SAA Committee Member Spotlight: Kayla Murphy

Name: Kayla Murphy
University: Auburn University
Year in Program: Third Year
Committee: Public Outreach Committee

Why did you decide to become an SAA committee volunteer?
Advocating for causes that I’m passionate about is something that comes easily to me, and when hearing health care became part of my career path, I had no idea that there were so many avenues for further expansion of our vocation. After doing further digging within my first year of graduate school, I realized just how many different opportunities there were for me to get involved and I wanted to create more chances for future students like me to find something they were passionate about. There are lots of options within the profession of audiology where we can expand, and I wanted to volunteer within SAA to show students new to this profession the many ways that they could generate change.

What do your responsibilities within your committee include?
The Public Outreach Committee is primarily responsible for advocating for the profession of audiology, as well as educating students, audiologists, and the general public about our profession and developments within our occupation. We provide opportunities for students to learn more about how they can be involved in audiology and plan events such as National Day at Your State Capitol Day (NDAYSCD) and the “Ask Me About Audiology” Campaign to promote awareness.  Within the committee, I am a project manager for NDAYSC 2019, as well as the liaison for the Government Relations Committee, which works with representatives and volunteers within AAA to identify areas of legislation that are pertinent to our field.

Within the field of audiology, what are your primary interests?
I knew early on that I wanted to work within the field of pediatrics. Besides my affinity for Disney movies, pediatrics has always been a great fit as I love being part of a patient’s hearing journey and providing support each step of the way. Working alongside a family through all of their trials and tribulations is so important to me, as my mom is a cochlear implant recipient and I know firsthand how vital it is to have that support system. I am specifically interested in working with cochlear implants in the future, but I’ll never turn down an opportunity to perform cerumen removal!