Jenna Reed of Fleetwood has been named one of National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s first undergraduate scholarship recipients.
The award from the national organization will help offset the cost of Reed’s education in the five-year speech-language pathology program at Misericordia University. Reed submitted an application and a reference letter from a professor for the competitive undergraduate scholarship program.
“With so many applications to review, the review team was keenly impressed with your leadership qualities, involvement, and collaboration with others,” wrote Sally K. Wilson, NSSLHA’s vice president for academic affairs. “Our hope is that this scholarship promotes your continued involvement with your NSSLHA Chapter (at Misericordia) and National NSSLHA, and that you continue to collaborate and develop even stronger leadership skills throughout your undergraduate career.”
The NSSLHA Scholarship application focused on leadership, collaboration and extracurricular activities. As president of Misericordia’s Chapter of NSSLHA, she collaborated with her fellow officers to organize their first project, Backpacks for Kids. The goal was to donate 10 backpacks filled with school supplies to a local elementary school. They donated 23.
“I plan to demonstrate this same type of leadership as I develop professional skills by taking responsibility for plans I set forth, delegating tasks fairly, and not being afraid to try something that may not end as originally planned,” the sophomore wrote in her application. “I also hope to always use my passion for helping others in need as the main motivator behind my professional leadership skills.”
The daughter of Steven and Lori Reed also organized a service opportunity for students in MU’s Chapter of NSSLHA. Misericordia’s students volunteered at the inaugural fundraiser for Brighter Journeys, a local organization that funds medical equipment not covered by insurance for children with special needs.
An active member of the campus community, Reed is a flutist for campus liturgy, a team member of Campus Ministry, a member of Mercy Leaders and the leader of the Adopt-a-Veteran program on campus. In her academic major, she provides guided tours of the Speech-Language and Hearing Center and is a research assistant to Kathleen Scaler Scott, Ph.D., C.C.C.-S.L.P., associate professor of speech-language pathology.
“Students who work on research projects with me must present with strong critical thinking skills,” Scaler Scott wrote in her reference letter to the NSSLHA Scholarship Review Team. “She has the ability to readily recognize patterns in data analysis. The research projects Jenna has been involved in relate to literacy evaluations in school-age children and symptoms of cluttering. As we engaged in data analysis throughout these projects, Jenna raised questions that went beyond the basis analysis and reflected a mindfulness of the connection between research and the human beings that are our research participants with communication disorders.”
In the spring semester, Reed began collaborating with Scaler Scott on two new studies involving the identification of cluttering symptoms in a sample of participants with Fragile X Syndrome and examining autonomic nervous system responses in people who clutter.
“This level of involvement is only given to sophomores who demonstrate strong academic promise in the field of speech-language pathology,” Scaler Scott added. “Jenna possesses natural leadership qualities that I am certain she will use to make a strong impact upon the field of speech-language pathology throughout her career.”
For more information about the speech-language pathology program at Misericordia University, call 570-674-6400 or visit www.misericordia.edu/slp.