Name: Ashley Buza
Hometown: Woodhaven, Mich.
Graduation Date: May 2017
Company: Saginaw ISD, Chesaning Union Schools
Location: Big Rock Elementary in Chesaning, Mich.
Amount of time at internship: January-April 2016
How did you become interested in becoming a speech-language pathologist? In high-school, I knew I wanted to work in a field that allowed me to have a positive impact on the lives of others. I enjoyed working with kids and had always been interested in becoming a teacher. My sister, who is a speech-language pathologist in a school setting, suggested I look into special education. I loved the idea of working with children with special needs. I shadowed my sister at her job and quickly realized I wanted to become a speech-language pathologist. I enrolled at Eastern Michigan University pursuing both of my passions, teaching and speech-language pathology.
Tell us about your graduate school journey: After graduating from EMU with a bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology and elementary education, I was fortunate enough to work at an elementary school for a year and a half as a response-to-intervention teacher. At the school, I gained knowledge and experience working with a fantastic teaching staff and the school speech-language pathologist. I was ecstatic when I received my acceptance letter to the M.A. program at MSU. The program offers a unique opportunity to intern at four different, off campus sites to gain real-world experiences in a variety of settings. I am thankful to be part of a supportive program and look forward to my future course work and clinical experiences.
Describe the clinical setting and population you are working with at your current internship: Currently, I am an intern at Big Rock Elementary in Chesaning, Michigan. In this placement, my supervisor and I work with preschool through second grade. We primarily do pull-out therapy, focusing on articulation, language, voice and fluency. We also have the opportunity to do push-in therapy in the school’s early childhood special education program. This program services a variety of children, ages 3 - 5, with special needs such as hearing impairment, cognitive impairment, Autism and developmental delays. In addition, I will be working with a student who is learning to use an augmentative and alternative communication device.