Communication Sciences and Disorders Students Receive Departmental Awards

The communication sciences and disorders department honored a number of students on Tuesday, April 23, during their annual Research Symposium Day.

For the fourth year in a row, one first-year graduate student was awarded with the Linda Z. Solomon, Ph.D., Memorial Scholarship. The award was established in honor of Solomon, a former Rockhurst University faculty member who passed away in 2009.

Solomon’s husband, Mel Solomon, was there to present the award to winning student Erin Lang.

“I’m here representing my family, friends and colleagues, who have helped make this annual award possible,” he said. “Linda was known for her beauty, dignity, elegance and sense of humor. I know she is here with us today.”

The scholarship will allow Lang to represent Rockhurst at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s national convention in Chicago this fall.

“The Linda Z. Solomon Ph.D. Memorial Scholarship honors the memory of our beloved colleague, who is remembered by her caring and compassionate way as a clinician,” said Carol Koch, associate professor of communication sciences and disorders. “Erin Lang has demonstrated this through her commitment to advocating for those with communication or other disabilities.”

Students applying for the scholarship submit an essay that is reviewed by CSD faculty, as well as the Solomon family, based on the student’s potential to offer effective and compassionate care to patients in speech-language pathology.

The department also announced winners of their annual SWELLS (Students Who Exhibit Learning, Leadership and Service) awards, given to students who demonstrate outstanding leadership, academic performance, engagement in extracurricular activities, and service to the department, University and community. Awards for Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 were announced.

Fall 2012 winners included Rachel Cho, post baccalaureate, Megan Jones, undergraduate, and Lauren Keith, second-year graduate student. Spring 2013 winners included Kaitlin Schwendemann, Kristen Ponce, and Erica Holtmeyer, second-year graduate students, Erin Lang and Kelsey Thompson, first-year graduate students.

The department’s Quest for the Cup Intercollegiate Knowledge Bowl team was also honored, including graduate students Joe Madden, Kristen Ponce, Lindsay Howard, Jamie Mapel and Kathleen Sweeney.

The Research Symposium Day showcases student capstone projects, both through poster presentations and oral presentations. More than 64 students presented their research projects throughout the day on topics such as voice therapy for transgender clients, technology and play during the preschool years, effective language therapies for children with autism spectrum disorders, and more.

Learn more about these awards here. To contribute to the Linda Z. Solomon, Ph.D., Memorial Scholarship fund, visit our online giving page.