First Year Graduate Student, Melissa Velarde, appointed to ASHA's Minority Student Leadership Program
Appalachian State University’s Speech-Language Pathology program is proud to announce that Melissa Velarde, a previous undergraduate and now first year graduate student, was recently selected for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)’s Minority Student Leadership Program (MSLP). This program’s purpose is to recruit and retain racial/ethnic minorities that have been historically under-represented in the professions of audiology and speech-language pathology, provide focused educational programming and activities to build and enhance leadership skills, provide an understanding of how the association works, and provide an opportunity for program participants to interact with leaders in the professions of audiology, speech-language pathology, and speech, language, and hearing sciences (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA]). ASHA’s MSLP also gives opportunities to participants for professional networking with various leaders in the field and ASHA MSLP alumni for professional opportunities, valuable information, resources, and more. When asked about her experiences, Melissa responded as follows:
Tell us about yourself, your role as a graduate student, and your personal and professional interests.
“I am currently a first-generation, bilingual and Hispanic first year grad student here at Appalachian State University. I enjoy going to see both sunsets and sunrises at the parkway! I love reading in my free time. I hope to work with adults in a medical setting in the future but I am staying open minded to anything and everything. Finally having my first clinical placement has only assured that I am in love with the field of speech-language pathology. I am looking forward to learning more as I continue my graduate school journey.”
What led you to choose Appalachian State, and why did you choose to continue your education here for graduate school?
“I chose to stay at App State for two main reasons. I entered Appalachian State University as a junior. I went to an Early College and went straight into my major coursework once I started in Fall 2020. I was able to meet the majority of the professors of the CSD program as I worked to graduate in May 2022. I respect and look up to many of the professors in the program. I knew that if I stayed, I would continue growing and learning as I already was in the academic environment. As for my social environment, the Latin Hispanic Alliance (LHA) was another huge pulling factor. During my senior year of undergrad, I served on the executive board for LHA and made LHA my family. To this day I now serve as their mentor and work behind the scenes to bring alumni back to campus for events and to help the current executive board in anything they might need. It can be difficult and even a bit terrifying being the only POC in class. LHA is my safe space for my mental health that I know I will need as graduate school gets more challenging down the line. I knew Boone was the place I was supposed to be even when I was touring colleges for undergrad. I couldn't see myself anywhere else.”
Tell us about why you decided to apply to the ASHA MSLP program.
“I decided to apply to the ASHA MSLP program when Dr. Dalton recommended it. While I served on the NSSLHA executive board my senior year, Dr. Dalton was our advisor. She has always made me feel safe for being both bilingual and Hispanic and has always encouraged me to apply those factors into both my academic and career path. After I read more about it, I realized how much of an opportunity it was! We have already had one seminar and I learned so much. I hope to keep learning and growing with the program.”
What are some things you like about the ASHA MSLP program?
“One of the things I like about the program is how open the leaders are. They let us ask all types of questions, and are honest with their answers. I also like how comfortable I felt seeing so many different faces and being surrounded with minorities that are just like me. Again, there has only been a session so far so I am sure there will be plenty more things to add onto my list later on!”
For more information about the Minority Student Leadership Program, please visit their website. https://www.asha.org/students/mslp-award/
