UMass Amherst

Stephanie Bejtlich

Major: Communication Disorders

Hometown: Reading, Massachusetts


Living in the IMPACT! learning community during her first year made Stephanie's transition to life at UMass easier. "I immediately became a part of a group of people who shared my interest in community service," she says. In her sophomore and junior years, Stephanie continued her involvement with IMPACT! in a leadership capacity, as a Peer Mentor and an Academic Peer Advisor.

The hands-on experience she gained in the community service learning components of her honors colloquiums gave Stephanie an awareness of the need for speech-language pathologists and audiologists in schools, hospitals, and businesses. "Successful communication is a skill most people take for granted. It is very exciting to know that the work I am doing will make a difference."

Stephanie's major in Communication Disorders allows her to tie together her interests in language, education, sociology and service. In her Capstone Experience, Stephanie has integrated her academic experiences while preparing for a career. For her research and honors thesis, she is working with assistant professor Christina Foreman on "a study of the motivators for verbal and non-verbal communication in young children with autism."

"Opportunities I had in Commonwealth College gave me the confidence to approach a professor and do research in the field for an entire year."