The sweet scent of chocolate chip pancakes surrounded the Interfaith Center on Saturday as the Geneseo chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association held a fundraiser.
Many hungry students came to the breakfast and making it a notable success.
"Any money is helpful and nice to bring in so we are not draining our bank account with donations," said Katy Papa, senior and co-vice president of NSSLHA. Primarily those in the major, as well as their friends, attended the breakfast.
"I came to support NSSLHA and have yummy pancakes," said Lauren Babcock, junior and a member of the organization.
The upcoming year is going to be busy but fulfilling for NSSLHA.
Senior Stephanie Reid, president of the Geneseo chapter, is actively planning a trip to Chicago where the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association convention is held. The trip allows those in the communicative disorder major to explore their future opportunities as speech and language pathologists or audiologists by attending seminars and fairs. Students listen to speakers and determine where they will be continuing their education for future certification.
"It's a good experience to see everything," said Reid.
NSSLHA's big event of this semester will be a speech given by guest Pam Hatch on Oct. 29 during all college hour in Newton 202. Hatch is a retired principal from the School for the Deaf in Rochester who was deaf her whole life until this year when she received a cochlear implant.
Hatch spoke last year at Geneseo, educating students on the rifts that take place between those who are deaf and those who have chosen to have cochlear implants. Since Hatch has received the cochlear implant, she is expected to speak about living through the transformation.
"Pam explained that it's hard to fit in once you've had a cochlear implant, because the deaf community says that you were born deaf and you should not change that," said Reid.
NSSLHA aims to unite communicative disorder and sciences majors and to raise awareness about speech and hearing disabilities. Geneseo's chapter does a great deal of community service including drives for books, canned food, and scarves and mittens. The group also makes cards for nursing homes and sings carols during the holiday season.
NSSLHA donates primarily to The Smile Train and Operation Smile, which supports cleft palette surgery that doctors perform for free in the United States and third-world countries.