EMU Today

EMU Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) graduate student, Amiya Carreras, was chosen to participate in the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) Minority Student Leadership Program (MSLP). ASHA is the national professional association and accrediting body for 234,000 speech-language pathologists and audiologists. ASHA launched MSLP 25 years ago with the aim of recruiting and retaining members from racial and ethnic minorities, who have been historically under-represented in the professions, by offering programming that builds engaged leadership skills.

Carreras became aware of the MSLP opportunity when three of her professors, Dr. Leslie Blome, Dr. Audrey Farrugia, and Dr. Sarah Ginsberg, all reached out separately to encourage her to apply. After submitting application materials that included a 500-word essay, Carreras was one of 40 participants chosen from a pool of over 200 applicants.

The MSLP program is a 6-day experience that takes place each year before and during ASHA’s Annual Convention. Carreras’ MSLP Class of 2024 convened December 2-8 in Seattle, Washington.

Carreras describes the event as a whirlwind of leadership seminars, networking, building relationships with colleagues, and knowledge-building. Between networking and seminars, the participants were tasked with working in groups of five to complete leadership projects on current issues in the professions such as DEI Initiatives, Aging Populations, and the Competency Framework Model. Carreras explains, “I truly loved all of it.”

When asked about a favorite MSLP event, Carreras cited a leadership seminar with Deanna Singh. Singh spoke to the group broadly about leadership. It was impactful, Carreras explained, to hear from a woman of color “who has made it and is doing such amazing things in so many fields.” The event also stuck with Carreras because it gave her the opportunity to learn about her colleagues’ goals in the field. For her part, Carreras indicated that her goal as a future speech-language pathologist (SLP) has always been “to serve the underserved.” She said, “I want to work with black and brown children” and provide them with services they might not otherwise receive.

Another of Carreras’ favorite MSLP events was a one-hour panel with past, current, and future ASHA presidents. Having the opportunity to pose questions to Dr. Tena L. McNamara and Dr. Bernadette Mayfield-Clarke was impactful. Seeing the diversity of ASHA’s leadership with “a black woman becoming president elect…and Vicky Deal-Williams the CEO” was a favorite moment for Carreras. It brought home an affirmation she had been hearing throughout MSLP, “You are ASHA!.” She realized, “...we really are ASHA…we are the ones who make it better, and we are the ones who make it more inclusive.

The impact of the MSLP program on Carreras was profound. She “walked away feeling refreshed about the field.” She made “genuine, long-lasting connections” with new colleagues that have already enriched her as a person and a future SLP. She has built a community. And, reflecting a primary purpose of the program, Carreras’ mind has opened to the possibility of future leadership roles for herself within ASHA and beyond.