Degree/Year: Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders, 2018

Current Position: Speech Language Pathologist at The Bell Center for Early Intervention

 

After graduating from Samford, I received my Master of Arts in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Memphis. During this time, I gained clinical experience in various settings, including acute care, adult rehabilitation, schools and aural rehabilitation. I completed my clinical fellowship at The Bell Center, and I am beginning my second year at the center.

 

Samford prepared me for a career in a service profession through professors who modeled a service-oriented mindset every day in classes and around campus. Of course, our professors are knowledgeable about the field, but it is the motivation behind ‘why’ they wanted to teach us to serve our clients that stand out in my mind.

 

I have always wanted to work with children with special needs. After working as a camp counselor for a summer, I realized that I loved building one-on-one connections with the children. When Samford announced that they were starting an undergraduate program in communication disorders, I knew it was the perfect combination of my interests in science and education.

 

I chose Samford because I was looking for a small school where it would be easy to build connections with all the larger university opportunities. Plus, I toured during a thunderstorm while horribly cold. I figured it I liked Samford under those conditions, I would LOVE it on a better day.

 

Before starting graduate school, the best advice I got was, “you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time.” It can be overwhelming to balance everything, especially when you start clinicals. Tackle everything one step at a time and lean on the people around you for support.