Sigma Alpha Iota

FALL 2022 43 S i g m a A l p h a I o t a Annual Philanthropies Awards D O C TO R A L G R A NT I N M E M O RY O F D O N N A H I E K E N HILARY YIP A l u m n a I NTERN ATI O N A L STU DY G R A NT FO R G R A D UATE STU D ENTS I N M E M O RY O F H A Z E L E. R I TC H E Y PARKER MILLSPAUGH A l p h a I o t a , U n i v e r s i t y o f O k l a h o m a , Z e t a B , R e g i o n I I P arker Millspaugh knows there's a world of music—literally—that she hasn't experienced. As a mezzo- soprano with a Bachelor of Music in Education, she's remained an active performer while finding ways to further advocate for the arts and music education. She's appeared regularly in operas, performing the roles of the Dorabella cover in Così fan tutte and La libellule in L'enfant et les sortilèges. During a production of e Scarlett Letter, opera composer Lori Laitman was highly complimentary of Millspaugh's performance as Mistress Hibbons. In addition to her work in productions, Millspaugh was an active participant in the university opera scenes, studying and performing from Les contes d'Hoffmann, La Cenerentola, and Too Many Sopranos. She was awarded first place in her division in the annual National Association of Teachers of Singing competition in 2020, and she was a finalist in the Roberto DeDimone Memorial Italian Aria Competition. Her love and pride for opera drives her to pursue a Master of Music in Vocal Performance at the Royal Conservatorie of Scotland. Under the direction of Karen Cargill, Millspaugh will transform her music into more than mere performance— she aims to create a more accessible opera industry, breaking down barriers to bring the form to a newer, younger audience. While in Scotland, she will be surrounded by cultural and musical diversity, plus musicians of all backgrounds and specialties Millspaugh served as Alpha Iota's President, Vice President-Ritual, and Editor, and is a recipient of the Sword of Honor and Ruby Sword of Honor. H ilary Yip is an Assistant Professor of Music erapy and Director of the Music erapy program at California State University, Northridge. A board-certified music therapist for over 11 years, she has provided clinical music therapy services in schools, communities, and hospitals with clients ranging from infants to older adults in Texas, Florida, and California. She has worked with individuals with autism and developmental delays, children with learning and communication disorders, patients receiving psychiatric services, adult oncology patients, and adults with Parkinson's Disease. In addition to music therapy, Hilary teaches adaptive piano and guitar lessons; she has also taught martial arts classes. She earned degrees from University of the Pacific (B.M. in Music erapy and B.A. in Psychology) and a Master of Music in Music erapy from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami Her research focuses on the impact of music and movement interventions to address motor differences of children with autism. Combining her background as a certified music therapist and trained martial artist, she designed her master's thesis to explore a rhythmic cueing and martial arts protocol for the motor skills in children with autism. e findings showed that children with autism significantly improved bilateral coordination and balance skills as well as significantly improved in performing simple and complex martial arts movements following a twice-weekly, month-long protocol; Hilary's study is the first to incorporate martial arts to explore the impact of the combination of music with martial arts. Hilary is currently working on her dissertation to complete a Ph.D. in Music Education with Music erapy emphasis from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. To provide support for applied research of using rhythm as an intervention to target skills in children with autism, her dissertation topic examines spontaneous motor tempo (SMT) and rhythmic entrainment abilities in children with autism. Hilary was initiated by the Eta Omega Chapter at the University of the Pacific and was affiliated with the Rochester Alumnae Chapter, as well as the Houston Alumnae Chapter. Her national involvement in SAI includes being the Multimedia Technology Director from 2013 to 2017, and serving on the 2015 National Nominating Committee, 2015 Officer Training Module Committee, 2015 Chapter Website Review Committee, and Diversity and Inclusion Task Force in 2020. She was appointed Lambda A Province Officer in 2016 and elected in 2018, serving for six years while in graduate school at the University of Miami. She is a recipient of a Collegiate Scholastic Award, Sword of Honor, and Ruby Sword of Honor.

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