Graduate SHUdent Spotlight: Why I Chose SHU to Get my Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology

You were at SHU for your undergraduate career; what made you want to stay at SHU?

The main reason I wanted to stay at SHU is the faculty and staff. When I was deciding where I should apply for graduate school, someone told me to think about which aspects of my education are in my control. To earn my certification, I needed to attend an accredited program and learn the required material, but the people who taught the material I had some control over. The faculty and staff at SHU are incredible, and there’s no other people I would rather learn from.

How and why did you choose your program?

I have always had two passions in life: performing and helping people. When I was trying to decide what I should study, these two factors played a major role. My cousin, who is an SLP, introduced me to the profession. One of the fields “Big 9 Areas,” or scopes of speech, is voice. As an SLP, I could continue both of my passions by working with performers and helping them get the most from their voice, helping them recover if something happens to their voice and continuing to have a piece of performance in my life.

What do you like about your program so far? What are some of the highlights?

I really like that we use a cohort model for our program. This means that when I was taking my adult-focused courses, I was seeing adult clients at the same time. This provides students with a strong grasp of the material, because as you learn, you are seeing it firsthand with clients at the same time. Also, when you graduate from the SHU program, you are eligible for an educator’s certificate for Connecticut. Therefore, if I ever decide I want to work in a school, I will have already completed all the requirements to do so.

Why would you suggest this program to others?

There are many reasons. The first would be the incredibly supportive faculty and staff within the communication disorders department. Everyone in the department makes themselves available to help students and support them through classes and clinical. The second is the clinical experiences. As a first-semester student, I started working with clients the third week of the program. Starting so early, with an immense amount of support, has prepared me to start a clinical externship in a hospital in just my third semester.

What type of job do you hope to get after graduation?

In a perfect world, I would get to work with a balance of medical SLP and voice. I would like to be in a hospital working with patients on their language, cognition and swallowing. In addition to the hospital, I would like to work with transgender people to help them have a voice that matches who they truly are.

For more information about this program, schedule a meeting with Cristen Meehl, or reach out at meehlc@sacredheart.edu.

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