Meet Seva Reilly. She’s one of the more than 900 students at the College of Health Professions and Sciences who will cross the commencement stage this week and begin the next chapter of her educational and professional journey. In addition to being a Burnett Honors College student and a U-LEAD Scholar, Reilly is a Knight of Distinction, which recognizes academic accomplishments and professional and civic achievements in the world beyond the classroom.
Seva Reilly
Hometown: Sanford, FL
Degree: Communication Sciences and Disorders (B.S)
Minor in Psychology
Certificates in Leadership Studies and Human Resources
What will you be doing after graduation?
Post-graduation, I am continuing my work at the ASD Adult Achievement Center, a nonprofit that provides education and life skills classes for adults with autism spectrum disorder! I will be working as a job coach one-on-one with participants with a vocational rehabilitation plan as they seek integrated, competitive, and meaningful employment.
What are your long-term career plans?
Long-term, I know I want to work in a position that allows me to advocate for my clients. I plan to take the rest of 2023 off from school, gain experience, and refine what field of therapy I would like to study for my master’s and licensure in.
What accomplishment from your time at UCF are you most proud of?
I am most proud of growing the Aphasia Family into a sustainable and impactful community group for members with aphasia. I started volunteering with Aphasia Family in Fall 2019 and have served in almost every student officer role, guiding our group’s volunteers to create the environment and activities fostering a safe, fun, and relationship-driven group for adult stroke survivors with aphasia. I also forged several of our partnerships, such as inviting Playback UCF (an improv theatre troupe) to perform with our members and facilitate real-time story-sharing. Becoming friends and truly “family” with the members of Aphasia Family has forever touched my heart and humbled me. I am proud of the many semesters and hours I have invested in the group – I would do it again in a heartbeat.
What did you love the most about your time at UCF?
Opportunities abound! UCF is enormous, but if you do your research and explore, you find niche groups of people with very similar interests and goals. Volunteering with Aphasia Family is a great example. I also joined a UCF waltz/jazz/swing dance club.
What was your favorite class, professor, or experience at CHPS and why?
The CHPS professor with a special place in my heart is Dr. Lauren Bislick (PhD, CCC-SLP, CBIS). She is the Director of the Aphasia and Related Conditions (ARC) Research Lab, an assistant professor, and the interim Director of Aphasia House. She invited me to become her research lab coordinator in 2021. She has given me the opportunity to grow professionally, interacting with our research participants and developing community outreach projects. She is not only incredibly knowledgeable about the complex issues that individuals with communication disorders face, but she is kind, patient, wise, and sincerely invested in the research assistants in her lab. It has been an honor to work with her!
