Nickie King, a junior communication sciences and disorders major from Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, was one of six juniors from nearly 350 colleges and universities across the country selected to receive a National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) undergraduate scholarship for 2023-24.
“Being awarded this scholarship is a reminder for me to keep working toward my goals, no matter what challenges come my way,” King said. “This award reminds me how many people I have in my corner, encouraging me and seeing me for all I am capable of. To know that NSSLHA believes in the potential of my future is an incredible honor.”
When King began her undergraduate studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she was undecided on her future career path. A mentor from high school recommended she explore speech-language pathology. In the process of taking some communication disorders classes, King was exposed to the field of audiology and knew it was meant to be for her.
“Audiology was the perfect combination of healthcare, sciences, and teaching, which blends all my interests to form the ideal career.”
While she still has one more year of undergraduate study, King is looking forward to graduate school and beyond.
“It is my goal to work with children, specifically in a children’s hospital,” King said. “It is so important to me to make sure people can have access to communication in a world where everything is so geared toward those who hear. The big-picture goal of my career is to help change the way society views hearing loss. When nearly 20% of the population has a hearing loss, there should be more options that are easily accessible to those who want to treat it.”
King is an active member of UNL’s NSSLHA chapter and appreciates the like-minded peer group it has provided her.
“Being part of NSSLHA has given me a community of kind people who are all so incredibly eager to help others,” King said. “This group allows me to connect with students in my major, which was perfect since I switched my major when everything was online. It has also allowed me to connect with professionals in this field, such as those who have welcomed me into research labs or found connections for me to work with or shadow. NSSLHA has also helped me plan for my future as I prepare to apply for grad schools later this year.”
In order to be selected for a NSSLHA undergraduate scholarship, students must be current National NSSLHA members, a sophomore or junior in a communication sciences and disorders program, and hold a minimum 3.25 cumulative GPA. Four sophomores each receive $500 scholarships and six juniors receive $1,000 scholarships. Learn more about NSSLHA at https://www.nsslha.org/.
Special Education and Communication Disorders
College of Education and Human Sciences
