JMU CSD Undergraduate Advising

Hello everyone! My name is Copelyn Kelly, and I am the CSD Undergraduate Peer Advisor for the 2021-22 school year! I am a double duke and so excited to be back at JMU for my first year in the SLP Master's program! As the Undergraduate Peer Advisor, I am a resource for questions involving the major, graduate school applications, and other CSD-related questions. Below is the email that you can reach me as the peer advisor. I will also be holding office hours, with both in-person and virtual options, and I have listed the days, times, and locations of those below.  Email: csdug@jmu.edu Office Hours: Tuesday/ Thursday: 10-11 AM in HBS 1017 Wednesday: 2-3 PM  (Virtual- on Webex)

Good morning everyone, I hope you have enjoyed learning from our graduate students this past semester and maybe you have a new found appreciation for how different we all truly are.  This week will be the last week I am holding office hours 11:00am-12:00pm on Monday and Tuesday.  Here is a last short blurb about myself, as many of you have heard about what I did at JMU.                                                                   I knew that I wanted to be an SLP when I was 12. My youngest cousin was born bilaterally deaf and received cochlear implants at 11 months. His family decided not to use ASL after he picked up verbal language, but I continued to find all aspects of total communication fascinating. Since then, speech pathology has been my passion; however, in undergrad...

One of our last Graduate Student Spotlights is Ali! Ali gives great advice about choosing a profession that can be helpful to anyone, but especially the underclassmen here.   I entered JMU unsure of the academic path I would need to take to merge my dual passions of caring and advocating for people. I remember talking with a mentor freshman year, verbalizing my dilemma, ultimately unsure of which major I should pursue. She patiently sat with me, sifted through my thoughts, and steered me towards areas that complemented my passions. She works within a school system, and through her connection I was able to observe the SLP from her district. Through this experience I was able to first envision my passions merge as I discovered the profession of speech-language pathology. Specifically, I witnessed the empathy and feverous advocacy required of this SLP to ensure her student’s communication needs were met both inside and outside the classroom. Since, I have been inspired by the demand ...

 Good morning!  This week I will continue to have office hours from 11:00-12:00pm on Monday and Tuesday. Please email me with any questions!! SENIORS- See below for a message about the University of DC extending their application deadline for graduate school!!  As many of the competitive programs in communication science and disorders, are wrapping up their 2020-21 admission cycles, the University of the District of Columbia's Speech-Language Pathology Program extends a warm invitation to apply for the 2021-22 academic year through  May 15, 2021 . In the heart of Washington, DC, we represent a culturally-affirming and community-oriented graduate SLP program with a generalist clinical focus. We also offer opportunities for specialization in multilingualism, voice, transgendered voice, and early literacy. Through a holistic admissions process, we are excited to engage individuals who share our values in amplifying minoritized voices through inclusive excellence....

  Once again we have a Graduate Student Spotlight for Audiology!!! Noelle is a first year AuD student. Hi everyone! My name is Noelle Steele and I am from Pottsville, Pennsylvania. I am a first-year graduate student in JMU’s Doctor of Audiology program. I graduated from Marywood University in May of 2020 with my B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders. My journey to graduate school is a bit unique because I finished my undergraduate degree in just three years. I started in a 5-year speech pathology program (3 + 2 program) and decided to opt out of my master’s in speech pathology to pursue audiology instead. During my undergraduate career, I spent my time assisting and teaching in daycares both on campus and at home. This allowed me to work very closely with children and thus, I learned how to quickly build rapport with them. I worked as an early learner instructor for preschool age children at Kumon Math and Reading Center in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, which is an after-scho...

 Good morning!! This week I have notes about office hours. I will not be holding office hours tomorrow (4/13) from 11-12pm due to a doctors appointment, and instead, I will be available on WebEx from 2:30-3:30pm. Come by if you have questions about scheduling or classes. Seniors, this is the last week to come talk about graduate school decisions! I will still be available on Thursday 4/15 from 3:00-4:00pm   Monday 11:00-12:00pm Tuesday 2:30-3:30pm Thursday 3:00-4:00pm 

This week's graduate student spotlight is on Ana! She brings up a great point about applications- Always remember that you are more than just numbers on a test.  Hi everyone! I am from Richmond, VA, attended UVA for undergrad, and majored in Communication Sciences and Disorders there. I was lucky in that I knew I wanted to major in CSD when I got to UVA and luckily grew to love it even more throughout undergrad. I found it really helpful during the summers to try to find shadowing experiences to get a better idea of different settings I might want to work in as well as having some sort of hands-on experience before entering grad school. One of my shadowing experiences was with an SLP in early intervention, just for a week, but I loved it and hope to one day work in early intervention. I am also interested in various other pediatric settings such as hospital outpatient clinics and schools. In applying to grad school, what really drew me to JMU was the amazing reputation it has arou...

Our weekly spotlight for the week is Hannah! Not only did Hannah come from a different university but she is also not from Virginia. She took a gap year and is a first generation college student . Hi everyone! I am Hannah Delgado, a first year graduate student in JMU's SLP program. I am originally from Louisiana, where I completed my undergraduate degree in Speech Language Pathology at Louisiana Tech University. I am also first-generation student! I decided to pursue a gap year before applying to graduate school and am so grateful for the experiences that led me here. After graduating in 2019, I traveled and worked as a Chapter Consultant for Phi Mu Fraternity. This experience exposed me to a variety of individuals and helped me to further my professional skills greatly. I knew I wanted to become an SLP, but a gap year experience solidified that decision and I was able to gather more information about SLP programs across the US. Through this process, I encountered JMU and was quick...

This week we have another Double Duke! Rylie shares her interests in the SLP field and how she found this career. She reminds us that the realm of speech-language pathology is much more than what meets the eye!! Hello! My name is Rylie Smith and am a double duke! In undergrad I originally started out as a nursing major but quickly decided that was not the field for me. This decision came with a lot of confusion, as I did not know what I wanted a career in. I eventually came to know about speech-language pathology when my mom mentioned it to me. At first, I was hesitant to look into the field because I thought all SLPs did was treat articulation (the initial reaction of most people). I eventually decided to look into the field and found that there is so much that SLPs do! What really sparked my interest was adult language and cognition, specifically in veterans with aphasia and TBI. After graduate school, I hope to work with these individuals to give them a way to communicate and parti...

Here are some reminders and resources that will be helpful!!  Junior Information Sessions- 3/22 and 3/25 https://jmu.webex.com/jmu/j.php?MTID=m9f6e459335d6ee947f7ed8e44ef829b6 Monday, Mar 22, 2021 11:00 am | 1 hour  Meeting number: 120 006 4322 Password: w4CJdx3jPN3 (94253935 from phones)   https://jmu.webex.com/jmu/j.php?MTID=m519409c0c5b396c6bce7af83db9f1fcf Thursday, Mar 25, 2021 4:00 pm  Meeting number: 120 569 0753 Password: hAJpwTmc588 (42579862 from phones) UHC The Well  Don't forget that the UHC is available for all students and features The Well: Health Promotion and Wellbeing. The UHC has resources for physical, mental, and sexual health. If you are struggling in an of these areas, don't wait! Go check out the UHC site and find the support that you need.  James Madison University - The Well: Health Promotion and Well-Being (jmu.edu)   MyMadison Tutorials  Watch these links if you are struggling to find information on MyMadison. This will...

This week we get to learn about Becky! Becky is in the Audiology program here at JMU and she has an amazing story.    Hi! My name is Becky and I am a first year AuD student, but I’m also the oldest in the program. I graduated from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro in 2009 with a B.S. in Deaf Education. It was always my intention to go out and get some “real world” experience before entering a graduate program. After 5 years as a teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, I decided to pursue graduate school. I applied to JMU’s audiology program and was wait listed and ultimately didn’t get in. I continued teaching students with multiple disabilities for a few more years and that further fueled my desire to pursue audiology because I saw many kids whose hearing and language development were viewed as minor issues compared to their other disabilities, but as soon as they were given accessible language through amplification and/or manual communication, their live...

  Our next student spotlight is for Rebekah! She is not only a Double Duke, but also a first generation college student. Hi everybody! My name is Rebekah Jones. I am a first year graduate student in JMU's SLP program. I completed my undergrad here as well, and I am a first-generation student! I guess you could say I had a more "traditional" route from undergrad to grad school, but I finished undergrad in three years which is definitely untraditional. It was difficult to start taking sophomore-level classes as a freshman (and first-gen student who had no clue what she was doing), but I don't regret that decision even though it made an already challenging major slightly more challenging. In undergrad, I was in the honors college and completed a thesis in the area of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and sensory integration therapy, which sparked my interest in my master's thesis that I am currently working on (ASD and pragmatics!). I loved my time here in undergrad an...

  This week our spotlight is on Jess! It's always great to hear about our Double Dukes, but Jess came from PA, and you'll want to hear from students that had a different undergraduate experience than you. That's the whole purpose of this series!! I grew up in State college PA and attended Penn State University for undergrad. Having a career counselor dad was very helpful in figuring out my passions in life and a career that fits me! I also learned a lot by observing various SLPs throughout undergrad which really confirmed my decision on a career path. I loved knowing that I could work in different settings with so many different kinds of people. I’ve always enjoyed working and interacting with individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and participated in many experiences involving this population (best buddies, life and job coach, special olympics volunteer, friend of people with IDD). Knowing that I can choose a setting where I can work with individua...

The next Graduate Student Spotlight is Nico! Nico has a very unique story, written below, that let him to JMU. Some people take a gap year while Nico left school for many years. Hey all! My name is Nico and it took me a while to figure out what I was doing. I was shuffled along from grade school to high school to college as passively as a jellyfish in the current, ultimately getting my degree in anthropology in 2011. The whole time I measured my success, my self-worth, in GPA. As a result, all my decisions were based on taking the path of least resistance in order to get that piece of paper that I truly thought would grant fulfillment. This single-minded perspective caught up to me in the end as I left my final exam, stopped dead in my tracks and panicked as I realized I no longer knew where I was walking to. Maybe other people would have had a eureka moment at that point, but I instead immediately jumped at the only thing that made me feel safe, more classes. I enrolled in EMT school...

This week's Graduate Student Spotlight is Lara! Lara is the first Audiology student to share about her background and she was really excited to do so!!  Hello friends! I am current second year audiology student. Audiology is a beautiful field which focuses on caring for patients with hearing and balance disorders. I felt called to become a pediatric audiologist after encountering the reality that 90% of deaf children have parents with no history of hearing loss. What a heart breaking and confusing circumstance for these parents. I knew this was where I was needed, so here I am! Here is my story: During my time at the University of Florida, Go Gators, I majored in psychology and I gravitated toward experiences that allowed me to help students build confidence in themselves through periods of rapid change and uncertainty. I served as an Orientation Leader and Panhellenic Counsellor to work with students in periods of uncertainty and indecisiveness. I assumed that my passion for inv...

 Mark Your Calendars Sophomores or students taking 207/08/09 Don't forget about the sophomore session that will take place next week on 2/11!!  Cameron will provide a short powerpoint but then open the floor up for questions.  You will d iscuss starting the CSD major, things to consider, tips and more!! This would be a  great place to ask questions about the class sequences or how to succeed .  Sophomore Session 2/11 at 4pm https://jmu.webex.com/jmu/j.php?MTID=m14e9c94e70559e7c131c0e295e285baf Meeting number: 120 876 8417 Password: 3PNbMR2SJX3 (37626727 from phones)

This weeks spotlight is on Olivia. Olivia is a Double Duke!! Learn more about her below.     Hi!! When I first got to JMU as an undergrad, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I started school as an elementary education major, but knew it was not the right path for me. One day my first semester here, someone told me about CSD, and I was immediately intrigued. I switched majors that same day, despite knowing practically nothing about speech-language pathology. For me, there was never a moment where I 100% knew I wanted to become a SLP. When grad school applications asked later about "why SLP?", I explained how the process for me was more gradual. During my undergrad time, I shadowed at a rehabilitation center, worked as a summer TA at a school for Autism, and interned at the local speech and language center. These experiences in addition to the courses I took lead me to where I am today, not a specific moment in time. When it came time to apply to grad school, I applied to all o...

Graduate Student Spotlight- Brittany  I am happy to be posting our FIRST Student Spotlight. She has a very unique background that led her to graduate school in SLP!!  Learn more about Brittany below.   Hello everyone! My name is Brittany Russell. I am a first year graduate student in JMU's SLP program. Before attending JMU, I was a first-generation student at Virginia Tech. My path to grad school was "non-traditional" in the sense that I did not major in CSD in my undergrad studies. Instead, I majored in Human Development and minored in Language Sciences, Disability Studies and Psychology. I gave up my summers to take speech prerequisite courses at Longwood University, which was hard, but definitely paid off in the long run! I also graduated from Virginia Tech a year early, proving to be even more challenging when taking multiple courses of studies! My time at Virginia Tech was rigorous, but great. It allowed me internships opportunities working with SLPs and with individ...

  Diverse Student Town Hall Meeting with Dean Sharon Lovell and Dr. BJ Bryson  This is a great opportunity for students of the College of Health and Behavioral Studies to come together and share their perspectives, concerns, and experiences in the college with Dean Sharon Lovell and the DEI Director! February 10th from 4-5pm   https://jmu.edu.zoom.us/j/85668084054?pwd=cHJpSHlKOUQrT0xJQWk2Z mdSZnoxdz09