Assistant professor of music therapy Nicole Hahna was awarded the Mid-Atlantic Region American Music Therapy Association (MARAMTAS) Service Award at the 2017 MAR-AMTA conference, which was held in Rochester, NY last month.
“I have volunteered service to the music therapy profession on a state, regional and national level,” Hahna said. “I have been working, volunteering and researching in this field since 2009.”
Next week, Hahna will be presenting music therapy research work in Harrisburg as part of a volunteer project.
“This project at the capital is a volunteer opportunity on the state level,” Hahna said.
Aside from the work that Hahna does for Slippery Rock University, she is also the student advisor for the MARAMTAS and assembly delegate. Hahna said that being an advisor allows her to coordinate student scholarships and conferences.
She also is a representative on the Student Affairs Advisory Board (SAAB) as well as a chair for the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) as a council coordinator for professional practices. While representing AMTA, Hahna gets to coordinate the top music therapy research awards for students.
Hahna is the co-chair of the Pennsylvania task force for the group, with the position being volunteer-based.
“Every school has a president and chapter representatives,” Hahna said. “All of the representatives vote for a regional executive board, and I was elected the MARAMTAS executive board advisor.”
Hahna did not nominate herself for the 2017 service award, but instead was nominated by the regional president with a secret ballot. She was unaware of her nomination until later on in the process.
In order for Hahna to be selected as the winner of this award, the regional president submitted a summary of Hahna’s service done at a regional and national level.
Hahna was awarded the Changemakers Award from the American Music Therapy Association in 2015, prior to winning her most recent award about a month ago at the conference in Rochester.
