One of the fascinating things about this job is that you can work in so many different settings and with so many different types of people. And if you get tired of one thing, you can go into another area without having to get a different degree.

The role of a speech-language pathologist is to work with children and adults who display the full range of human communication disorders. Our job is to assess and treat speech, language and swallowing disorders in individuals from infancy through geriatrics.

Treatment isn't a quick fix, so you have to have a positive outlook and be able to keep people motivated and excited as they progress through the whole process.

Speech includes fluency, articulation, and voice. Language involves how people organize their thoughts and ideas to express themselves and how they understand spoken words and messages. Feeding and swallowing treatment addresses the needs of individuals who were born with or have developed feeding and swallowing problems typically due to neurological conditions.

We never had any doubts about that. It just meant too much to us.

It's our first game back home, and we're pumped up and ready to go. Coach said it's like a new season once we get back. It begins with Tulane.