Student organization spotlight: National Student Speech Language Hearing Association


UNL NSSLHA members help put together baby bags for the Down Syndrome Association for Families (DSAF).

Student organization spotlight: National Student Speech Language Hearing Association

22 Aug 2016     By Kelcey Buck

The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) chapter at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln offers its nearly 100 members a variety of opportunities for volunteering in the community and networking with both professors and peers.  

“NSSLHA is a great opportunity for students to get to know other students in speech-language pathology and audiology,” president Alayna Stokes said. “We also do a lot of volunteering in the community so we know what opportunities are out there when we graduate.” 

UNL’s NSSLHA chapter holds meetings the first Thursday of each month. Professors and graduate students frequently attend the meetings to help undergraduate students learn more about graduate school. They answer questions about the process of applying and getting into graduate school.

The meetings are also a time for the group to discuss upcoming volunteer opportunities, including one of NSSLHA’s biggest fundraisers of the year for the Down Syndrome Association for Families (DSAF). Stokes said the goal this year is to raise $500 for DSAF, and although the logistics of the fundraiser have yet to be officially decided, the group has several ideas of ways to raise that money.

In addition to the monthly meetings, UNL’s NSSLHA chapter also hosts socials the third Thursday of each month. Activities for the socials focus on allowing members to get to know one another better.

Stokes describes UNL’s NSSLHA as an all-inclusive group for both undergraduate and graduate students in speech-language pathology and audiology, but notes that all students are welcome.

“It’s such a great networking opportunity,” Stokes said. “You get to know professors, as well as many of your peers. And I think we make it fun.”

Anyone interested in joining or learning more about the UNL NSSLHA chapter should request to join the Facebook group, UNL National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association. Information is also posted on the organization’s bulletin board in the Barkley Memorial Center.


Special Education and Communication Disorders