Alannah is a freshman Pre-COSD major. She chose COSD because she had been exposed to speech-language pathology since a young age. She received speech services as a child and her mother works as a physical therapy assistant. People, especially those with disabilities, have a special place in Alannah’s heart and she wants to make people’s lives better. She enjoys working with both children and senior citizens and sees herself working either in a special education classroom or in a group home for adults. She belives a career in speech-language pathology would be fulfilling because she describes herself as a people person who wants to make an impact on her patients. Alannah has a genetic disorder called Classic Galactosemia. This condition causes difficulty with digesting dairy but can affect patients in other ways. Her twin sister also has Classic Galactosemia and her family noticed how Alannah has a softer and breathier voice while her twin sister has a louder voice. She therefore wants to research whether Classic Galactosemia plays a role in these vocal differences and whether the condition can affect other speech patterns. She likes to hang out with her friends and family, play with her service dog Mimi, and write and sing her own songs. In the next 5-10 years, Alannah sees herself finishing up undergrad and attending Radford for graduate school where she can eventually find a good job and change people’s lives for the better. 

Shannon is a Radford University alum who graduated with her Masters, in COSD, in 2014. Before coming to Radford, she completed her undergrad at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has been an SLP for 6 years and is the owner of Speechy Musings. Speechy Musings is a blog and store tailored to helping SLPs be effective clinicians and provides insight for growth in their career. Shannon has had the opportunity to work in a variety of settings throughout her career and she loves the variety. She first worked in a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic and then transitioned into a school setting. She worked with elementary and preschoolers and eventually saw herself working with middle school students. She currently works per diem at a variety of pediatric settings. She enjoys being an SLP because she loves the children she’s been able to work with and enjoys the fast-paced nature of the job. She never finds herself bored and feels like there is always more to learn to continue growing as a professional. In her free time Shannon enjoys being outside and traveling. She hikes several times a week and uses every opportunity she can to travel somewhere new.