Kimberly Fogle Helps Children in Summer Speech Camp

2012 Jun 21

Kimberly Fogle of Longview, Texas, a speech/language pathology major, has been learning how to apply his/her skills as a burgeoning clinician at a summer speech camp between Hardin-Simmons University & the Abilene Independent School District.

"It's a win-win situation," says Dr. Carol Hill, head of the HSU Department of Speech-Language Pathology. Student clinicians have the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge, and the children benefit from the extended language-based treatment sessions."

HSU provides the clinical personnel and treatment materials and AISD provides the facilities and recommends the students who can benefit the most from attending the day camp.

AISD speech pathologist Cathy Clay says, "The HSU students help the children focus on the process of communicating by having them talk about the activities they are doing. Sometimes the unexpected happens, like someone might drop an egg or a tray of ice cubes while working on one of the craft projects; the children have the best time talking about what just happened. We don't care what the craft projects look like in the end, because it's not about the item, it's about the process of creating it and talking about it."

Clay says one of the newest aspects of this year's camp is that the HSU students are bringing their own 21st century techniques into the camp, using apps on their iPhones to conduct speech drills.

The experience the HSU students get at the camp, working with the children, translates to college hours in a class called Clinical Internship in Speech and Language Pathology. Hill says the students also earn hours in another class which helps them to develop meaningful materials and therapy techniques. Hill says HSU students will write progress reports on each of the children for their parents to have at the end of the two-week camp.

"This camp fits in very well with HSU's mission of teaching Christian service, something our students are practiced at HSU," says Hill. "This camp not only allows our students the opportunity to use their talents and skills, but also to give Christian service to others."

About Hardin-Simmons University:

HSU has an enrollment of approximately 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students from 28 states and 20 countries.

HSU sits on 220 acres and has a 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Eighty percent of HSU's faculty members hold the highest available degree in their fields.

Tuition rates for full-time students do not increase while they are enrolled in consecutive fall and spring semesters and make continuous, satisfactory progress toward a degree. (The tuition freeze does not apply to some programs.)

• Ranked in the Top Tier of U.S. News and World Report's Best Universities in the Western Region

• Cited by The Princeton Review as a Best in the West University

• Recognized by Colleges of Distinction for teaching, learning, and service

• Named to the 2011 Honor Roll by The Chronicle of Higher Education as a Great College to Work For

• Named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

Through seven schools and colleges, HSU offers seven undergraduate degree programs encompassing more than 70 major fields of study. Eighteen graduate programs are offered, including doctoral programs in physical therapy, ministry, functional manual therapy, and education.

Special programs include Honors, International Studies, and Leadership Studies.

Hardin-Simmons University, founded in 1891, is a private Christian institution, affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Texas Baptists) since 1941.