Finding Motivation in Language

Despite her initial indecision about a major, Delaney Clark always knew she wanted to help people. This drive to make a positive impact first led her to a psychology major and linguistics minor and is now directing her attention to the science of speech-language pathology at the University of Kansas, where she will study primarily “speech production, the underlying causes of speech disorders, and the various therapeutic approaches used to treat them.” While at Iowa State however, her path brought her into contact with changing technologies, mainly the large language models (LLM) underlying generative AI.

In the spring semester of 2025, Clark was part of a research project called Dear ChatGPT, Fix My Essay… But Make It Me. This project centered around the value of LLMs in learning language and involved logging ChatGPT use among various English language learner groups, specifically in what prompts they entered and how they interpreted the responses. Clark’s role in the project was to “linguistically code and categorize the prompts and responses, which allowed the data to be organized and revealed how students’ prompting strategies changed over the course of eight weeks.”

According to Clark, this research project taught her a lot, not just about LLMs but about speech language pathology research. She learned how to work with graduate students and became more comfortable with common tools in the field. “Even though I was only involved for a semester, I saw the bigger picture of how much work had been done before and after my part in it,” said Clark. As a result, she’s entering the University of Kansas with more confidence in her knowledge of the field.

Clark’s advice for new undergraduates is that they take the time and engage in processes that help them to discover their own interior motivations; her drive to help people, after all, led her to find her passion. She encourages experimentation and exploration, suggesting that undergraduates “try to identify what will keep them motivated throughout four or more years of school.” This, according to Clark, is key to finding your preferred path in life. Then, once you’ve found your path, “invest yourself in the program and get involved however you can.” According to her, building connections through your personal investment is the key to finding more opportunities in life.