December 1, 2025 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
Growing up in a rural part of the Lowcountry, Keandra Warren saw first-hand how the absence of specialized speech-language services can lead to community-wide disparities from an early age. At the same time, she also witnessed the power of the profession when it helped her mother regain her speech following a stroke.
“Participating in her rehabilitation program and seeing how communication can transform a person's life planted the seed for my career,” says Warren, who moved to the capital city after high school to study speech-language pathology at Columbia College and is currently a master’s student at the Arnold School. “As a first-generation student, finishing this degree is as much about honoring her strength and determination as it is about achieving my own goals.”
After graduating with her bachelor’s degree, Warren returned to her hometown to join a private practice that a local therapist had opened to help fill the gap in services. With two years of experience as a speech-language pathologist assistant, she began looking at graduate programs. The Arnold School’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (COMD) rose to the top of her list because of its approach to preparing students as clinical scientists whose training is grounded in evidence-based practices.
“This hands-on, research-integrated approach, from the on-campus clinic to going into the field to collect data for research, showed me that USC was the right place to gain the expertise needed to provide high-quality services in underserved areas,” Warren says. “The COMD program is rigorous, but the faculty and students are warm and welcoming and seeing the science come alive in the clinic and watching my skills grow has made the journey incredibly meaningful.”
Currently in the second year of the M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology program, Warren has already amassed clinical experience in outpatient, home health, and elementary school settings as well as the department’s onsite Montgomery Speech, Hearing, and Language Clinic. The Clinic’s director, Angela McLeod, has provided consistent, calm leadership that has kept Warren grounded, and the other clinical instructors like Catherine Stromberg, Laura Heidenrich, and Jamy-Claire Archer, have instilled confidence and critical clinical skills. As a graduate assistant in the South Carolina Research on Language and Literacy (SCROLL) Lab, Warren has found a mentor in its director, Suzanne Adlof, and a better understanding of how to use research to address disparities.
“I’m interested in how public health systems can support earlier screening and increase access to services while implementing community-based solutions that ensure equitable, high-quality care for every individual,” Warren says. “After graduating next year, I plan to return home to offer specialized services, such as pediatric feeding and swallowing, to help meet these needs.”
