The NAU Review — Capturing conversations, getting to know a PT professor and where to volunteer

 Dec. 5, 2023

Between school papers, social media, texts, news reports, speeches, blogs and podcasts, Americans record billions of words in a year. But billions more are lost—the language we use in conversation among friends and family, to the grocery clerk or Uber driver and our walking partners. Researchers in the Applied Linguistics program are leading the creation of the largest-ever corpus of American English conversation, which could change what we understand about this most basic register of language.

John Heick’s road to healthcare began in third grade, when his mother fell off her bike and he rushed to help her. After time as an Air Force EMT and a lot of school, he became a physical therapist and a PT professor—a lifetime of experience that pays off in the classroom.

As the semester comes to an end, the VP of Inclusive Excellence encourages the campus community to connect, reflect and focus on the things that are important to us, wishing all who celebrate a joyous holiday season and a healthy and happy start to 2024.