| Recently,
we had the opportunity to have a wonderful young gentleman come
to our facility for a few months to shadow our Speech Pathologist
as a requirement for his degree at South Carolina State University.
This is Mr. Wally Vaughn Jr.'s letter that was submitted to his
school's newspaper:
The
following is taken from the Focal Point section of the South Carolina
State University Newspaper:
Seven
years ago, I initiated my journey in discovering how I intended
to make my meaningful contribution to society. So, here I was, sitting
in University 101, staring out of the window wondering why freshman
could not have their own cars, and simultaneously marveling at how
I was so fortunate as to be the only gentleman in a class of 23.
Little
did I know that I was at home. I was on the top floor of the South
Carolina State University (SCSU) Speech and Hearing Clinic. That
very classroom, among many, was where I was to be educated on the
finer aspects of the profession. For four years, SCSU harnessed
and groomed me. They took a ball of endless energy and fashioned
him into a professional. The fruits of their labors were made known
in 2005 when I passed the National Examination as an undergraduate
and was awarded the Jennifer B. Mungo Student of the Year Award.
That
was the year David Simmons was the chairperson of the SCSHA Convention.
I was in awe! There actually are men in this profession! I took
it upon myself to notify my department chair and clinical director,
Dr. Gwendolyn Wilson and Dr. Harriette Gregg, respectively, that
this man was going to supervise my final clinical practicum, a decision
that would varnish my professional carapace.
After
completing my undergraduate degree, I returned to SCSU to pursue
my masters degree, and in June of 2007, I went to Mount Pleasant
Manor to complete my final practicum under Mr. Simmons. As he informed
me that I would be taking quizzes, a mid-term and a final as well
as have daily responsibilities, I questioned what I had gotten myself
into. How could my fellow alum do this to me? I pouted to myself
that this was unfair and was not what I had bargained for, not to
mention the daily hour commute from Orangeburg to Charleston. I
had to make it back for my evening classes.
Soon
I became well versed with the nursing home protocols as well as
the appropriate terminology, clinical activities, therapy rounds
and daily housekeeping routines. Towards the end of my tenure, I
interviewed for a position at Wayne Memorial Hospital in Goldsboro,
North Carolina. I was able to walk in at ease and unhesitant, firmly
believing in myself and what I had been taught by Mr. Simmons and
all of the professors at SCSU. Since, I have relocated to Goldsboro
and am currently waiting to receive my license from the North Carolina
Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology.
This
is my letter of thanks. I would like to thank the staff at SCSU
Speech and Hearing Clinic, Mr. David Simmons and the entire South
Carolina Speech Language Hearing Association for being the bricks
in my path to success. Although I have relocated to North Carolina,
South Carolina will always be in my heart.
Wally
G. Vaughn, Jr.
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