It's that time of year again. There are new faces around the office. One of our ongoing goals at speech IRL is training and mentoring opportunities. The two newest interns are joining us for the 2020 spring semester! You'll see them around the office working directly with clients and standing in a supportive role of practice as a whole. We welcome Aubrey Means of Northwestern University and Jordan Jansen of Rush University They have shared a bit about themselves with these mini-interviews.
Meet Audrey!
What non -SLP (speech language pathology) experience do you have? A few years ago I was an intern at an insurance company working in the claims department and the next year I worked at a tree nursery in the greenhouse. I really appreciated both experiences despite not being in my field of interest. I believe that I gained skills from my non-SLP jobs that I can apply to work in speech therapy (e.g., professionalism, interpersonal communication, time management, and work ethic) and having such a varied past work experience makes me a well-rounded person. Also, now I know that I chose the right field!
What excites you about becoming an SLP? There are a lot of things that excite me about becoming an SLP, but there are two things that motivate me the most. One, the fact that I will be able to make a difference in a person’s life and improve their quality of life. Communication is so important in everyday life and the idea that I have the privilege to give that gift to a client gets me through the day. Two, I discovered since beginning school in this area and explaining to everyone what I’m going to school for that I love advocating for speech therapy and educating others on what speech therapists do. I am hoping to continue to educate the general public, other health professionals, and parents/family about what we do.
Which type of clinical work have you found most enjoyable and/or interesting thus far? Why? I’ve enjoyed every clinical experience I’ve had so far, making future career choices a lot more difficult. Most recently, however, I was part of a team that evaluated children with suspected learning disabilities and I really enjoyed becoming a diagnostician. I value the experience I had on this team because I learned not only how to give a variety of standardized tests, but learning how to interpret the results of the test and figuring out what else I needed to know in order to make a diagnosis. I loved that age range of the children I evaluated and seeing how different each individual was from each other despite having similar deficits.
What type of clinical work are you most looking forward to experiencing during your speech IRL internship? During my internship I’m looking forward to working with a wide variety of clientele, but transgender voice and social communication interest me a lot and those areas are ones with which I haven’t had much experience. Also, I’ve worked a lot with clients on language and cognition, therefore I am looking forward to working with clients on articulation, voice, etc. to improve my perceptual skills. Overall, I’m looking forward to a lot of variety in my caseload in order to gain skills in many different areas that I can take with my in my future career!
As you head into this internship, what scares you the most? With any new experience comes a little bit of fear of the unknown, but I think mostly I am a bit worried about the increase in caseload from my on campus clinic to beginning this internship. I want to ensure that I am providing quality service to each client and that I am dedicating a proper amount of time to preparing for each session. I’m sure with experience and confidence this will not be an issue, but I can’t help but worry a bit!
Clinicians at speech IRL aim to honor our clients' journey by staying accountable to our own growth and living in a place of challenge. Please share one personal goal that you have for yourself during this internship, so that all of us (staff and clients!) can support you and celebrate your growth along the way. With any new experience comes a little bit of fear of the unknown, but I think mostly I am a bit worried about the increase in caseload from my on campus clinic to beginning this internship. I want to ensure that I am providing quality service to each client and that I am dedicating a proper amount of time to preparing for each session. I’m sure with experience and confidence this will not be an issue, but I can’t help but worry a bit!
Meet Jordan!
What non -SLP (speech language pathology) experience do you have?
For the past 8 years I’ve worked on many TV and film productions, like NBC Universal’s Chicago PD and Fox’s American Horror Story, moving from Chicago to Los Angeles and Atlanta. I basically moved wherever the work took me! I was a stand-in and photo double for most of that time but eventually I was hired by an LA based company to start an office for casting and extras coordinating in Chicago. A normal day included working with groups as large as 100 people, so communication was key! I also feel that working in different cities with people from many backgrounds strengthened my awareness of diversity and solidified the importance of qualities like inclusion and equity in my work.
What excites you about becoming an SLP?
What excites me the most about becoming an SLP is being able to give back to my Chicago community. My father and sister have been seeing SLPs long-term and I’ve personally witnessed the difference SLPs can make in an individual and family’s life. Helping people communicate and improve their quality of life through speech-language pathology seems to be the rewarding career I’ve been in search of.
Which type of clinical work have you found most enjoyable and/or interesting thus far? Why?
What excites me the most about becoming an SLP is being able to give back to my Chicago community. My father and sister have been seeing SLPs long-term and I’ve personally witnessed the difference SLPs can make in an individual and family’s life. Helping people communicate and improve their quality of life through speech-language pathology seems to be the rewarding career I’ve been in search of.
What type of clinical work are you most looking forward to experiencing during your speech IRL internship?
I’m most excited to experience working with transgender voice and social communication. I’ve observed a few sessions with transgender individuals and found that to be so inspiring and fun! I’d love to continue to explore voice work like that and help people find their most authentic voice. As well, I am very excited to work with adults on social communication and improving their pragmatic skills.
As you head into this internship, what scares you the most?
I’m only beginning my second semester of graduate school at Rush, so I’m a little intimidated with the responsibilities that I’m about to take on at speech IRL. There’s so much to learn and it’ll happen so fast, but I’m thrilled by the challenge! I know that when the internship is over, I will be so thankful for all the experiences I’ve had and everything I’ve learned in this beautifully unique environment.
Clinicians at speech IRL aim to honor our clients' journey by staying accountable to our own growth and living in a place of challenge. Please share one personal goal that you have for yourself during this internship, so that all of us (staff and clients!) can support you and celebrate your growth along the way.
My goal is to become more confident in my note and goal writing. I want to be able to do the paperwork as efficiently and timely as I’ve seen other experienced SLPs do it. I’ve already had the chance to admire some of the SLPs at speech IRL write their notes and I hope I can become just as skilled by the end of the internship! I welcome any and all critiques because I’m here to become the best SLP I can be.
