Meet Tai Yona Z Lewis: she’s a human development and family sciences major in the School of Human Ecology. She’s also a speech consultant at UT’s Public Speaking Center, a program operated by the Sanger Learning Center. As a speech consultant, Tai helps students prepare and rehearse their presentations.

Before becoming a speech consultant, Tai worked as an Outreach and Communication Specialist for the Sanger Learning Center. She presented workshops and overviews of the Sanger Learning Center to organizations, classes, and First-year Interest Groups all over the Forty Acres. Tai has presented study tips, reading strategies, and time management skills to hundreds of Longhorns, helping them reach their academic goals.

Since her promotion to the Public Speaking Center, Tai has dedicated herself to supporting as many students as she can. This spring, Tai traveled to the University of North Carolina-Greensboro for the annual National Association of Communication Centers conference, where she presented her paper, Don’t Fear Your Voice, on a panel with speech consultants from across the country. Tai’s paper discussed effective strategies to help students with speaking anxiety like cognitive modification, mindfulness, and early onset practice.

“I had a great time at the conference and I hope more speech consultants are able to experience the conference in the future. I learned so many new practices from students in public speaking centers all over the country that I hope we can implement here at UT’s Public Speaking Center.”

Tai plans to continue working at the Public Speaking Center until she graduates. “I enjoy finding new areas for growth and improvement. It’s incredible to be able to see your work make a difference in the lives of students all over campus. I can’t wait to see our center grow.”