May 07, 2007
Bowling
Green, Ky. - For Western Kentucky University senior Leigh Anne Roden, a rewarding career in speech
language pathology began at the Edmonton State Bank.
“I chose the major of speech language pathology in a random way when I was a sophomore in college,” said Roden, who will be honored Saturday as the Ogden Foundation Scholar at WKU. “At the time I was undecided on my major. I knew I wanted to work with children and change their lives for the better in some way, but I just hadn’t found the career path that satisfied me.
“A man from my hometown came into the bank where I work and just suggested I look into the field of speech language pathology because it was so rewarding. I took the intro class and knew that I had found the major that encompassed everything I wanted to do in life.”
Roden, a 2003 Metcalfe County High School graduate from Summer Shade, will be recognized as WKU’s top scholar Saturday at the 3 p.m. undergraduate commencement ceremony. The Ogden Foundation Scholar Award is presented to one graduating baccalaureate degree senior who has demonstrated exceptional academic achievement and outstanding university and civic engagement.
“Even though this award is presented to only one undergraduate senior, I don’t consider myself the best,” Roden said. “I feel as though I have been chosen by Western Kentucky University to be a representation of what can be expected of the graduating class of 2007. I have always worked so hard to be a contributing member of society as well as a leader for future students and I feel truly blessed to be recognized in this way.”
Roden, the daughter of William Roden and Elaine Marcello, has been active in several campus and community organizations, has worked at the Edmonton State Bank for the past four years and has worked as a senior clinician in the Communication Disorders Clinic at WKU’s new Clinical Education Complex.
“WKU has had such a positive influence on my life and I could not have chosen a better place to complete my studies,” Roden said. “WKU offers so much more than just an education. It is a place where students can form long-lasting relationships with professors and classmates as these are the people who changed my life in powerful, moving ways.”
Students with the highest GPA in each undergraduate college who had earned at least 64 hours at WKU were invited to apply for Ogden Foundation Scholar award. Roden will receive a plaque and a $1,000 award and will carry the WKU banner in the commencement processional.
“Finishing college with a 4.0 was definitely a goal for me as I had obtained this average during high school,” Roden said. “It was more about making my father and mother proud than anything else. I knew that they wanted me to do my best and being that they have been such amazing parents, this was one way I could give back a little of what they have given to me.”
Roden’s honors include receiving a four-year Regents Scholarship and being chosen as Outstanding Undergraduate Senior in the Communication Disorders Program. She’s also served as an officer in WKU’s National Student Speech-Language and Hearing Association Chapter and has been a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and the Kentucky Education Association Student Program.
She also is an active volunteer for Metcalfe County’s Relay for Life, a Locks of Love Hair Donor, Lifetime Girl Scout Member, participant in American Speech-Language Hearing Association STEP Mentoring Program, Kentucky Speech-Language Hearing Association Member, Metcalfe County Chamber of Commerce Member and Jr. Miss Scholarship Program Volunteer.
This fall, she plans to start a new job as an Itinerate Speech Language Pathologist in the Barren County School system. She also plans to complete a master’s degree in communication disorders at WKU and has explored the possibility of pursuing a doctorate or a second degree in special education.
“Throughout my college career, I have learned that it’s not money or fame that make you successful, but the feeling that you get every time you help another person. Western has been instrumental in making me realize how important it is to give back to your community and to give 110 percent to whatever motivates you,” she said. “And it’s not necessarily what I ‘plan’ to do in the future; it’s what I’m already doing as a student that has helped me be successful thus far. This university taught me to be involved and make a difference right now.”
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For information, contact Registrar at (270) 745-3351.
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