December 7, 2020 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
Amy Douglass moved so many times growing up that she has stayed put in North Carolina for the past 16 years. But being tired of moving did not mean she was tired of learning. After 10 years in the finance industry and another 10 as a veterinarian technician, Douglass decided to return to school to pursue her dream to become a speech-language pathologist – and she did it all from her home in North Carolina while working a full-time job.
“I’ve always been highly intrigued by language – the very nature of how it develops, how it defines us as humans, and how it serves as the basis for human relationships,” Douglass says. “Throughout the decades, I have met many people impacted by communication disorders, and many of them have been able to regain the ability to communicate after receiving speech-language services.”
I’ve always been highly intrigued by language – the very nature of how it develops, how it defines us as humans, and how it serves as the basis for human relationships.
-Amy Douglass, Master of Communication Disorders 2020
Inspired by these individuals’ stories, Douglass initiated her career change in 2016. After completing prerequisite courses through a distance education program at Western Kentucky University, she looked for master’s programs that offered this same level of flexibility.
“Distance education has been an excellent fit for me as a full-time worker in a different career,” says Douglass, who enrolled in the Arnold School’s the Master of Communication Disorders (recently renamed Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology – Distance Education). “UofSC’s distance education delivery model carried a strong reputation for excellent academic and clinical experiences, and the Arnold School and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (COMD) are well-respected for ensuring successful student outcomes and for the level of support provided by faculty and administration.”
After three years in the program, Douglass can definitively say that the support and mentorship she received has far exceeded her expectations. The depth of her praise is too extensive to fully recount. Douglass is especially grateful for how the program’s leaders, distance education director Crystal Murphree-Holden and assistant director of eternal clinical practicum Joanna Scoggins, navigated the pandemic to ensure continued academic support and safe clinical placements.
“All of the faculty in the COMD department are mentors,” says Douglass, who found value in every interaction and every assignment in every class. “There is not a single professor who did not have a positive influence on my development.”
Distance education has been an excellent fit for me as a full-time worker in a different career.
-Amy Douglass, Master of Communication Disorders 2020
Douglass’ journey ultimately led her to find her ideal area of speech-language pathology: school-age literacy and aural rehabilitation. After her December graduation, she will work with middle schoolers at in a public school district in a rural community. This population is Douglass’ favorite because of the opportunity to help remediate language difficulties that may have gone detected in earlier grades. She also sees middle school as a crossroads for students to either embrace education opportunities or resent the difficulties associated with the challenges certain students face in education environments. She wants to help students have the former experience.
For those considering a career change to speech-language pathology and/or choosing distance education as the path to get there, she has some advice.
“If you are deeply involved in another career but strongly feel COMD may be your true path, don’t be afraid to explore the field – talk to professionals to learn more,” Douglass says. “Once you’ve decided to earn a graduate degree, don’t hesitate to pursue a distance education program. The education is equally enriching as an on-campus program, and my cohort formed strong relationships across a wide geographic distribution.”