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Narges Firouzshahi is the recipient of the Spring 2021 Alumni Association Outstanding Master’s Graduate Award. She received her Master’s of Science degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology last week.

She earned her undergraduate degree in audiology through the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran.

During her studies, Narges has worked in clinic, hospital, and school settings with a variety of speech, language, hearing, and cognitive-linguistic impaired clients and patients.

She has undertaken numerous assignments beyond the expectations and requirements of the master’s program in speech-language pathology.

“Narges has a reputation in the department for seeking to extend her own understanding by approaching faculty members and clinical supervisors for deeper conversations and more probing questions. When she is particularly interested in a topic, she will ask about getting involved in a project, being part of a research team, or taking on any additional work or duties,” says Holly Damico, Hawthorne-BORSF Endowed Professor and coordinator of the master’s program in speech-language pathology.

Narges maintains a particular interest in the compensatory strategies used by language and literacy clients, and exploring how clinicians can best respond to their occurrences.

For her capstone project, she focused on home programs for teenage fluency (stuttering) clients.

While at UL Lafayette, Narges has also published in a peer-reviewed international journal. The article, “Iranian Persian: A Guide to Speech and Culture for the International Clinician,” was published in the Journal of Monolingual and Bilingual Speech in 2020.

The paper provides an accessible reference manual on Iranian Persian child speech in typical and atypical as well as monolingual and bilingual contexts. It also discusses cultural aspects that can impact the success of clinician and client interactions.

“As a field focused on communication and language situated in cultural and linguistic communities, these types of resources are needed and valued, especially as the country orients to a wider focus on diversity and equity,” Damico says.

Narges has worked on several proposals to the annual American Speech-Language and Hearing Association Convention, and has given presentations to graduate and undergraduate students at UL Lafayette.

She was elected to membership in the UL Lafayette chapter of Phi Kappa Phi last spring.

Narges plans to continue her research in language and literacy by pursuing a doctorate.

The communicative disorders Master's program at UL Lafayette prepares you to translate theory and research into effective clinical practice.