SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: SLP is the right path for Howe
MINOT, N.D. – While deciding what to do as a career, Emma Howe knew she wanted to work with kids.
After doing job shadows in high school, she originally leaned towards audiology, but believed a career in speech-language pathology would allow her to follow her passion of working with children.
Fast forward to graduating with a degree in communication sciences and disorders and a future as a graduate student in Minot State’s speech-language pathology program, and Howe knows she made the right choice.
“I’ve always known I wanted to work with kids, and I didn’t want to teach. My little sister has hearing loss and with that experience, I was tending to think audiology,” she said. “I did a couple job shadows in high school and saw how SLPs are known to work more with children, where audiologists tend to work with adults, so I then started to lean towards SLP. After four years of undergrad, I now know that both professionals work with all ages and often collaborate with one another.”
The choice of universities for the Velva native was simpler than figuring out the specific career path, especially when it came to her selected major.
“I knew I wanted to stay close to home and stay close to family,” she said. “Minot was an obvious choice on location. But once I started looking at schools, I knew Minot State had a really good program. Once I got here, I loved it. All the activities on campus that get the students involved was great. The small class sizes where the professors know and care about you is a big thing for me.”
As she moved through the program at Minot State, working in the clinical setting and in the classroom, Howe realized she can still use her original love for audiology in the SLP setting.
"Audiology is still interesting to me, I have enjoyed learning about hearing tests and screenings,” she said. “In my future career I will possibly collaborate with audiologists for clients, so a small piece of audiology will always be a part of my career. After taking other classes, I really liked learning about how sounds are produced and how SLPs can teach kids to fix sounds if they have those errors. When the children come into the clinic, they get various tests including hearing, so I’ve been able to get to work on that. It’s something I think is really cool when we can change people’s lives.
“The clinic is such a great learning experience. This is the first year I had my own clients so it’s not just sitting in the classroom, but doing hands on work and applying what you have learned.”
Howe will start graduate school in the fall at MSU which is both exciting and intimidating. While the thought of two more years of school can be daunting at times, she is up for the challenge.
“I’m a little nervous starting grad school,” she said, “but it’s exciting to be able to get that experience here at Minot State.”
About Minot State University
Minot State University is a public university dedicated to excellence in education, scholarship, and community engagement achieved through
rigorous academic experiences, active learning environments, commitment to public service, and a vibrant campus life.
Published: 05/18/23
