SHP students receive awards for leadership, service, research and clinical excellence

By Kate Hunger

Lisa Le never considered herself to be an academically strong student, but she says something clicked when she began clinical rotations. In recognition of her performance during the clinical phase of her program, the third-year physical therapy student recently won the Student Clinical Excellence Award.

“Human interaction is an art form and requires flexibility, adaptability, and creativity to be able to accommodate a variety of personalities and conditions,” Le said. “It requires a lot of quick thinking on your feet and being able to establish a good rapport to be well received by patients.” 

Le is one of five School of Health Professions students who recently received awards through the Office of Student Life. 

Katie Eastman is a second-year student in the Speech-Language Pathology master’s program who participated in a community-based capstone project that involved speech, language and hearing screenings targeting individuals with limited access to services. Eastman, who received the Student Community Service Award, values the potential of community service to change lives. 

“Community service is important to me because it gives me the opportunity to use my professional skills in a way that has a significant impact on individuals who may not typically get to receive these kinds of services,” Eastman said.

Second-year Speech-Language Pathology student Erika Hayes received the University Student Leadership Award. Hayes has held numerous leadership positions, including the class president, class historian for the campus chapter of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and student representative for the Texas Speech Language and Hearing Association and TSHA's Business Management and Ethics Committee.

“I always viewed leadership roles as a privilege and an opportunity to be an example for others and a voice for students,” Hayes said. “However, taking on leadership roles has also allowed me to grow as an individual.”

Other award recipients include Speech-Language Pathology student Tammy Nguyen, who received the Student Research Award, and Occupational Therapy student Janna Roberts, who received the Professional Student Leadership Award.

The award recipients all demonstrated extraordinary achievement, said Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs David Henzi, Ed.D. 

“Each awardee was nominated by faculty members in their respective programs and were evaluated by a committee made up of faculty from across the School of Health Professions,” he said.