Max Simko

I am a woman of many hats, as they say. I am an artist, a baker, a linguist, a caterer, and most relevant to this, a student of Speech-Language Pathology.  

Alas, I am not wearing a hat in this picture. 

In my academics, I serve as President of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA). I presented at the Louisiana Speech and Hearing Association Conference with a group of my colleagues on Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) and Social Media. My preferred population to work with is children. Children carry a sheer, unbridled joy that can be allowed to flourish when they are given the tools to communicate.  

I come into LEND as a blank canvas, eager to embrace the vulnerability of raw, gritty truth gracefully illustrated by people whose lives are colored by trying to navigate a society that sees difference as a problem.   

LEND will allow me to take every ounce of knowledge mixed with the gallons of wisdom poured into me by experienced professionals and the lived experience from families to create something wonderful. Academia tosses in metrics and numbers. It adds a scoop of technicality. It folds in how to be a professional. LEND opens little spice shakers of compassion, understanding, collaboration, leadership, and advocacy with the intent to add a just a sprinkle. But, the lids fall off, dumping the full contents into its scholars, giving us the tools we need to provide the best possible care on an individual and systemic level.