By Keren Raskin and Molly Feder
As seniors about to end our undergraduate experience, we wanted to reflect on a major that we think is underrated here at Stern – the Speech Pathology and Audiology (SPAU) major. SPAU is a great field for students interested in a variety of areas like child development, rehabilitation, psychology, anatomy, medical disorders, and more. The SPAU major has taught us that communication is a gift that brings people together, and by helping someone communicate, we are helping them form meaningful relationships and connections with those around them.
One unique aspect of the SPAU major is its cohort formatting which creates a tight-knit community between peers. In the SPAU major, one has a set sequence of classes that they take beginning in the fall semester of their junior year. The SPAU major utilizes cohorts, meaning that there are two groups of students within the major: a group of juniors and a group of seniors. These cohorts run on the same timelines and course sequences, but the seniors are a year ahead of the juniors. Junior and senior cohorts can get to know each other and bond either informally within the SPAU club, or in a group chat that includes everyone. Every senior student is incredibly driven to help the cohort before us with any advice or material help, they can always reach out with questions! Therefore, as part of the SPAU major, there is no need to feel overwhelmed with registration, deciding which classes to take in the upcoming semester, or whether your later registration slot will lock you out of classes because courses are full. A SPAU major student can then take on registration with ease.
Cohorts are a significant highlight and meaningful aspect of our undergraduate experience. Having multiple classes with the same group of people each semester allows individuals in the SPAU major to meet other students and grants them the opportunity to get to know their classmates well. Because of this format, your time at Yeshiva University is transformed from an individual experience to a group experience that you go through with your fellow peers. You are able to grow comfortably with your peers and work alongside those you have formed a deep connection with. Moreover, SPAU majors have the unique ability to collaborate with each other and learn from the insights and perspectives of those around them. Additionally, creating a SPAU WhatsApp group chat specific to your cohort allows for sharing all your SPAU related jokes, ideas for matching sweatshirts, and serves as a platform for meeting colleagues for life. As Rebecca Friedman (SCW ‘24), a fellow senior and SPAU major, notes, “We’ve become friends and comfortable with one another. By combining all of our different perspectives and strengths, we are all eager to help each other out.” This advantage of the SPAU major is undoubtedly integral, allowing students to keep in touch and serve as resources for each other in the future. The cohort structure creates a close community between its members where we can not only enjoy getting to know one another, but also gain each other’s valuable perspectives.
Our faculty are all adjunct professors, meaning that they simultaneously work in the field and teach in Stern. Therefore, they provide us with practical and applicable information in real-time as they are working clinicians who also chose to teach the next generation of aspiring Speech Pathologists. For example, when the current senior cohort was taking Anatomy and Physiology for SPAU majors, the professor at the time had vast experience with swallowing disorders and cognitive-linguistic disorders, therefore the content of the class was brought to life by our professor’s own clinical experience. Personally (Keren), this fostered my growing interest in working with clients who have obtained traumatic brain injuries, and as a result, experience cognitive-linguistic challenges. This professor shared her experiences in helping her clients improve their cognitive functions through treatments targeting memory, attention, and problem solving, making note of the current relevant material we were learning in class at the time.
Along with their expertise, the SPAU faculty is extremely helpful and caring. Eliana Steinberg (SCW ‘25), a student in the junior SPAU cohort shared, “Transitioning into this new and niche major was made easy through the knowledgeable and supportive teachers.” They encourage students to make meetings with them and to speak with students in order to help them best succeed in their time here at YU. On a personal note, Professor Granik was my (Molly) thesis mentor for the Honors program here at Stern, where she helped me navigate the entire process from start to finish, and ensured that I never felt lost or overwhelmed. She guided me through expanding my ideas, articulating them coherently, and made suggestions as to where I could improve my study. She asked how I was feeling throughout the entire process and helped me reach all my deadlines.
Regarding the graduate school application process, our faculty is very involved and hands-on. They offer their valuable perspectives, advice, and insights into the field. They are open to reviewing your Statement of Purposes, brainstorming ideas with you, writing recommendation letters, and helping you choose which school is the best fit for you. Although other resources are helpful for looking over applications, utilizing our SPAU faculty is a major strength of our major since the professors know each student, some even for multiple semesters. The professor who reviewed my (Molly’s) essay noticed that my personality was not fully coming through. Since they care to get to know their students, they can discern details like these and help us present ourselves in our essays as best as possible. They are determined to use their resources and time to guide us through our undergraduate experience and successfully apply to graduate school.
Honestly, when we chose the SPAU major, we didn’t know all the different things that a speech therapist is involved with. Funnily enough, our original glimpse into our future careers involved only the classic clinician helping a preschooler learn how to pronounce their “r” sound correctly! However, the field of Speech Pathology and Audiology is extremely large.
Speech Pathology is very flexible, meaning that you can choose to work full time, part time, or however many days of the week you wish. You can also work in many different types of settings, such as schools, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation centers, private practices, and more. You can help an individual with special needs work on their social skills, a student with dyslexia, an adult work on their language after a traumatic brain injury, a child with a cleft lip, or help a newborn baby with feeding and swallowing. When a patient is diagnosed, there is uncertainty as they transition to their new “normal.” As clinicians, we have the ability to alleviate their nerves as much as possible as we work to set appropriate goals and help them progress through their challenges. We have the ability to create impactful changes in our client’s lives. With the great range in our field, clinicians can be there for clients in many areas of their lives, coaching and guiding them through whatever obstacle they may be facing. At the same time, you can always switch jobs to a different area of the field to keep things fresh and exciting. There is always room to learn new things and to specialize in an area you find particularly rewarding or fascinating.
Not only is there room for personal growth and gaining knowledge, but there is also an incredible amount of opportunities to work with other professionals in various fields, including teachers, educators, doctors, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and much more. Working with other professionals creates an environment where knowledge is shared amongst individuals, creating a space for new perspectives to develop. Collaborating with others cultivates an atmosphere centered on giving and a community that works toward reaching the goal of providing the best possible care for the client.
While in Stern, we have had the privilege of working with both students and professors within two main areas of the SPAU field informally, the SPAU Club and National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA).
The SPAU club is available to any student interested in the field, and provides informal and fun education relating to the field. Activities are planned to increase awareness of different areas of the field and bonding between students after classroom hours. Specifically, this club hosted an event with a wide panel of current graduate students as well as working clinicians who were available to relay their thoughts, feelings, and advice on specific graduate programs as well as their personal experiences in the field to YU students. Current undergraduate students had the opportunity to ask questions and gain much appreciated insight into graduate school options and clinical experiences from fellow Speech Pathology enthusiasts. This opportunity allows for additional perspectives and advice given from those more experienced in the field than the undergraduate students; allows for new and fresh perspectives to be heard and taken into consideration that we may not have thought about before.
NSSLHA is a formal pre-professional organization for undergraduate and graduate students interested in the study of communication sciences and disorders, and recognized by the official ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) organization. This platform provides a space for undergraduate and graduate students to interact, socialize, and collaborate with each other within the field of Speech Pathology. By participating in NSSLHA, you are able to get a glimpse into the world of graduate school as you attend meetings beside graduate school students. Despite still being an undergraduate student, you can run and be elected to different roles within the NSSLHA chapter of YU’s Katz Speech Language Pathology graduate school program. This gives us the opportunity to have a voice and gain leadership skills within our professional community.
Taking all this into consideration, who wouldn’t want to be part of the SPAU major? It is a really great opportunity to learn a lot, make great friends, and be part of an extremely meaningful career. Our field extends far beyond helping pronounce letters correctly. Rather we give individuals the tools they need to communicate with others to the best of their abilities. This allows them to utilize language in a way that helps them bond with family members, friends, and even strangers who they interact with, like the cashier at the grocery store. We provide individuals with the abilities to create connections with those around them. What can be a more rewarding field?