (SLP-SGA) almost immedi- ately after the Department of Speech-Language Pathology joined the College of Health Care Sciences (CHCS) in July 2015. Amid the rigorous demands of their classes and clinical responsibilities, the students made time to work together for the good of not only their group, but a number of charitable organizations, by holding events and participating in fund-raising activities. Leading this dynamic group with Tambi Braun, SLP.D., CCC-SLP, faculty adviser, are the following SLP-SGA board members: Vanessa Ortega, president; Dilek Altay, vice president; Rayna Orsini, secretary; Sadie Vega-Velasquez, treasurer; Vanessa Romano, historian; and Jacqueline Davila and Astrid Bavaresco, fund-raising and philanthropy cochairs. The SLP-SGA has already participated in many charity drives, events, and activities. One fund-raising event involved working with the Helping Autistic and Pancreatic Patients Internationally (HAPPI) Foundation on March 30. The HAPPI Foundation legacy was created to honor the memory of Robin Shari Parker, SLP.D., CCC-SLP—the much-beloved SLP professor who was a tremendous autism educator and an advocate for the autism community. Parker, who died in 2014 from pancreatic cancer, served as the consulting director for the NSU satellite of the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. Her legacy lives on through this foundation and her innumerable contributions professionally and personally. The SLP-SGA also participated in the WalkAbout for Autism event to raise awareness and funds for the local autism community; providing stipends to students to support their attending the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and coordinating a drive to create blankets for children with craniofacial anomalies entering surgery at the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Cleft and Craniofacial Center. They also put together a monthly newsletter called The Com- munication Connection that highlights the SLP-SGA’s current and future activities, as well as information about SLP students, faculty members, and graduates. Additionally, the association helped establish a student lounge in the Griffin Road building, which provides students with an area to relax and escape the demands of the clinical setting. Moving forward, the SLP-SGA is planning workshops de- signed to inform physical therapy and occupational therapy students about what SLPs do in the various work settings. The organization also is creating video logs on various topics pertinent to SLP students, which will be displayed in the stu- dent lounge, and organizing a speakers’ series for the fall and winter semesters in which speakers, such as professors within the program as well as interprofessional educators, will speak to students to offer learning opportunities.