Senior Stephanie Kwiatkowski, a speech-language pathology & audiology major in the College of Health Professions, is a living example of how crucial internships can be when you’re a college student preparing to graduate. She spent two months interning at with the Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement (RISE) program at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, gaining “real-world” and valuable research experience in her field.
Perhaps most importantly, she’s learning how to make children’s lives better, one step at a time.
Towson senior Stephanie Kwiatkowski
“I was placed at the Specialized Transition Program (STP) in the Fairmount building,” explained Kwiatkowski. “STP is an outpatient center for children with neuromotor disabilities. While the children were there, they received intensive PT, OT and speech therapies. I got to be an aid and observe these therapies!
“I learned so many therapeutic techniques that I can use in the future,” she added, “including how the PT, OT, speech and nursing staff work together. I had excellent networking opportunities and got to do some clinically based research.”
The Odenton, Maryland native also created a research poster (shown below) following the conclusion of her work at Kennedy Krieger Institute to summarize her research into changes in children’s language and speech production during Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT).
Kwiatkowski’s initiative and enthusiasm made an impact on her mentors, and she was invited to volunteer at the Swallowing and Oral Functioning Lab at Johns Hopkins through the remainder of the fall semester.
Stephanie Kwiatkowski’s research poster from her internship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
