Meet the Candidates: 2019-2020 National SAA Board of Directors Nominees for Member at Large

Samantha Kesteloot
Candidate for MAL 2019-2020
Third Year
Wayne State University

List 3 words that describe you: Passionate, Driven, Positive

Name one person you feel was/is a great leader.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is someone I’ve always admired as a great leader.

Something on your bucket list?
An item on my bucket list is going on vacation in Croatia.

Who has been your biggest inspiration or support throughout graduate school?
My biggest inspirations throughout graduate school have been the students I worked with in my previous role as an educational audiologist’s assistant  Anytime I lost sight of the big picture or felt myself burning out, I would go visit them or look through pictures of my time at Bear Lake Summer Camp for kids with hearing loss & the Family Matters! conference. Thought-provoking conversations with fellow AuD students & professional have often served as sources of inspiration and support too.

What has been your favorite or most rewarding experience with a patient?
It’s hard to pick just one! Most recently at a pediatric rotation, we fit a Deaf teen with new hearing aids that streamed directly to her phone. She cried leaving the appointment because she was so happy to hear better and to have the connectivity! It gave me chills!

Anything else you would like to include for the SAA Blog?
I received a Hybrid Cochlear Implant in August 2018, just prior to beginning my second year in the Au.D. program. It has been absolutely life changing! It’s an amazing feeling to share that transitional experience with patients, fellow students and audiology professionals. I am very excited to be returning to the educational setting for my externship next year at the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, MO.  My favorite pastimes include going to concerts friends, volunteering with organizations for people with hearing loss and exploring downtown Detroit.

Natalie Rothbauer
Candidate for MAL 2019-2020
Third Year
Illinois State University

List 3 words that describe you: Creative, Dedicated, Helpful

Name one person you feel was/is a great leader.
Walt Disney

Something on your bucket list?
Seeing the Northern Lights.

Who has been your biggest inspiration or support throughout graduate school?
My family.

What has been your favorite or most rewarding experience with a patient?
It is always rewarding to help a patient in any aspect they are struggling, especially when it’s the first time you have made a difference.  However, probably the most rewarding experience was this past semester with five preschool through 1st grade audiological rehabilitation students.  It was amazing to see their progress and to hear other noticing their progress.

Anything else you would like to include for the SAA Blog?
In my free time,  not only do I love to volunteer, but I’ve spend the last few years performing in the Gamma Phi Circus at Illinois State University! When I started my AuD, I was hopeful to stay in shape and figured why not do it in a fun way!

Alyssa Adamec
Candidate for MAL 2019-2020
Third Year
University of Iowa

List 3 words that describe you: Hard-working, dedicated, musical

Name one person you feel was/is a great leader
Leonard Bernstein

Something on your bucket list.
Performing in Italy!

Who has been your biggest inspiration or support throughout graduate school?
My classmates.

What has been your favorite or most rewarding experience with a patient?
Seeing a difficult developing child complete CPA when no one thought they could.

Robert Melton
Candidate for MAL 2019-2020
Third Year
Auburn University

List 3 words that describe you: Conscientious, Honest, Persistent

Name one person you feel was/is a great leader.
Bill Gates

Something on your bucket list?
Visit all 7 continents.

Who has been your biggest inspiration or support throughout graduate school?
My family.

What has been your favorite or most rewarding experience with a patient?
I was able to follow an elderly woman’s hearing aid journey, beginning with her initial audiological assessment. My favorite part was seeing her enthusiasm for pursuing amplification and seeing her joy at being able to hear what she had been missing for years.

Lauren Keller
Candidate for MAL 2019-2020
Third Year
Long Island AuD Consortium

List 3 words that describe you: Spunky, Athletic, Affectionate

Name one person you feel was/is a great leader.
Abraham Lincoln

Something on your bucket list?
Skydiving

Who has been your biggest inspiration or support throughout graduate school?
My mom.

What has been your favorite or most rewarding experience with a patient?
My favorite experience with a patient was when I participated in a mission trip with the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Having the opportunity to immerse myself in a new culture and  to provide hearing healthcare to those who wouldn’t have had access to it really was a life changing experience. The patients who I had as patients touched my life, and I feel helped me grow as an audiologist much more than I was able to help them.

Anything else you would like to include for the SAA Blog?
I’ve loved being involved in SAA since my first year of grad school! I have been involved at both the chapter and national level, and have met amazing people along the way.  Thank you for considering me as a candidate!

Maribiliz Irizarry
Candidate for MAL 2019-2020
Third Year
University of Puerto Rico

List 3 words that describe you: Thoughtful, Adaptable, Committed.

Name one person you feel was/is a great leader.
My favorite example of a great leader is Jesus. The inclusion of different perspectives and personalities that added a unique feature to the group dynamic  The way in how their differences were integrated gave them the opportunity to reach diverse groups.  Also, using the everyday to highlight situations and deliver a message proved to be an efficient method.  Lastly, and probably my favorite,  he used his life and not barely his words, a vivid example of what he believed.

Something on your bucket list?
This is a tough one! So many places… so many things… Well…Don’t ask me why but I really want to go on a “getaway weekend” with my best friends and wear colorful wigs during the trip.

Who has been your biggest inspiration or support throughout graduate school?
My biggest inspiration is my mom. Though she passed away 8 years ago, she saw in me what I wasn’t able to see. The confidence that she had in me and my potential, gave me the desire to make her proud, even if she would not be here to see it.  Regarding my support, my family (especially husband, father, and sister) and close friends became my personal cheerleaders during my “highs” and “lows”.  I’m very grateful for having them in my life.

What has been your favorite or most rewarding experience with a patient?
This experience is probably a simple one, but for me is very memorable.  A few months ago a college student came to the clinic because she was having hearing difficulties. In fact, we found that she had hearing loss. After the counseling, we gave her the opportunity to try on a pair of hearing aids. I will never forget the big smile on her face while she said: “I can hear my shoes tapping on the floor!”. Can’t explain how touched I was by that moment and how that comment made me appreciate even more the field I chose to be my profession. (By the way, I couldn’t stop paying attention to my shoes for the rest of the day!)

Anything else you would like to include for the SAA Blog?
Get involved! This is something I say every time I got the chance. SAA is a fantastic platform to grow academically, professionally and personally. It’s just incredibly rewarding and exciting to be part of the history that is being written for our profession and to take an active role on it.  Keep in touch with the initiatives that are being developed “for and by” students and get the chance to meet incredible students and professionals committed to making our field stronger.

Jessica Lewis
Candidate for MAL 2019-2020
Third Year
Ohio State University

List 3 words that describe you: Candid, Compassionate, Thorough

Name one person you feel was/is a great leader.
Michelle Obama

Something on your bucket list?
Bungee jumping!

Who has been your biggest inspiration or support throughout graduate school?
My fellow classmates!

What has been your favorite or most rewarding experience with a patient?
Going through an aural rehabilitation program with a patient and her husband. It allowed me to see how hearing loss impacted her personally, but we worked through her difficulties together!