Kristin Nellenbach, PhD, (’10) recently became the fourth Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences doctoral program alumna to win the Graduate Education Advancement Board (GEAB) Impact Award.
Established in 2003, the Impact Award recognizes outstanding graduate students whose research covers a variety of areas, including education, the environment, economic development, health, and public administration. UNC Speech and Hearing Sciences alumni Sally Clendon, PhD, (’06) Elizabeth Lanter, PhD, (’09), and Penny Hatch, PhD, (’09) had received the award for their research in previous years.
Nellenbach, a practicing speech and language pathologist, studied how various factors influence early adolescents’ silent reading comprehension abilities. Her research has implications for developing targeted interventions and instructional programs that help address underlying obstacles preventing students from developing comprehension skills—interventions that may ultimately also improve adult literacy rates in North Carolina.
Read the full profile of Nellenbach’s work on the 2012 GEAB Impact Award Web page.