Outstanding Senior Awards: Elissa Schiff
Each semester, the College of Science recognizes outstanding graduating seniors from each of its departments. Today's award recipient is Elissa Schiff from the Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences.
College of Science: Why did you choose your area of study?
I chose to study Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences after I joined a research lab in the department. I worked on a word learning treatment study for late-talking toddlers, and was so interested in what else people could do in the field. The SLHS department’s people are so kind and were helpful in answering my questions about the field. After learning more, I decided that I wanted to become a speech-language pathologist and work with children with speech and language disorders.
COS: Tell us about a class or research project you really enjoyed.
A huge part of my undergraduate career has been working in Dr. Mary Alt’s Language, Learning, Literacy, and Lexicon (L4) Lab. In this lab, I worked with over 12 late-talking toddlers as a clinician for a word learning treatment study. It was so much fun to work with these children over their eight-week participation periods and help them learn new words while also building my own clinical skills. It is rare to find an opportunity like this as an undergraduate student, but Dr. Alt and her team have made it possible for me and so many other hard working students to get this career-informing experience. I am so grateful for the L4 Lab.
COS: What is one specific memory from your time at UA that you'll cherish forever?
Something that I will cherish forever from my undergraduate career is meeting my SLHS buddies in our phonetics class in sophomore year. It was so nice to meet like-minded people and to form relationships that shaped the rest of my time in undergrad. The SLHS department is a place where so many meaningful connections are formed.
COS: What are you most proud of having accomplished in your time at UA?
I am most proud of applying for and being awarded a grant to travel to Sydney, Australia to conduct research with colleagues of my UA mentor, Dr. Mary Alt. Going abroad for the first time by myself was a somewhat scary experience and also so rewarding. I learned so much about myself and built research and professional skills that will help me throughout my education and professional career.
COS: What is next for you after graduation?
After graduation, I am attending the University of Arizona’s Master’s of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program. I cannot wait to keep working with the world-renowned faculty and lovely students in the SLHS department.