Graduate Travel
Professional Travel Grants for Graduate Students
ASHA Conference 2016
8 years
Dr. Kellyn Hall and Joyanna Struzzieri presenting their poster at ASHA.
Kelsey Dunbar and Joyanna Struzzieri had the opportunity to meet author and AAC user Martin Pistorius after his presentation.
Attending the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association (ASHA) national conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania proved to be an amazing experience for me that has impacted my future practice as a speech-language pathologist. I presented data from my ongoing research at a poster session. During the session, several attendees came to the poster to provide me with encouragement and advice for my research. To further my knowledge about speech-language pathology, I attended several sessions every day on anatomy, language, feeding and swallowing that will aid me when I graduate next year. I also obtained hands on experience practicing endoscopy with experts. In addition, I had the opportunity to meet some celebrities of my profession, including bestselling author and AAC user Martin Pistorius and Parkinson’s Disease voice expert Dr. Lorraine Ramig. The conference was a wonderful opportunity for me to learn information that will aid me as a professional and the experience will stay with me forever.
ASHA Conference 2016
8 years
This was my first time attending an Ame
rican Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Conference. I have attended the Speech-Language-Hearing Association of Virginia (SHAV) Conference before, but this was definitely a different experience. The first adjective that comes to mind is overwhelming! There were over 16,000 people in attendance. At first, it was difficult to navigate through the Philadelphia Convention Center and the Marriott Hotel, it was crowded everywhere you went (even outside of the convention center), and sometimes you could not get into a session because there were too many people. Luckily, it did not take long for me to learn how to navigate the crowds and understand that I needed to arrive at least 30 minutes before a session to get a seat! Even with it being so overwhelming, I learned a lot of new information and networked with several speech-language pathologists (SLPs) throughout my time at ASHA.
One of the highlights of the conference was meeting and attending a session by Martin Pistorius. In my Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) class, we read his book, Ghost Boy. It was amazing to hear his personal testament about how SLPs impacted his life and provided insight on how I should work with people with complex communication needs. Some of the other sessions I attended were about working with children with Autism who have self-limiting diets, using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in conjunction with speech pathology, treating transgender patients who wish to change their voice, and opening your own private practice. One thing that I really liked about ASHA was the wide variety of topics discussed in the sessions. It was helpful to hear about specialty areas that we do not get to discuss during our classes.
One of the main reasons I attended ASHA was to present a poster. Three of my peers and I presented a case study about an adult client from Kazakstan with a cleft palate. We decided to present this poster because this client represented a rare case. It was difficult for us to find specific research about her needs, and so we wanted to share our clinical decision making process with others. Our hope was to provide information to others who may have a client similar to ours, and also to help students understand the decision making process to help them with any complex clients they may have. During our presentation, we had the opportunity to converse with a few professionals who specialize in craniofacial anomalies. It was great to hear their perspectives on what we did and hear advice about things to consider to improve our research in the future.
Finally, one of my favorite things about ASHA was being able to explore Philadelphia in the evenings. On the first day, I was able to see the historic side of Philly and I visited the Liberty Bell. It was also great to see the city getting ready for the holidays. Right downtown, where the iconic LOVE sign is, there was a small ice skating rink. While exploring the city, we also came across some Christmas lights on Franklin Square. At night they had an “Electric Light” show. And of course, we asked around to find the best place to eat a Philly cheesesteak. It was fun to attend an out-of-state conference because I learned a lot at the conference during the day, and I got to explore a new city in the evenings.
Virginia Counselors Association Conference 2016
8 years
I had the pleasure of attending and presenting a poster at the 2016 Virginia Counselors Association (VCA) Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. The conference was excellent overall, and particularly in the focus on LGBTQ related issues and in social justice issues faced in the counseling profession today. My presentation, about trauma assessment measures that are commonly used with children, was well received. It was particularly rewarding to have conversations about this with fellow professionals in the field who do similar work to my work in the school system. The ability to share ideas with these people was the most powerful thing that happened at the conference. The exchange of immediately useful ideas and information changed how I respond to a couple of common daily occurrences at my school.
Spending time with the professors, alumni, and current graduate students at the school was another positive. It was enlightening to have professional and personal conversations with people and to talk about where the Longwood program has been and where it is going.
VCA Conference 2016
8 years
On November 9-12, 2016 the Virginia Counselor’s Association Convention took place in Williamsburg, VA. The event included two keynote speakers, Kevin Hines and Dr. Michael Gillette, and nine education sessions, each with multiple sessions attendees could choose from. Four Longwood students currently in the program-Chris Barnes, Jessica Hamlett, Brittany Bishop, and Cameron Patterson-joined many Longwood Alumni and Counselor Education faculty for the weekend. Chris Barnes and Cameron Patterson were both honored as VCA student fellows and Barnes presented a poster on assessing trauma in children. Dr. McCleskey, Dr. Wynne, and alum Amrita Sethi collaborated to present a session on counselors working as allies for LGBTQQI clients and students. Dr. Doyle presented updates from the Virginia Board of Counseling. The event was a great success for Longwood University in education and representation. The next convention will take place November 9-11, 2017 at the Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA. All Counselor Education students, faculty, and alumni are encouraged to attend and represent Longwood! 
VAASL 2016
8 years
The VAASL conference was a wonderful experience and I am so grateful for the opportunity to attend. I learned: how to access and view 3D Civil War photographs as primary sources, how to take a Virtual Field Trip, about the 1939 Sit In at The Alexandria Public Library, that a new book Shadow House, has an app to accompany the book, the power of conducting a Mock Caldecott award in my classroom or library, that two anonymous copied WalMart receipts can be used as primary sources, Encyclopedia Virginia has free lesson plans created by ODU students, to provide a copy of free wifi spots in the area around my school to my students, and that Google Cardboard combined with Encyclopedia Virginia and the StreetView app is a mindblowing experience!
One other interesting thing I noticed – when I have attended conferences with teachers in the past, the acquisition of handouts can be a cutthroat experience. At VAASL, if a presenter ran out of handouts, someone with a handout would say, “Here take a picture of mine.” Interesting, right?
2016 VAASL
8 years
This was my first time attending VAASL and it was a super experience! I loved meeting other librarians from the county in which I work as well as other librarians from the state. Each session I went to was stupendous! What a wealth of knowledge and expertise there is amongst this group of people. My big take away from the conference are ideas of how to get Maker Spaces started in my own library, but I also received some realistic feedback of some challenges I may face when first starting with Maker Spaces.
I had a great time at the Longwood reunion. How fun it was to see how many people went through Longwood’s SLIB program. The tribute to Frances was so sweet! She has been such a treasure to me as I have gone through the SLIB program. She will be missed.
This conference allowed me to learn more about my profession, gave me new ideas to implement and time to fellowship with colleagues. I will definitely be attending VAASL next year.
VAASL Conference October 2016
8 years
Christine Klisiewicz
Master’s of School Librarianship
I left the conference excited to implement many new strategies and programs with our students. There was a lot of talk about advocating for the library with the changes brought about by ESSA. I made sure to fill out the VADOE survey and posted it to my Facebook page, and this posting received 13 shares. And I felt empowered! Longwood represented strongly at this conference. I am working in my first year as a full-time librarian for Prince William County, while finishing my course work in the School Librarianship Master’s Program at Longwood.
My principal is on the selection committee for the 2017-2018, nominated books, and is a huge supporter of the Virginia Reader’s Choice Program. She is thrilled that I am sharing the primary books with all students at our school or the first time this school year. I attended two different sessions that provided me with insights as to how to use these titles as springboards for generating interest in other similar books in our library. One of the sessions tied each book to specific Virginia SOL’s. In efforts to support our IB PYP program, I am looking for ways to highlight each of the learner profiles when it is evident in a Virginia Reader’s Choice nominated book. Another VRC session taught the ins and outs of the program, providing a timeline, the voting policies, and a lesson to use as a follow up. I will be teaching the fifth grade students how to create book trailers for each of the primary titles. I also attended a breakout session on using various programs with students to create book trailers. We will get these started in December.
There was a session that was led by Ginjer Clark on engaging the reluctant reader through nonfiction texts. She is the author of a series of popular animal books published by Penguin Publishers. I got her information because she is based out of Richmond and is available for an author talk. Even though the session was basically a sales pitch for her books, I could appreciate her enthusiasm and could tell she puts on a meaningful event for her audience of students. I want to go over her prices and the program she offers with my principal so that we can keep her in mind for the future. One of my sessions ended early so I sneaked in on the tail end of a fun preview session. I was able to grab an extra list of 2016 new released titles and their links to the SOL’s. I placed it in my principal’s mailbox when I returned. I am scanning it for titles that we must have in our collection.
Our Prince William colleague, Carolyn Vibbert, demonstrated the value of gaming in the library. She encouraged us to dust off some good old-fashioned board games and card games to use with students. She also introduced some other games that were new to me. This served as a great reminder that playing games builds problem solving, communication, cooperation, and verbal skills. I am excited to encourage teachers to book the library for inside recess sessions when the weather does not cooperate. We can help students learn some iconic games that they can teach to their families.
My favorite part of the conference was networking with other school librarians. I loved having the opportunity to attend the conference where I could learn from others’ strengths and be encouraged. It was such a magical experience to see Frances honored for her years of service. It was obvious that she has made a lasting impact on all her students. I am excited to that next year it will be held in our neck of the woods at Westfield’s Conference Center.
(In the photo, I am on the far right, sitting at the table with my Prince William cohort members.)
2016 VAASL Conference
8 years
What a fun and informative few days. I knew of Mr. Schu before going to VAASL but I had never had the pleasure of hearing him speak. On Friday he was one of the many presenters so I thought it would be fun to go see what all the hype was about. I must say I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who loves children’s literature so much. He truly brought the books to life and made my reading list that much longer.
I was torn on which session to choose for my last one but after hearing that Audrey Church’s session was a conference favorite for the past few years it was a settled. We were flooded with so much information and I was introduced to new topics I had never heard of before such as ESSA. Good thing I went since I was the lucky recipient of Dr. Church’s new book. There’s nothing like leaving the conference with a prize!
Attending VAASL
8 years
What a wonderful weekend at VAASL! I never imagined that the conference woul
d be as large as it was, but I am so glad it was! Through the conference, I was able to connect with not only my current classmates whom I am only able to see during classes a few times a semester, but also with other students in other programs around Virginia, as well as current school librarians. The sessions were incredibly informative, including sessions about coding and robotics, current trends in school libraries, and digital citizenship. The most interesting thing that I learned at VAASL was that school librarians are beginning to be featured in school administration’s professional publications. This is something that has not happened a lot in the past and is incredibly important for the future of schools librarians. The world of school librarians is changing so drastically, I cannot wait to attend VAASL next year to see what has changed!
– Ashlyn Fairlamb-Mason
VAASL 2016 in Norfolk
8 years
As this was my first conference for school librarians, I was amazed at all the great information I took home in just one day. While my friends and family teased that this would be a conference of “Shhh-ers” and that I’d learn how to better dust the library shelves, what I actually found was a diverse group of personalities from around the state brought real-world ideas and solutions to school librarianship issues. Our own Dr. Audrey Church (School Librarianship Program) spoke during the keynote ceremonies as the current President of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). Keynote speaker Dr. Rob Fuhrman, a principal from Pennsylvania, gave us “10 principles for creating a reading culture.” In the many breakout sessions I attended, I came away with real-world strategies for bringing the VA Readers Choice books into library lessons, book ideas for boys who are reluctant to read, ideas for professional growth in our careers, and the best apps for teaching and learning. I filled pages of notes with great ideas that I can’t wait to put into practice! The culminating highlight of my day at the VAASL conference was the Longwood alumni gathering. It was inspiring to see around 150 alumni from Longwood’s School Librarianship program all gathered in one room, and even more amazing to see Dr. Church introduce us to each person in the room, announcing their name and location from memory! I look forward to attending next year as well!