Recognizing Our Outstanding Student Members and Chapters

There are many ways SAA members and university chapters can receive recognition for all the outstanding work they do and their continued involvement in national SAA.

Every year, SAA chapters are required to submit their chapter roster during the Chapter Renewal Process. With this information, the percentage of local chapter members registered with national SAA is calculated, and chapters may receive incentives:

• If a chapter has 75% of their chapter members registered as national SAA members, they are eligible to submit applications for Humanitarian, Education, and Awareness Resource (HEAR) Chapter Grants, due on February 1 and October 1 annually.
• If a chapter has 85% of their chapter members registered as national SAA members, they are recognized in SAAy Anything and at the annual SAA Membership Meeting at the AAA Conference, along with eligibility to apply for HEAR Chapter Grants.
• If a chapter has 90% of their chapter members registered as national SAA members, they receive one extra Chapter Challenge point, in addition to the previously mentioned incentives.
• If a chapter has 100% national membership, they receive a Chapter Spotlight along with all of the previously mentioned incentives.

Involvement in Chapter Challenges throughout the year is another great way to build our student audiology community! This initiative is available through the American Academy of Audiology Foundation (AAAF), thanks to a generous sponsorship from Hearing Healthcare Recruiters, Inc. Chapters compete in categories including Advocacy, Education, Humanitarian, Fundraising, Most Overall Points, and Most Well-Rounded. The friendly contest was tough this year – chapters organized hearing screenings, speaking engagements, and numerous meeting with legislators. Chapters were required to participate in at least two of the three periods, which for some meant continuing their volunteerism during their breaks from school. If you missed out on this year’s competition, look for the 2018-19 Chapter Challenges announcement this fall.

Chapters also have the opportunity to share events through Chapter Chatter, and can receive a Chapter Challenge point if they submit their idea or event to the Program Ideas Bank.

The Chapter and Member Relations Committee recognizes four undergraduate associate members for their contributions to humanitarian efforts, advocacy, and research through the Undergraduate Associate Awards program. The Undergraduate Humanitarian Award is awarded to an SAA Undergraduate Associate who demonstrates exemplary participation in their SAA Chapter’s humanitarian or fundraising efforts. The Undergraduate Advocate Award is awarded to an SAA Undergraduate Associate who shows strength in the advocacy and education events in their chapter. The Undergraduate Research Award is awarded to an SAA Undergraduate Associate who demonstrates commitment to research in the field of audiology and related fields. The Outstanding Undergraduate Award is awarded to an SAA Undergraduate Associate who shows strength in all above areas: humanitarian, advocacy and research. Do you know any outstanding undergraduates who are deserving of these awards? Nominations can be made by audiologists, university faculty, researchers, graduate students, and/or fellow undergraduate students by emailing associateawards.saa@gmail.com. More information will be publicized this fall including the instructions to apply.

Join us in recognizing this year’s award recipients:

Chapter Challenges Award Recipients
Overall: Vanderbilt University
Well-Rounded: Washington University
Advocacy: University of Iowa
Humanitarian: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Education: University of Colorado-Boulder
Fundraising: Northern Illinois University

Undergraduate Associate Award Recipients
Outstanding Undergraduate Award: Amanda Demas, Loyola University Chicago
Undergraduate Humanitarian Award: Rebecca Hauser, University of Iowa
Undergraduate Advocate Award: Kendra Stebbins, Florida State University
Undergraduate Research Award: Elizabeth Schneider, University of South Dakota

HEAR Chapter Grant Recipients
FALL 2017: The Ohio State University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Minnesota and Pacific University
SPRING 2018: AT Still University, University of Connecticut, University of Cincinnati and University of Colorado-Boulder

We would also like to take this time to recognize all chapters with 85% national SAA membership with a “shout out” and those chapters with 100% national SAA membership with a “spotlight”. Be sure to watch the national SAA Facebook page throughout the month of June to see what these chapters have been up to!

Shout Out

Chapter Spotlight