Quad City Immigrants are getting their first hearing screenings this week.....thanks to Augustana students who are volunteering their time and expertise.
(Rock Island, IL) According to Augustana Professor, Ann Perreau the screenings taking place this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays is a win-win for all involved. The 64 immigrants attending "English as a Second Language "classes at Church of Peace in Rock Island will get a vital service and the students will get some experience.
Dr. Perreau says 18-20 student volunteers will be assisting with the hearing screening. She says all of the students are Communication Sciences and Disorders majors, who will likely pursue careers as speech-language pathologists and audiologists. "We have a relatively new audiology program at the Augustana College Center for Speech, Language, and Hearing and we will be using several pieces of new equipment following funding we have received from local agencies over the past 1-2 years to conduct this screening."
The program is a cooperative effort among Black Hawk College, the Secretary of State, Rock Island School District, the Regional Office of Education Lights ON, Rock Island Library, and the Church of Peace.
The students are from many countries with the majority being from Myanmar (used to be called Burma), Iraq, and Africa (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania).
