NSSLHA
The Fort Hays State University National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA) is a strong organization on the FHSU campus. NSSLHA currently has over 50 active members. While some of these students are from out-of-state, the majority are native Kansans.
The NSSLHA members meet once per month and often plan fun activities to encourage membership, such as dessert nights, potluck meals, picnics at the park, pub crawls, and sand volleyball. They build student fellowship and funds through a variety of creative fundraisers. Some of the most recent money-making activities include the sale of items such as: cookie dough, tart-warmers, clinic jackets/polos, and SLP hoodies/sweatpants. They also have held garage sales, car washes, bake sales and raffles, and their most successful fundraiser this year has been the sale of Oktoberfest t-shirts with profits over $2000. As you can tell from the many activities and fund-raising, the FHSU NSSLHA members are a very active and dedicated group of students. The money they have raised assists them financially so they have the opportunity to participate in pre-professional activities. Eight members attended the October, 2008, KSHA Convention in Overland Park, KS and 18 NSSLHA members attended the ASHA convention in Chicago, Illinois, November 19-22nd. The students were required to attend sessions related to their current course work, such as AAC, fluency, speech-sound disorders, craniofacial anomalies, and ethical issues.
As a group, or individually, these students participate in many other campus organizations and activities, and represent the FHSU student body very well. The NSSLHA students as a group have been planning and hosting the Ellis County Spelling Bee for the past several years. Many of NSSLHA's members throughout the years have been selected as finalists for the prestigious FHSU Torch Award. In the fall of 2007, our student NSSLHA representative, Celina Konrade, Spearville was voted FHSU homecoming queen. This fall NSSLHA member Amanda Bailey, Omaha, NE made it to the final five homecoming candidates.
The strong and dedicated group of students in the FHSU NSSLHA chapter are a definite asset to the FHSU Department of Communication Disorders and to Fort Hays State University as a whole.
NSSLHA Officers 2008-2009
Co-President-Amanda Farmer, Salina, KS
Co-President-Amy Wessel, Dresden, KS
Treasurer-Jessica Jackson, Hutchinson, KS
Secretary-Samantha Jackson, Kansas City area
Historian-Elizabeth Emerson, Great Bend, KS
Undergraduate Representative: Kyleigh Flax, Hays, KS
