Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Where did you go to school?
I went to Jefferson City High School. I went on to Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri for my Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders and minors in Psychology and Disability Studies. From there, I continued at the University of Kansas Medical Center for my Doctorate in Audiology (Au.D.). Why did you want to become an audiologist?
I knew in high school that I wanted to go into a helping profession in the healthcare field. I started college thinking I wanted to be a speech-language pathologist. Speech-language pathology and audiology have a lot of overlap; in fact, it is the same undergraduate degree. When I took my first introduction to audiology class, I realized that audiology was going to be my true love. I love the mix of math and science with psychology and counseling. It is a very fulfilling profession. I love being able to help people improve their communication abilities and make a difference in so many lives. What is your favorite area of audiology?
It’s hard to pick one favorite. I really enjoy both the diagnostic and rehabilitative sides of audiology. It’s fun to put together the pieces of the puzzle to figure out what is going on with a patient. I also enjoy the rehabilitation side of working with patients to figure out how I can best help them. Another passion of mine is the specialty area of auditory processing disorders. An auditory processing disorder involves difficulty with hearing in the absence of a true hearing loss. Auditory processing encompasses how our brain processes what we hear. When these types of difficulties are present, we have specific evaluations and therapy to remediate the difficulties. This is also a rewarding area of audiology for me. It is really fun to work alongside patients in this type of therapy. At what office(s) do you work?
I currently work at our Merriam, Legends, and Lakewood locations. Now some fun questions! What’s your favorite television show?
Gilmore Girls, Friends, and Wheel of Fortune are my favorite shows! If you could bring back any fashion trend, what would it be?
I really liked the slip-on leather clogs that we used to wear. So easy and comfortable!
If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
I would love to be at the beach! Beaches and palm trees make me very happy. Hawaii, Florida, anywhere in the Caribbean all sound wonderful to me!
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