Sophomore Speech-Language Pathology Major Wins National Scholarship

By Cameron Smith

University of Mississippi

Amy-Kate Winter, a sophomore communication sciences and disorders major at the University of Mississippi, has been selected as a 2022 undergraduate scholarship recipient by the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association. 

A native of French Camp, Winter is one of four sophomores selected from universities across the country for this highly competitive award. 

“I feel so honored to be a national NSSLHA scholarship recipient,” Winter said. “I am so grateful to represent the University of Mississippi and so thankful to all the professors and Ms. Vickie Barksdale for helping and supporting me in my CSD journey.”

Each spring, the NSSLHA award 10 scholarships to sophomores and juniors in communication sciences and disorders programs who plan to become audiologists or speech-language pathologists. Applicants are required to submit three brief essays of up to 300 words, each along with a letter of recommendation from an academic adviser or professor. 

“I believe Amy-Kates’s academic excellence and eagerness to lead and serve exhibits a true representation of a national NSSLHA undergraduate student scholarship awardee,” said Vickie Barksdale, coordinator for advising, recruitment and retention in the communication sciences and disorders program.

“Since I have known Amy, she has demonstrated outstanding performance in her undergraduate academic work. She is a self-motivated, enthusiastic student who accepts nothing less than excellence,” she said. 

The NSSLHA is the only national student organization for pre-professionals studying communication sciences and disorders that is recognized by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

In high school, Amy-Kate researched multiple health professions and discovered that speech-language pathology piqued her interest after hearing so much about this career from multiple people in her life.

“As I learned more about the profession, I came to love it more and more,” Winter said. “I am so excited to help people develop better speech and language abilities.

She chose the Ole Miss CSD department after noting its solid reputation and positive reviews from students and alumni. Many of the faculty members have had a positive impact of Winter’s career path, she said.

“I have learned so much from my professors about being an effective SLP,” she said. “Besides just learning how to be an SLP, the professors have taught me to truly value each client and not just administer services, but to think about what is best for the individual client.”

The biggest take-away from the CSD program for Winter is having a community within the speech-language pathology field.

“Even though I’ve only been here for about two years, I’ve built so many connections,” she said. “The Ole Miss NSSLHA has introduced me to so many people and opportunities.”

For more information about communication sciences and disorders programs at UM, visit https://csd.olemiss.edu.