STUDENT INFORMATION
Scholarship Information
Iowa Speech Language Hearing Foundation University Graduate Student Scholarships
The Iowa Speech Language Hearing Association Foundation (ISHA Foundation) invites full-time graduate
students in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology in the State of Iowa for the academic year 2025-2026 to
apply for scholarships. All students are eligible to apply for general scholarships. Awards will be given based
on excellence and not financial need. Scholarship recipients will be recognized in the awards ceremony at
the Annual Meeting of the Association during the 2025 Convention.
Funding opportunities include:
General Scholarships
The Iowa Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation Scholarship will provide $1,500 awards to four Speech-
Language Pathology and Audiology students attending graduate programs in the state of Iowa during the
2025-2026 academic year.
Nancy Ritchie Memorial Scholarship
The Nancy Ritchie Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a student majoring in communication disorders at a
University in Iowa and will provide a $3,000 award. Preference is given to individuals who have an interest
in neurological disorders. Extracurricular activities including volunteering in various community settings (i.e.
church, nursing homes, scouting) will weigh more heavily in the selection process than GPA.
Neil VerHoef Scholarship
The Neil VerHoef Scholarship, established by Mr. VerHoef’s family, provides a $1,500 scholarship annually
to one exemplary student majoring in speech-language pathology or audiology in a university or college in
Iowa. Preference is given to candidates who are residents of Iowa and who have demonstrated a
commitment to the professions through extracurricular activities such as volunteer work, community
service, special projects, or professional presentations.
Nancy Huntley-Kraus Scholarship
A $2,000 scholarship in memory of Nancy Huntley-Kraus will be awarded to an audiology student.
To apply:
1. Download, complete, and save the application cover sheet below as a .docx or .pdf file.
Link to the ISHA application cover sheet
2. Answer the following prompts in a personal essay of 500 words or less.
ï‚· What are your goals as a future practitioner in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology?
ï‚· How have your clinical experiences and/or extra-curricular activities (e.g., volunteer work,
community service, or special projects) prepared you for your future career?
ï‚· What do you think our state organization (ISHA) could do to support you as a future
professional in our field?
All writing submitted by you must have been produced independently by you. Any portion of the
essay written by someone else, including artificial intelligence (AI; i.e., AI-generated content) will
not be accepted by the committee.
3. Submit an unofficial academic transcript. Students who are going into the first year of graduate
school should provide their undergraduate transcript. Students going into their second year or
beyond should provide their graduate transcript.
4. Provide one letter of recommendation from a faculty member who has taught you in class or
supervised you in clinic. Please have the letter sent from the faculty member’s university email
address to pastpresident@isha.org no later than Friday, September 12, 2025.
Please send items 1-4 as attachments to one email addressed to pastpresident@isha.org no later than
Friday, September 12, 2025.
If you have any questions about this scholarship, please contact pastpresident@isha.org
Past ISHA Scholarship Recipients.
("*" represents Niel VerHoef Scholarship recipient, "^" represents Nancy Ritchie Memorial Scholarship recipient, "+" represents Nancy Huntley-Kraus Scholarship recipient
