Students Preparing for Academic and Research Careers (SPARC) Award Recipients

The SPARC Award is offered as part of ASHA's Strategic Objective to Increase Research Commitment. The goal of SPARC is to foster students' interest in the pursuit of PhD education and careers in academia in order to fill faculty/researcher vacancies in communication sciences and disorders (CSD).

It allows students to prepare for successful PhD education and exciting careers in research and teaching. The SPARC Award gives students an opportunity to participate in teaching and research with guidance from a mentor and travel to enhance teaching and research exposure. The SPARC has been awarded since 2004.

2023 Recipients

Kendra Ames, A.T. Still University
Primary Mentor: Lourdes Martinez-Nieto

Stephanie Fazio, Misericordia University
Primary Mentor: Glen Tellis

Sandra Irvin, University of South Carolina
Primary Mentor: Erin Smolak

Sean Kashiwagura, The University of Texas at Dallas
Primary Mentor: Kelly Jahn

Julia Kerrigan, University of Iowa
Primary Mentor: Naomi Rodgers

Marcela Paz Lara, New York University
Primary Mentor: Tara McAllister

Vivian Le, The University of Texas at Dallas
Primary Mentor: Pumpki Lei Su

Muna Musse, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Primary Mentor: Lizbeth Finestack

Vianca A. Ocampo, Northern Illinois University
Primary Mentor: Milijana Buac

Lauren Riggleman, University of South Carolina, Columbia
Primary Mentor: Suzanne Adlof

Lisa Rodriguez, California State University, Fullerton
Primary Mentor: Lisa Erwin-Davidson

Loriel Roman, San Francisco State University
Primary Mentor: Teresa Gray

Hailey Spencer, University of Cincinnati
Primary Mentor: Andrea Ford

Previous Recipients

2022

Haley E. Bouchard, University of Washington
Jessyca Campos, New York University
Joyce Chung, New York University
Danielle Hu, California State University, East Bay
Alyssa LaBine, Arizona State University
Cassandra Lopez, Indiana University–Bloomington
Maryvi Morales, San Francisco State University
Aivy Nguyen, University of Washington
Courtney Segool Wambach, Towson University
Mary Vang, Oklahoma State University
Jenna Maree Wong, California State University, Fullerton
Ivy Yen, New York University

2021

Meghan Baer, Emerson College
Victoria Bhardwaj, James Madison University
Melissa Bruce, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Emily Fisher, University of South Carolina–Columbia
Haley Hayashi, California State University, East Bay
Erin Hernon, James Madison University
Sarah Jones, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Allison Leslie, Marquette University
Darchayla Lewis, Hampton University
Gabrielle Monge, New York Medical College
Kendra Peffers, Michigan State University
Matthew Phillips, University of Connecticut
Favio Saabedra, Marquette University
Cassandra Stall, University of Cincinnati

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