Chester native named to national speech, language and hearing organization board

Ellen Blechle, the daughter of Chris and Valerie Blechle of Chester, has been selected to represent the state of Missouri as a Student State Officer for the National Student Speech, Language and Hearing Association.

Blechle is a senior at Southeast Missouri State University majoring in communication disorders. As part of her educational journey Ellen is very actively involved in related programs and activities which will help foster her educational and career development.

One such endeavor was applying for the NSSLHA, which says it had a "record-breaking" number of applications from students across the country.

One student is selected from each state.

"I am very excited for this upcoming year and for my last semester as an undergraduate," Blechle said.

At SEMO Blechle is a member of the Alpha Phi Sorority. She is also active in Iota Chi, an organization that spreads awareness about sexual assault. She is also a member of the National Society for Leadership and Success.

Moreover, Blechle is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, which is open only to students in the Top 10% of their class. In addition, Blechle is a member of the Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society.

During her first three years at SEMO, Blechle was a cheerleader, appearing at all Redhawks football and basketball games. She also holds down two jobs, as a registered behavior technician at the University Autism Center for Diagnosis and Treatment, and as social coordinator at the Tailor Institute, a nonprofit that helps teach young adults with autism to live more independently.

Prior to beginning her college career at SEMO, Ellen attended Chester High School, graduating in 2017. At Chester she was a cheerleader and ran cross country and track all four years. She was a member of the Summit Chapter of the National Honor Society and was in Students Against Destructive Decisions, Spirit Squad, Swing Choir, the spring musicals, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and she was Homecoming Queen her senior year.

Ellen will graduate from SEMO in 2021 and looks forward to graduate school and then working in the field of communication disorders.