I am lucky to have known Ellen Koesterman for a long time. Growing up and going to school together for eight years, I know Ellen is a passionate and goal oriented girl. She is always bubbly and active in school and it is no surprise how involved she is here at the University of Cincinnati! For those of you who did not have the privilege of knowing Ellen, this week’s profile will elaborate on her impact as an intelligent and successful student on campus!
Ellen Koesterman
Age: 20
Hometown: Wyoming, OH (not the state…)
Her Campus Cincinnati: Hi Ellen! What’s your major(s)?
Ellen: Hey girl! My major is Communication Sciences and Disorders (Speech-Language Pathology) with a minor in Psychology
HC: That’s awesome, what made you choose that path?
Ellen: My aunt’s best friend is a speech pathologist so she really introduced me to the field. My aunt thought it would be a great career for me as I love children and I would have the opportunity to work with children in a variety of settings. I could work in a private practice, hospital, nursing home or school district. There is also a lot of flexibility so when I have a family some day I could work part time. UC has a very competitive program for speech pathology and when I was a senior at Wyoming I got into their dual admit program which means as long as I keep a certain GPA and get the minimum score on the GRE I already have a place in their graduate school program!
HC: That’s really cool, Ellen! Congrats on the dual admit program! What are you involved in on campus?
Ellen: Thank you!!!! Lets see, for speech pathology there is a club called NSSLHA (National Student Speech Hearing Association), which I’m in. I am in Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society. However, I dedicate a lot of my time to my sorority, last year I was the chief Panhellenic officer and this year I am the chief administrative officer! I think theta has really pushed me to become a leader and I am really thankful for it! Probably the most exciting thing I am involved in is for the past year I have volunteered at Good Samaritan Hospital. Freshman year I volunteered in the Cardiovascular ICU. This past fall I started in the NICU as a front desk assistant, however I am now a NICU cuddler which has been such an amazing experience. It makes you really put your life into perspective and I am really thankful for the opportunity.
HC: A cuddler sounds amazing and rewarding, I’m super jealous! Any stand out stories or moments from the job?
Ellen: I would say it is interesting because a lot of the babies are NAS (neonatal abstinence syndrome) babies which means they are going through withdrawal. It is really difficult to watch but I think volunteering at Good Sam has really opened my eyes to working in a hospital and I think that I would really be interested in working with speech pathology in a hospital one day.
HC: What advice would you give incoming bearcats?!
Ellen: I have realized how fast the years go, I can’t believe I am ending my sophomore year in a little over a month, so definitely make the most out of your experience, make a lot of new friends, join organizations that interest you, go outside your comfort zone, work hard in school, and have fun because these are some of the best years of your life. I believe in college I have grown a lot as a person and made some of my best friends– college is an amazing opportunity so take advantage of it every single day. I feel so lucky to be at the #hottestcollegeinamerica!