Quentin Kennedy obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree Summa Cum Laude in Physics with a Linguistics Concentration, from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. While attending Carleton, Mr. Kennedy's interest in combining the study of human communication with the body's physical response to sound led to a fascination with hearing science. In 2007 he was awarded a National Science Foundation Scholarship to do an independent research project at the Imaging and Analysis Center at Princeton University. After gaining research experience, Mr. Kennedy returned to undergraduate study to pursue a career that would combine interpersonal communication with his interest in physics and problem solving. Since starting his program in clinical audiology at Northwestern University as a Hugh Knowles scholarship recipient and ranking first in his class, Mr. Kennedy has maintained a strong interest in research. In addition to his coursework and research endeavors, Mr. Kennedy has been involved in various volunteer activities including serving as Treasurer of NU's Student Academy of Audiology, and as a volunteer for hard of hearing children at Children's Memorial Hospital. Upon graduation Mr. Kennedy aspires to pursue a career in a university setting where he can both teach and contribute to clinical research trials.
Sara Neumann obtained her Bachelor of Science in Education: Deaf and Hard of Hearing at Northern Illinois University. For six years, Ms. Neumann worked as a deaf education teacher before pursuing a doctorate degree in Audiology at Illinois State University. As a musician and a drum corps/marching band alumna, she became interested in hearing conservation. Ms. Neumann completed a study that investigated attitudes toward hearing conservation in drum and bugle corps' percussionists and will be participating in a poster presentation on this subject at the National Hearing Conservation Association's annual conference. In addition to her academics, Ms. Neumann serves as a Developmental Therapist-Hearing (DTH) Independent Early Intervention Provider through the State of Illinois as well as teaches families and daycare providers ASL. Along with her full time graduate assistant duties, Ms. Neumann serves as the president of the ISU Student Academy of Audiology, serves as ISU student representative to the Illinois Academy of Audiology Board, and volunteers as an audiology consultant to the Drum Corps Medical Project and to the Special Olympics Healthy Hearing Program. Upon graduation, Ms. Neumann hopes to be practicing in a pediatric or educational setting after attaining her Listening and Spoken Language, Auditory Verbal Therapy certification. In addition, she would like to continue researching topics related to hearing conservation in drum and bugle corps and serve as the audiologist on the Drum Corps Medical Project team.
Lauren Sandberg graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northwestern University where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Communications. While at Northwestern University Ms. Sandberg received a number of awards for academic excellence as well as worked as a research assistant in two different research laboratories. Since beginning her studies at Rush University, Ms. Sandberg has worked with two of her professors as a graduate/research assistant, and is the top student in her classes. In addition to her studies and research duties, Ms. Sandberg has actively engaged in several extracurricular activities including serving on the board of the RU Student Academy of Audiology as fundraising chair, serving as a student representative on the ILAA board of directors, and as a volunteer for the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine and SAA health and education fairs. Upon graduation, Ms. Sandberg would like to work in a hospital setting with a concentration on pediatrics and return to the academic setting to do research investigating how early intervention can change the psychosocial outcomes of children with hearing loss and exploring more effective ways to counsel patients.
ILAA is proud of these distinguished Illinois scholars and offers its congratulations to the three scholarship recipients.
About ILAA
The Illinois Academy of Audiology, "The Voice of Audiology in Illinois," was founded in November, 1992. Our mission is to promote audiology as the primary profession in Illinois for the delivery of hearing and balance care and to facilitate our members' abilities to identify, diagnose, treat, and prevent hearing and balance disorders through professional education, public awareness, and research initiatives. For more information, please visit: www.ilaudiology.org.
