Audiology Pre Grad intern Megan Nations

Megan Nations“For my IE Pre Graduate School Internship I mainly focused on my research project and finding out what the academic rigor and work-balance of graduate school will look like. Some of my successes of this semester include constructing a literature review extracted from seventeen research articles, establishing my research focus, getting IRB approval, beginning Phase I of data collection for my research that I will construct this summer, representing IE students at the DDCE Advisory Council meeting, attending an academic conference in my field, discovering how I can contribute to my field of study, and creating an official detailed timeline for my graduate study pursuing my AuD and PhD. Thanks to the IE program, this has been a successful semester in my development to prepare for graduate school.

Because of the IE Program, I went out of my comfort zone and started approaching different professors asking why they were interested in the type of research I wish to conduct. Without the IE program, unlike so many other students, I wouldn’t have developed the relationships I have with my faculty. Being a first generation student, it was not only imperative to discover my purpose beyond UT, but to also have a mentor in my field that could guide me into the right direction. Before the IE program, I did not really know what research was. I had seen the data collection side of it, but I had no idea what it would take to construct a project and ask important questions. Now, I am confident to say that I know what it will take to fully implement my project this summer. With the mentorship of my faculty mentor and my graduate student mentor, I have gained important insight to the goals of the academic community of audiology.

The IE Program has given me the incredible opportunity to attend a professional conference in my field. I attended the Audiology Now! Conference in Phoenix, AZ in April. At this conference, I was able to sit in on discussions about current research in Audiology, and I was dumbfounded to learn about all the research that is being done in my field. I was also able to meet the professors of several universities that I plan to apply to at their graduate school reunion session. I also talked with employers for audiologists, and they invited me to apply to their companies when I graduate from graduate school.

In sum, the IE program has been one of the most important steps for me to prepare for this next phase of my education and learn how I can contribute my education to society.”