Name: Lauren Glowski
Hometown: Clarkston, Mich.
Graduation Date: May 2016
Company: Mercy Health Hauenstein Neuroscience Center
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Amount of time at internship: January-May 2016
How did you become interested in becoming a speech-language pathologist? During high school, I was interested in pursuing music therapy. However, as a freshman in college, I learned about speech-language pathology and the diversity of clinical settings and client populations within the field. I found that this career fit my personality and strengths and decided to change my path.
Tell us about your graduate school journey: For the past three years, I have really enjoyed working with Dr. Eric Hunter in the Voice Biomechanics & Acoustics Lab, which fostered my interests in both research and voice. Throughout grad school, I gained experience at a variety of settings, including Lansing School District in an autism program, Detroit Medical Center in outpatient pediatrics and Genesys Hospital in acute care. I was lucky to have the most incredible supervisors, who pushed me to expand my skills and fully embraced every situation. My ideal career setting has changed many times in the past two years, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn in many unique placements.
Describe the clinical setting and population you are working with at your current internship: I’m currently placed at Mercy Health Hauenstein Neuroscience Center in Grand Rapids. I am working with adults with neurological and neuromuscular disorders in the outpatient setting. Many of the patients on our caseload have Parkinson’s Disease and are receiving the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment. We also perform endoscopies to assess voice/vocal pathologies as well as videofluoroscopies to assess swallow function.
How has your internship helped prepare you for your career? This placement has helped prepare me for my career in many ways. I am able to gain experience with dysphagia diagnostics as well as instrumental voice assessments and treatment, which are areas I am interested in pursuing in the future. I also have been able to work with a new population of clients, which has been very rewarding so far. Additionally, the team at Mercy Health is extremely research-based. I have been expanding my knowledge and use of evidence-based practice, which will benefit me in my future career.