Whittier College Assistant Professor of Psychology Amanda Lash, Ph.D. has launched a speech and memory lab on campus.
The lab, which is still in the early stages of development, will focus on how speech comprehension is affected by adult aging and changes in hearing ability. Located in the Science and Learning Center, the lab is a first of its kind on campus.
Connecting their research with the city of Whittier community, Lash and her student research assistants Mila Markova ’18, Emma Brown ’18, and Richard Agajanian ’18 took part in the Hearing Health Expo. The expo was an educational event centered around raising awareness for hearing health hosted by the Whittier Hearing Center. The group was present to help members of the community learn about cognitive aging and about future opportunities to participate in upcoming studies at the lab on campus.
One of the many opportunities undergraduate research offers students is the ability to gain more experience with professional development activities, which will help them in their future careers.
With on-hands research opportunities on and off campus, students are able to place in practice the lessons learned within the classroom. During the expo, the research assistants gained personal insight into relevant career and internship opportunities.
“With the other educational tables at the event, students were able to use the expo for networking purposes and they made fruitful connections for internships in clinical settings and volunteer opportunities with the Alzheimer’s Association,” said Lash.
