Laura Bauman understands the keys to communication whether she’s overseeing the modern technology used to talk to clandestine soldiers out in the field or identifying speech and voice disorders that prevent people of all ages from communicating properly with the world around them.
Three years ago, the speech-language pathology (SLP) graduate student traded the impersonal satellite and video feeds of a network engineer for Department of Defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton for the personal interaction she gets to experience daily as an aspiring speech-language pathologist.
“I found the government defense work stimulating and challenging, but I felt something lacking from my professional career,’’ says Bauman, who has an undergraduate degree from Penn State University in information sciences and technology."
“After much research, observation and soul searching, I found myself drawn to the field of speech-language pathology. I was interested in attending a smaller institution with more individualized attention. I was also excited to work under two great names in our field, Dr. Glen and Dr. Cari Tellis."
MU offers students like Bauman distinctive classroom and clinical experiences in the five-year master’s degree program. While SLP provides students the opportunity to gain extensive clinical experience in the Speech-Language and Hearing Center on campus, it also sometimes reinforces a student’s career path.
“One of my first clients at our clinic was a little girl with profound speech and language delays,’’ says Bauman, who has a 4.0 grade point average as a graduate student. “She also had compounding social and emotional problems, so working with her was very difficult for me at first. I remember one session in particular where I broke through and she began producing word after word with me — even pronouncing two-word phrases.
“It was so amazing,’’ she adds. “I honestly feel that her language breakthrough was a direct result of my work with her."
Those feelings of accomplishment can also be extended to external professional settings. MU requires graduate SLP students to complete 400 hours of external clinical experience at prestigious facilities, like Hershey Medical Center, Moss Rehabilitation Hospital, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network and Johns Hopkins University Hospital.
“It’s not about how many experiences the students have, but the quality of the experience and how those hours are spent servicing different populations,’’ explains Cari Tellis, Ph.D., assistant professor of SLP at MU.
“The more challenging the experience the more the student learns and the more equipped the student is to become an independent, high-quality SLP."
For Bauman, the recently completed summer was filled with untold learning opportunities on both the personal and professional levels during her Fieldwork II experience at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. The hospital’s Head and Neck Cancer Department provided her with the intellectually stimulating learning environment she sought and an opportunity to display her skills.
“I cannot explain how excited and relieved I was when I found out I would be going to Johns Hopkins," the graduate student says. “I really desired a challenging and unique experience — and I definitely found one. I felt privileged and, admittedly, a bit anxious.
“I wanted to make myself and my school proud, displaying all I have learned at MU. It was difficult becoming accustomed to the head and neck cancer population and all the knowledge that is required when working with this population. I learned so much in such a short time. The experience of relying completely on your skills and knowledge in such a sensitive population is intense, but invaluable," adds Bauman.
In the head and neck cancer department, Bauman worked to preserve and restore voice and swallowing for both pre-operative and post-operative patients throughout their cancer treatments. She also treated a number of outpatients in varying areas from chronic voice disorders to acquired neurogenic disorders.
“We were very fortunate to get a placement for Laura at Johns Hopkins," adds Dr. Cari Tellis. “The experience she was able to have at the hospital with the medical professionals and the different population of patients was priceless. It takes a student like Laura to accept a challenge and be so successful with it."
Bauman’s Fieldwork III clinical in the fall semester will be completed at the Lab School of Washington in Washington, D.C., which provides an innovative arts-based program for intelligent students with moderate to severe learning disabilities, according to the school.
The daughter of John and Janet Bauman of Dallas also served as Dr. Cari Tellis’ graduate research assistant for two years, gaining valuable experience into the complexities of research and co-presenting at several national conferences with her mentor.
“Misericordia has definitely provided the individualized attention I was seeking," Bauman says. “Professors and staff alike were always ready to offer their expertise, help and guidance. I always felt at home at Misericordia and felt a part of the community. I was able to land amazing internships and research opportunities with the help of my professors."
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