Student Profiles

Southern Belle

Ally Drake knows what she wants to do after college. The communicative disorders major will go on to obtain her master’s degree in speech pathology, with the goal of becoming a certified speech and language pathologist. “I plan on working with the autistic community in either hospitals or schools,” says Ally. The native of Georgia says that she is very passionate about her major. “My youngest brother T.J. is autistic and this inspired me to pursue my career as a speech pathologist. I was so excited when I found out that Saint Mary’s was offering communicative disorders as a major for the first time this year.”

Ally says her favorite class is introduction to sociology taught by Professor Leslie Wang. “Dr. Wang has such a passion for sociology and you can tell this the moment you step into his classroom,” says Ally. “The course material is so interesting because it directly relates to our lives and those around us.”

“The best experience of her life,” says Ally is the time she spent studying abroad in Rome. “There is not a day that goes by where I do not think about my wonderful experience in Rome—we call this ‘Rome Sickness,’” says Ally. “I remember before we left Dr. [Peter] Checca held a meeting and told us to look around the room because these girls, who we didn’t know at the time, were going to soon be our best friends. I would be lying if I said I believed him then because I didn’t. However, looking back on that day, I realize that he couldn’t have been more correct. All of us who went abroad that semester share a special bond that I know can never be replaced.”

Ally stays active on campus, participating in the Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s Best Buddies Chapter. “Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-on-one friendships,” explains Ally.

When it comes to choosing what she likes most about Saint Mary’s, Ally is hard-pressed to narrow it to one thing. But if she had to choose, she’ll tell you she really values the women she’s met here. “Because I’m from Georgia I came here not knowing too many girls or what to expect. I cannot express how happy I am with my decision to come to Saint Mary’s because it has more than surpassed my expectations—and I still have two more years to go.”

Keep Smiling

Junior Kendall Davis gets ready to slide at a "Heifer Carnival"
held by students to raise funds for Heifer International.
Kendall Davis is always optimistic. The junior and Los Angeles, Cali. native, with a sunny disposition possesses serious dedication to a number of causes.

She is a member of Sisters of Nefertiti, a student club dedicated to celebrating African-American history and heritage, and the Communicative Disorders Club. Kendall also works as a teacher’s assistant at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) located on the Saint Mary’s campus.

She supports her fellow classmates in their endeavors on campus as well because she knows they are all working hard to make a difference in the lives of others. She says, “Saint Mary’s has helped in opening my eyes and supporting causes that can change the world.”

After changing her major twice, from nursing, to elementary education, to communicative disorders with a minor in intercultural studies, Kendall is sure of what she wants now. “I chose communicative disorders because I can help people, work with children, and help them regain a sense they lost or were born without (sense of hearing).” After graduation, she hopes to work with the deaf community, in the field of audiology.

When she’s not out making the world a better place, Kendall is marching in time with the Notre Dame band. She says she’s “not musically talented,” but that didn’t stop her from getting involved with the “Greatest Band in the Land,” as she likes to call it. Kendall is a manager for the marching band, and while she doesn’t play an instrument, she has made music a part of her life in other ways.

Kendall is part of what she calls “a group of ‘closet ballerinas’ taking dance professor Indi Diekgrafe’s introductory ballet course. It is her favorite class. “The closet ballerinas that compose the class have minimal or no dance training, but that does not stop us from jumping around the room from first to fifth position like professionals,” Kendall says.

Kendall has discovered more about who she is through her campus activities. The experiences she has taken part in and people she has met have offered her an understanding of herself as someone who is kind and committed to the causes that are important to her—or as she describes herself, “the smiling face that can be stubborn but optimistic always.”

—Sarah Sheppard '11

Giving Back

When it comes to supporting a cause she believes in, first-year student Molly Farrell is serious. The Wheaton, Ill., native has raised $300,000 for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation through a direct mail campaign. As stated on their Web site, the Foundation is "dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research, and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy."

Molly is familiar with this mission and its success first hand-she suffered a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed from the neck down. Yet after seven weeks, she was able to move her big toe in therapy. That led to her participation in an experimental therapy called Lokomat, involving a robotic device moving her legs in a walking motion over a treadmill, stimulating her nerves. "Slowly I regained movement and was able to walk out of the hospital. Today I walk with crutches and continue to gain more recovery," describes Molly.

Saint Mary's provided Molly with an advisor, Iris Giamo, Specialist for Students with Disabilities, who helped her to make the transition to college. "Ms. Giamo helped me choose a room that would work best for me, pick classes that I needed but also were conveniently located, and she made sure that the campus was accessible. She has been a huge help to me," says Molly.

Molly's favorite class so far has been introduction to communications. "It was a great class to have in the first semester of my first year because there was a lot of interaction with other students, helping to start new friendships." While she hasn't declared a major, she is considering communicative disorders, and has a career goal to someday work for a not-for-profit agency. "I would like to work with people who have had a spinal cord injury, in some capacity helping them in their recovery."

In the meantime, Molly continues her work with the foundation. "I believe that it is because of hard work and the research like Lokomat, that the Foundation is doing-that is the reason why I am walking today. It is my way to give back to them and I am so thankful I can."

Hands-on Experience

After working with special needs students in high school, Carolynn Prisco '12 decided that she wanted to help others for the rest of her life. The Evergreen Park, Ill., native decided to become a communicative disorders major in order to fulfill her dream of serving special needs students. “I took a class in high school, which entailed working with other high school-level students who had special needs. In the class we interacted during their gym class period,” she says. “I found the class extremely interesting and wanted to learn more about disabilities and what people can do to help those who have them, so I took the Introduction to Communicative Disorders course [at Saint Mary’s]. I fell in love and decided to make it my major.”

Carolynn says the course, taught by Professor Susan Latham, really instilled in her a passion for her major. “The compassion and enthusiasm Professor Latham used in the course made it that much easier to fall in love with it,” Carolynn says. Though Latham was particularly influential, Carolynn appreciates all of the professors in her field, as well as the courses that they teach. “I love my professors. They are very compassionate and helpful. My favorite part though is the hands-on experience that you get in the courses.” Most courses in the communicative disorders program require fieldwork. Majors complete 25 hours of observation alone before participating in a clinical practicum during their senior year.

In addition to her coursework, Carolynn participates in the student-run Communicative Disorders Club. She also volunteers at Hannah and Friends and Logan Center in South Bend, and her local hospital in the rehabilitation center. “This is truly an amazing field to be involved in,” Carolynn says. “It is not easy, but knowing that you have personally affected somebody's life is an extraordinary feeling.”

Upon graduation, Carolynn plans to attend Graduate School for two years and then work as a speech and hearing pathologist in a hospital. “Ultimately, I would love to have my own [practice] as a speech and hearing pathologist.”

—Alicia Smith '12