"NSSLHA is an organization for students who are interested in pursuing a career in audiology and/or speech-language pathology. Every year, we hold an open house at the Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic for the college and community." Brandon Lichtman, '03 University Heights, OH

Majors in the Department of Communication are a diverse group and, in recent years, have come from as far away as Bombay, India, and Accra, Ghana. Our majors are involved in a variety of extracurricular activities, including theatre and dance, student government, intercollegiate athletics, volunteer work, writing for The Voice, and singing in the Wooster chorus, just to name a few.

During the academic year, students and faculty typically meet once a week in Lowry dining hall for Communication Table, a luncheon event that includes informal discussion, student talks on internships and research, guest speakers and, from time to time, birthday cake.

Students also are involved in three departmental organizations: Lambda Pi Eta, the Wooster chapter of the National Communication Honor Society; Communication Club, the Wooster chapter of the National Communication Association Student Club; and NSSLHA, the Wooster chapter of the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association. Student members of these organizations plan Communication Table topics, help produce the departmental newsletter, organize social events like faculty-student laser tag, and engage in community outreach through public relations work for non-profit organizations and hearing screenings at community health fairs. Lambda Pi Eta, Communication Club, and NSSLHA play an especially important role in planning the Department's annual Communication Week activities: an alumni speakers forum, a bowl-a-thon designed to raise money for a local non-profit, and a public speaking workshop and hearing screenings that are free and open to the public. The Department's chapter of Lambda Pi Eta was named "Chapter of the Year" by the National Communication Association in 1997 and received The Distinguished Student Organization Award from the Speech Communication Association of Ohio in 2002.

"Clinic is a great opportunity where students get hands-on experience with a variety of clients. My clinic supervisors let me work independently with clients while also helping me to develop better clinical skills." Emily Foreman, '06 Boulder, CO

Graduates of the Communication Studies program in recent years have interned in the U.S. Department of Justice, won a Fulbright Scholarship, earned graduate degrees, gone to law school, and pursued a wide range of careers. A recent survey of alumni revealed that graduates worked in law (mostly as attorneys), print and electronic journalism (as journalists, on-air talent, producers, or general managers), sales (including a Vice President), marketing/advertising, fundraising/public relations, government (e.g., press secretary, deputy clerk for county board of legislators, federal government), business (human resources, operations, labor relations), education, and the nonprofit sector (e.g., orchestra management, Americorps, Teach for America, social work). One recent graduate is now an executive at an ad agency in New York City. Another is a press secretary for an international non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., while a third is a buyer for General Motors in Detroit and a fourth is editor-in-chief of a mountain biking magazine with its headquarters in Pittsburgh. Yet another recent Communication Studies graduate is pursuing his medical degree. CNN sports anchor Vince Cellini is also a graduate of the program.

"The freedom that we are given at The College of Wooster to pursue our own academic interests through the Independent Study program is unparalleled. As a communication studies major I chose to explore the messages created by Michael Moore in his documentary Farenheit 9/11, and the stories of Narnia constructed by C.S. Lewis. The process of exploring messages and developing a quality examination of such messages has boosted my confidence in my ability to handle the next stages in life after I graduate from college." Andrew Prusinski, '06 Rocky River, OH

In the Communication Sciences and Disorders program, some graduates have typically completed graduate training in order to enter a profession directly related to their major. According to a recent survey, alumni included speech-language pathologists, audiologists, speech-language pathology professors, speech therapists, teachers (e.g., teachers of multi-handicapped students), and social workers. One notable graduate of the program is Douglas M. Hicks, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, who is the Director of the Voice Clinic and Head of the Speech-Language Pathology Section of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.