School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences FY25-26 Report

College of Health and Human Services

School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Fiscal Year 2025-2026

Message from Leadership

Dear Donor, Your support helps prepare a diverse group of students to positively impact communities by improving speech, language, and hearing health and wellbeing.

Our Audiology and Speech-Language Clinics provide more than 6,000 hours of no-cost services to individuals in San Diego County each year, improving access to care for many in our local community.

Our faculty’s research also contributes to the School’s vision by exploring how pharmacological interventions may impact hearing health, understanding the role of bilingualism in learning to read, and examining how cognitive factors affect language impairments after stroke, among many other projects.

Our programs are nationally recognized for their impact in research, teaching, and community engagement. Your support allows our students to focus on their academic and clinical learning through experiences with cutting-edge clinical tools and high-impact educational practices.

Thank you for supporting the School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences!

Ignatius Nip, Ph.D., CCC-SLP Professor and Director, School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

Philanthropy

Propelling the SDSU Community Forward Dr. Susan Aileen Hellweg Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Scholarship Endowment The School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences received a generous gift to establish the Dr. Susan Aileen Hellweg Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Scholarship Endowment, which provides scholarship support to students pursuing degrees in the field.

The fund helps reduce financial barriers, support academic achievement, and prepare future professionals to improve communication, hearing, and quality of life for individuals across diverse communities.

School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences students at the Speech-Language Clinic

Student Spotlight

Thriving in the Aztec Experience Cora Neisen, Class of 2026 Class Level: Master's Candidate College: College of Health and Human Services Major: Speech-Language Pathology Cora spent the first eight years of her career teaching English as a second language and developing literacy programs in nonprofit, private, and government-funded settings.

In 2024, she completed the SDSU Speech-Language Pathology Essentials Post-Baccalaureate and entered the M.A. program. During her studies, she served as the 2026 cohort representative, acting as a liaison between students and faculty.

She was also a member of the Cognition and Language in Aphasia Lab, leading reliability testing for Christina Sen’s dissertation on attention in individuals with aphasia.

Clinically, Cora gained experience across the lifespan through placements at a preschool serving children with complex communication needs, a rehabilitation hospital, and an English-Spanish dual-language elementary school.

Cora was named the 2026 School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Outstanding Graduate Student. This fall, she will begin her career at King Chavez Community Academy, serving grades TK–3.

She extends sincere gratitude to her clinical supervisors and instructors, with special thanks to Taylor Hye, Danaee Donovan, Tanya Buzzanga, Jun O’Hara, Ashley Sanabria, JoAnn Silkes, and Irina Potapova.

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Congratulations Cora on being named the 2026 School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Outstanding Graduate Student!

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Student Spotlight

Bianca Rubio Garcia, Class of 2026 Class Level: Undergraduate Student College: College of Health and Human Services Major: Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences As a transfer student, I feared I wouldn’t have enough time to take advantage of all the opportunities SDSU had to offer. I would soon learn I had no reason to worry.

Within the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences major, I was privileged to be a research assistant in two labs: the Language Impairment, Bilingual Reading, and Observational Research Lab and the Recreational Noise Exposure and Auditory Function Lab. In addition to being an RA, I was a part of the Rady Children’s Hospital Mentorship Program as a mentee and was elected president of the SDSU Chapter of NSSLHA, a pre-professional club for the major.

Throughout the year, we hosted microaggression and cultural humility workshops, participated in advocacy initiatives, held graduate school information sessions, and hosted various panels with working speech-language pathologists and audiologists.

I was also given the opportunity to attend the 100-year anniversary of ASHA in Washington, D.C., and to travel to San Luis, AZ, to participate in a farmworker health fair, “Día del Campesino.”

I will be continuing my academic journey at SDSU as I join its joint Doctor of Audiology program with UCSD in the fall.

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I feared I wouldn’t have enough time to take advantage of all the opportunities SDSU had to offer. I would soon learn I had no reason to worry.

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Student Spotlight

Samir Kassem, Class of 2030 Class Level: Joint Doctoral College: College of Health and Human Services Major: Language and Communicative Disorders Samir’s research focuses on understanding the educational experiences of bilingual children with and without language disorders and how these experiences relate to their language and reading development.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Ashley Sanabria, Samir has been conducting research in the Language Impairment, Bilingual Reading, and Observational Research (LIBRO) Lab. His current work examines the language and reading development of bilingual children at risk for developmental language disorder in dual-language and English-only school programs. He has shared his findings at national and international conferences on bilingualism and child language development.

Additionally, Samir competed in SDSU’s Grad Slam, where graduate students from across the university present their research and its impact in three minutes or less. After earning both First Place and the People’s Choice Award, he went on to represent SDSU at the CSU-wide competition. Samir is grateful for the opportunity to conduct meaningful research that informs educational practice and supports bilingual learners.

He also values these opportunities to share his work with researchers, clinicians, and community members.

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Congratulations to Samir on his success at SDSU’s Grad Slam!

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Points of Pride

Celebrating Shared Success Current Rankings Joint program in audiology with UCSD is ranked #25.

M.A. program in speech-language pathology is ranked #6.

Statistics of Interest The School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences has a graduation rate of 85.4% (four-year) for students entering as freshmen and 85% (two-year) for transfer students.

Recent Highlights This past academic year, we had 22 PhD students, 43 audiology students, 82 M.A. students, and 352 undergraduate students.

Program Rankings

Joint audiology program with UC San Diego ranks No. 25; M.A. in speech-language pathology ranks No. 6 nationally.

Student Success

499 Students across undergraduate, M.A., audiology, and Ph.D. programs, with graduation rates topping 85%.

Faculty and Staff Achievements

Laura Dreisbach, Ph.D., CCC-A Title: Professor, Co-Director of the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Audiology College: College of Health and Human Services Achievement: I was honored to become Co-Director of the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Audiology in August 2025.

Our Doctor of Audiology program was the first established in California, and this year we celebrated the graduation of our 19th cohort, bringing our alumni community to 163 professionals serving patients across the country. During the four-year program, students complete more than 130 units of coursework, approximately 2,500 hours of clinical training, and a doctoral research project.

Over the years, I have served as chair for 40 doctoral projects and as a committee member for 35 additional projects. These collaborations have resulted in 42 professional presentations and nine peer-reviewed publications with students as coauthors. Mentoring students remains one of the most rewarding aspects of my career and drives the work we accomplish together in the Auditory Physiology and Psychoacoustics Laboratory.

Our laboratory develops objective clinical tests of highfrequency hearing. Exposure to noise and certain medications—including some antibiotics and chemotherapy agents—can cause irreversible hearing damage that often begins at the highest frequencies. Current assessments often rely on behavioral responses, making testing difficult for some patients. Earlier and more accurate detection of hearing loss can improve quality of life and reduce the effects of hearing impairment, including social isolation, depression, anxiety, and delays in speech and language development in children.

This research has created opportunities to collaborate with colleagues around the world and contribute to efforts aimed at preventing hearing loss. Most recently, I was honored to serve as an International Faculty Scholar at the 4th International Multidisciplinary Conference on Cancer Rehabilitation in Mumbai, India.

The success of our students and research is made possible through the generosity of donors who invest in education, discovery, and patient care. Your support helps us prepare the next generation of audiologists while advancing research that improves lives locally and around the world.

Faculty and Staff Achievements

Peter Torre, Ph.D. Title: Professor College: College of Health and Human Services Achievement: A summary of HCARE: Hearing Conservation, Awareness, Research, and Education was presented at the Hearing Across the Lifespan (HeAL) 2026 conference in Padua, Italy.

The initial launch of the Schools of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and Music and Dance Hearing Conservation Program (HCARE: Hearing Conservation, Awareness, Research, and Education) was in Spring 2025.

The formal implementation of HCARE began in Fall 2025, with the primary focus of enrolling all first-year and transferstudent Music majors in this program.

This program includes three components: (a) an intervieweradministered survey about sound exposure and hearing protection device (HPD) usage; (b) earmold impressions to be used for custom-fitted hearing protection; and (c) a baseline hearing examination.

At the conclusion of their participation, each student who completes all three procedures receives a pair of customfitted musician earplugs for their own personal use.

Given the importance of hearing health, the Schools cover the cost of these earplugs, so there is no out-of-pocket cost to students. To date, 77 Music majors have received customfitted hearing protection, 50 of whom were freshmen, and more than 100 Music majors have completed a baseline hearing examination.

Faculty and Staff Achievements

Irina Potapova, Ph.D., CCC-SLP Title: Lecturer, MA Graduate Advisor, Associate Director of the Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders College: College of Health and Human Services Achievement: Dr. Irina Potapova received SDSU’s inaugural Lecturer Teaching Excellence Award, honoring exceptional commitment to student learning, pedagogical innovation, and educational impact.

Through her teaching and mentorship, she prepares future speech-language pathologists and researchers to serve diverse communities with skill, care, and critical thinking.

Dr. Potapova's connection to SDSU began as a doctoral student and speech-language pathology trainee. With the support of her research mentors, clinical supervisors, and peers, she learned to connect research with clinical practice while developing skills in teaching and leadership.

Today, she draws on those experiences to support students in the same programs that launched her own career, serving as an instructor in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences (SLHS), Associate Director of the Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders, and Graduate Advisor for the MA Program in Speech-Language Pathology.

Whether teaching undergraduate students who are exploring career trajectories or supervising graduate clinicians as they exercise professional skills, Dr. Potapova strives to provide the same combination of support, challenge, and encouragement that shaped her own development. Across student levels, student feedback consistently indicates that Dr. Potapova meaningfully added to their SDSU experience, including by creating welcoming learning spaces.

SLHS graduates go on to serve children, adults, and families in schools, hospitals, private practices, and community settings, while others contribute to research and higher education. As both a graduate and a leader of SDSU's training programs, Dr. Potapova is especially well positioned to help students bridge academic learning, clinical practice, and community impact.

Thank you for your generous support.

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