Saint Mary's students and high school students will have the chance to learn more about careers in the field of communicative disorders at the second annual Communication Science and Disorders Career Awareness Day on Sunday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in 145 SpesUnica Hall.
The event, sponsored by the Saint Mary's chapter of National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association (NSSLHA) and a part of the Collegiate Speakers Series, is aimed at recruiting people to become speech pathologists and audiologists.
Megan Daly, president of NSSLHA and a communicative disorders major, said the day will be about "telling [students] that [a career in the field of communicative disorders] is a health [profession] option since we need more people in the field ... There is a rising number of people [being diagnosed] with communicative disorders."
Daly said not only has the club been working to recruit freshmen and sophomore students but area high school students as well. "I think [this day is] important because a lot of people don't know about the possibilities with this major, especially in high school, she said. "This way people know if they want to be part of the major coming into college."
The day will feature a tour of the clinic of the communicative disorders suite, a professional panel of audiologists and speech pathologists from the South Bend area and a presentation by current SMC communicative disorders majors.
Daly said the presenters will explain what the major entails and the uniqueness of the SMC communicative disorders program. One notable aspect of the major is that students get opportunities to work with patients regularly, she said.
"Everyone is assigned a client during their senior year for 10 sessions [10 weeks] ... This is something unique about our program. Not all people [at other colleges] get a client at the undergraduate level," she said.
Daly also emphasized the versatility of a major in communicative disorders. "These people can work in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and private practice," she said.The best part of the degree is being able to help people, Daly said..
"It's one of those helping professions," she said. "It is helping people to communicate which is vital and making their lives more enjoyable."
