4 RAPS SHEET n APRIL 2023 NOTES FROM THE SCHOLARSHIP CHAIR ‘Overflow’—Our scholarship’s unexpected effect I WISH THAT EACH of you could have had the experience that I just had, talking with Melody Park, the RAPS Robert Vogelsang Scholarship Recipient for 2022-2023. You would have been as pleased as I was to have been a part of enabling the exciting promise of such an impressive student. This June, Melody will complete her graduate degree in speech and hearing sciences. She’s currently deepening her knowledge and gaining skill in her externship at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Chewelah, Washington. Since she hopes to practice her profession in a hospital setting, it’s been an excellent opportunity. The externship allows her to work with a wide variety of disorders and a range of age groups. Although this might change as she broadens her experiences, at this point she’s particularly interested in voice and swallowing disorders, the kinds of challenges patients with Parkinson’s or with head and neck cancers might meet. Although affecting patients at all ages, someone focused on these realms would likely be involved with an aging population. Melody arrives at her clarity about her fit with the speech and hearing profession after some very influential academic and personal experiences. Her talent as a pianist, combined with the capability to learn and play multiple instruments, drew her to music as a first undergraduate major. Inspired by a course in anthropology, she found a way to blend her appreciation of music with her curiosity about cultures, combining both into a minor in ethnomethodology—the very first to graduate with such a minor at the University of Wyoming. She recognizes that communication is both art and science, a reflection of her B.S. in communication disorders and her B.A. in theater. The potential for creative adaptation of these fields is apparent in her recently obtained certificate in applied improvisation for communication. When asked what the scholarship means to her, Melody described having faced the need to step back from her studies because of finances. But then she was awarded the $9,000 RAPS Robert Vogelsang Scholarship, boosted by the generosity of a thoughtful anonymous donor. In trying to capture the significance of the scholarship, she said, “The word that comes to mind is ‘overflow.’ Overflow,” she said, reflectively, “knowing that someone is trying to help someone else, to help me… I just overflow with gratitude and want helpfulness to overflow from me, too.” —Sherwin Davidson Melody Park PRESIDENT STEVE PERCY presented the Presidential Medal to Bill Lemman on March 3 in recognition of his distinguished advocacy and philanthropy to PSU and the Portland community. The Portland State University Presidential Medal, first bestowed in 1976, is awarded to those dedicated leaders who have made countless contributions to PSU and the community. The presentation was made at Hillside Retirement Communities in McMinnville, where Bill lives with his wife, Genna.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz