By Emily Gruver, BS, BA, TSHA Graduate Student Representative

The Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) Graduate Student Representatives (GSRs) serve on the Executive Board to provide unique graduate student perspectives. The GSRs attend TSHA Executive Board meetings to share the top priorities for graduate students, ways to recruit new student members, and ways TSHA can help students during their educational process. TSHA Executive Board meetings occur each month. Most are virtual, but one or two meetings per year are in-person to allow for face-to-face discussion and collaboration.

Being a GSR and serving on the TSHA Executive Board is an incredible role that offers networking and leadership opportunities that have an impact on how students are represented in and by TSHA. While TSHA is typically considered a professional organization, the GSRs serve as liaisons between future and current professionals in speech, language, and hearing. Every GSR serves a two-year term; the next GSR begins their term in January 2024 and ends their term in December 2025. At all times, there are two graduate students serving as GSRs—one in the first year of their term and one in their second.

In the fall, the GSRs complete or coordinate visits with National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA) chapters at all speech-language-hearing programs across the state of Texas to promote TSHA and the TSHA Convention, discuss student membership benefits, and give away free year-long TSHA student memberships and free TSHA Convention admissions for the upcoming year’s event. These university visits are impactful for students who attend as it informs them of scholarships and professional resources that they are unlikely to know about otherwise. These university visits are coordinated between the two GSRs and the TSHA State Office.

In the spring, the GSRs attend the Executive Board meeting on the day prior to the start of TSHA Convention. Travel to the Executive Board meeting and TSHA Convention, admission to TSHA Convention, and meals are all-expenses-paid for the GSRs, which means the GSRs are free to focus on being an active part of the TSHA Executive Board without financial impact. At the TSHA Convention, the GSRs attend the keynote sessions and assist with the Praxis Bowl, the speech-language pathology graduate student equivalent of an academic decathlon. Praxis Bowl is a pep rally and perfect preparation for soon-to-be Praxis examinees rolled into one.

The requirements to apply for being the next GSR are:

• Be a first-year speech-language pathology or second-year audiology graduate student
• Be able to serve a two-year term on the TSHA Executive Board
• Complete an application including a video submission
• Be highly motivated and organized

If networking, gaining leadership experience, sharing your graduate student perspective on current and future events, and learning firsthand about the wonderful opportunities TSHA offers to students and professionals all sound like fun, apply by October 20 at www.txsha.org/Graduate-Student-Representatives for the chance to be the next TSHA Graduate Student Representative.