Recent December 2014 graduate, Kendra Scholz, has big plans to connect speech pathology and audiology with media to educate the public about communication and science disorders and other health-related issues. She was just accepted in the Media and Communication Studies (MCS) graduate program at FSU, and will master media techniques that can make her dream become a reality.

“This Master’s degree will allow me to combine my two undergraduate degrees in a way that is really unique; I can use my interest in health and my interest in media and its effects to become a health communication professional,” Kendra said.

During her time as a SCSD student, Kendra participated in various research experiences–including completing an honors thesis under the direction of Dr. Richard Morris. She later presented her research at the North Florida Conference on Communication Disorders, at the FSU Undergraduate Research Symposium, at the CCI Research Panel and at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Conference. Outside of her major, she served as President of the Ballroom Dance Club, Music Director of The Dance Project, Newsletter Editor and Membership Director of the Golden Key International Honour Society and eventually, President of Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society.

She also supplemented her other major, Editing, Writing and Media (EWM) with an internship at The Southeast Review, a national literary magazine published by graduate students in the English Department. Scholz also had a strong presence and impact at Swatch Magazine as a content editor, managing copy and photography for FSU’s most prominent fashion publication. Kendra also squeezed a 2.5-month trip to London to study abroad into her busy schedule as a Seminole.

”FSU has allowed me to connect with professionals in many different fields, even ones in which I didn’t have a class. I have been exposed to so many options and possibilities that it makes my future exciting in such a dynamic way,” Kendra explains.

The rigorous coursework and lab work of Anatomy and Physiology, Acoustics and Phonetics helped Scholz gain a foundation of knowledge. One of her favorite classes, Neuroanatomy, allowed students to examine, study and hold human brains at the FSU Medical School. Kendra is thankful to have been surrounded by compassionate students and professors during her undergraduate studies, and has walked away with valuable relationships.

“A few professors, such as Dr. Richard Morris and Dr. Leonard LaPointe, became personal mentors to me and I plan to keep in touch with them even if I leave Tallahassee,” she said.

After getting her Master’s, Kendra wants to continue on to the doctoral level and eventually become a professor in Florida, where she was born and raised. If given the opportunity to live abroad in London, she wants to go for some time in her twenties, but will ultimately come back to the States to settle down.

“If I were to do it all over again, I would have applied for more scholarships and fellowships and been even more involved in doing research from my first day on campus. But, luckily, I was still able to get involved with Office of National Fellow Scholarships, the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement, and field research by the time I graduated,” Kendra said.

Learn more about what the School of Communication and Science Disorders has to offer here.