Published on August 23, 2021 by Daniel Dodson  
Girls Inc

During the fall semester, Communication Sciences and Disorders majors complete service projects through their student organization, SUNSSLHA. Students are asked to propose service project ideas on an ongoing basis. 

Katie Saxon, a junior CSDS student, has been interning with Girls Inc. as part of Samford's Micah's Fellows program. Last spring, Saxon suggested SUNSSLHA collaborate with Girls Inc for their service project. The SUNSSLHA officers choose the project based on budget requirements, time commitment and the number of students required. This was the organization's first interaction with Girls Inc.

According to Saxon, Girls, Inc. is an afterschool program that focuses on the development of the whole girl to become strong, smart and bold.

For the project, the students provided school supplies and informational videos created by undergraduate and graduate students. They also put together goodie bags with Bible verses chosen by CSDS students.

"Our project was focused on educating staff and girls on basic language information. Two to three students from each cohort filmed a video on various topics about speech and language," said Saxon. "The videos were shown to staff to educate and create an environment where speech, language and reading were talked about more." 

The students had several different school supplies to offer in the goodie bags, including expo markers, mini dry erase boards, earbuds, water bottles, highlighters, pencil sharpeners, acrylic paints and brushes.

Three videos were created for the service project.  For K-6: Caroline Finger and Catherine Boyd talked about reading and what language and speech are. For 6-12: Katie Saxon and Maggie Fee gave tips for public speaking and reading. For faculty: Caroline Miller, Caroline Dyer and Mary Beth Waggoner talked about form, content and use; speech vs. language and the importance of literacy.

"I have worked with Girls Inc. for three years and love everything about it. SUNSSLHA will continue to do service projects with Girls, Inc. this upcoming school year," Saxon said.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.