Mandy Velasquez, 2nd Year AuD Student

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville

BS, May 2006, Texas Christian University

Unlike most students I've met in the field of communication sciences and disorders, I have known from an early age what I wanted to do "when I grow up." At 14 years old, the field sought me out. In 1996, my then 14-month-old niece, Kennedy, was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss. By 1997, she received a cochlear implant and began intensive auditory-verbal therapy. I attended many therapy sessions with Kennedy and my sister, and soon found myself conducting my own "speech time" at home. I would sit my willing pupil down, grab a toy, and begin to mimic the techniques I had closely observed. By the age of 18, I knew I had a "knack" for auditory-verbal therapy, and I began my undergraduate career at Texas Christian University (TCU) to pursue my bachelor's degree in Speech-Language Pathology. At TCU, I was incredibly fortunate to have hands-on clinical practicum in not only speech-language pathology, but also aural habilitation and audiology. Through these experiences, I was able to fully understand the field of audiology, and with complete confidence, I decided to pursue my AuD.

Now, I am a 2nd-year AuD student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and I have the "best of both worlds", as I like to say. Not only am I able to see hearing impaired patients in our audiology clinic, I am also providing auditory-oral therapy to children with hearing aids and cochlear implants. There is nothing more rewarding than being able to provide patients with the devices and skills to "hear" and "listen." While I truly enjoy every aspect of audiology, it is in pediatric audiology and aural habilitation that I have found my passion in life. Whether it is the infant who startles to her mother's voice, or the fifth grader who can now easily converse in a noisy cafeteria, it is always incredibly fulfilling to be a part of a patient's "hearing journey."

Audiology is not a far cry from my initial plan six years ago to become a speech-pathologist, and it certainly still allows me to be able to help children learn to listen. Kennedy, now age 12, has been my inspiration through it all. I've seen her evolve into an incredibly intelligent and talented young woman and I am proud to boast that she is a star athlete, leading actress, and honor roll student at a prestigious junior high school in Miami, Florida. Our family knows that her success would not be possible without the audiologists who routinely MAP her and the speech-pathologists who provided therapy all those years ago. I am blessed to have witnessed Kennedy's amazing journey, and I eagerly count the days until I am able to do for others what others did for her and our family.