By: Christina Roskoph '21 and Athletic Communications Assistant, Louie Abounader
BEREA, Ohio – Communication Disorders is a topic with which most people are familiar with but do not know much about. Despite its relative unfamiliarity, Communication Disorders is a field whose importance cannot be discounted. That statement holds true for junior Baldwin Wallace University student-athlete Kaitlin McGuire (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland).
McGuire is a forward on the BW women's soccer team. She came to BW from Gibsonia, Pennsylvania in pursuit of an undergraduate degree in communication sciences and disorders, with hopes of someday becoming a speech pathologist. BW's communication disorders program caught McGuire's attention a long time ago.
Growing up with teachers as parents, McGuire was inspired from an early age to work with children with special needs, and to make differences in their lives. McGuire shared that her original plan was to be a teacher as well, but her parents influenced her to pursue a different path aside from teaching; speech pathology.
Deciding where to attend school is oftentimes a difficult decision for most students. However, BW became a number one choice for McGuire when she realized how interconnected earning her degree would be with continuing to play soccer.
BW women's soccer Head Coach Jim Wojtkun raved of McGuire's abilities on the field, as well as her personality off the field. He knew, from the moment of her campus visit, that she was a perfect fit for the soccer program. Although it is important to be serious about your career and the sport in which one competes in, McGuire also realizes how important it is to love the two and have fun while learning everyday. Her personality on the field projects straight into a soft skill essential for working in communication disorders.
"Kaitlin has a dynamic personality," Wojtkun added. "Her fun-loving nature serves as a great release for the women. In her measured goofiness, she keeps the team loose and is incredibly fun to be around."
Each semester at BW, McGuire is making more strides towards her ideal career. Last semester, she cared for three pediatric clients.
"I worked with one of them on play skills and the functions that apply to that, because he was younger and going into preschool," McGuire explained. "With another client, I worked on language issues such as answering questions and differentiating between questions. For another patient, I worked with them on some nasal issues that they had with their voice."
A common misconception people have towards speech pathology is that it will ultimately lead to working within a school or clinic and help with the pronunciation of sounds. McGuire explained that speech pathologists can actually do a lot more, and work in a realm of settings such as hospitals, schools, private clinics, or as a private practice. She also mentioned that communication disorders careers encompass swallowing disorders, voice disorders, and even memory and cognitive impacts from various types of brain injuries. Although her professional interests lie within working with children with special needs, the field is not limited to just working with children, as infants up to geriatrics require speech-pathological assistance as well.
This semester McGuire is continuing to take on new clients. In the midst of her soccer season, she continues caring for patients, while simultaneously gaining valuable experience in the profession. This semester alone, she has been working with a geriatric patient on voice production, memory, and attention. She has also been working with another client on learning simple social issues such as language and eye contact. McGuire acknowledges the rewarding nature of her chosen career and believes it is one of the primary motivators driving her goals.
"I have always enjoyed working with children with special needs," McGuire began. "It's not necessarily just about giving people what they need, but also helping them fit in, feel more comfortable and confident of their abilities. I think the social aspect is a major part of the work I am involved with and seeing their growth is what's most rewarding for me."
Over this past summer, McGuire worked as an aid in schools and summer camps with children with special needs. This allowed her to experience working with another side of speech pathology, like the social aspects of communication. After a rigorous two years of her undergraduate curriculum at BW and capitalizing on an opportunity to work at a special needs summer camp, McGuire is finally seeing her diligent work ethic pay off.
"Even though I am only a junior, all these classes and experiences are adding up and it turns out that I actually know a lot more than I thought," McGuire confirmed.
For someone studying communication sciences and disorders in their undergraduate curriculum, it is not atypical to enroll in graduate school. McGuire shared her plans following graduation from BW in 2021 and beyond.
"Ideally, I would like to go to the University of Pittsburgh because it is closer to home, and they have a really highly ranked graduate school program."
McGuire also shared that she is conducting research with BW's Dr. Ledwidge, in hopes that her work can steer her ahead in the right direction for success when applying for graduate school. While the need to pursue a graduate degree may defer her full-time entry into her chosen career, she is determined to realize her dreams and positively impact people's lives for the rest of her life.
