Finished!

I can't believe I am finally FINISHED. The past two years of graduate school have been the most challenging yet most rewarding times of my life. I am so so thankful for the opportunity I was given to be part of the Ole Miss CSD Graduate Class of 2013.  I am relieved. I am proud. I am excited. ..and still a little in denial. Haha. I'm not sure I truly 100% realize that I am DONE with school forever. That may be something that takes a little while to grasp.

I am so so excited for the next chapter in my life. I am no longer a student but a working professional. I am proud of the career I have chosen and am proud to call myself a speech-language pathologist. I cannot wait to start my career!

My first day as an SLP will be May 28th, 2013! I seemed to have landed my DREAM job right out of graduate school. I have found myself asking "Is this real life?" more than once...

I am joining a private practice in Germantown, TN. Janna Hacker & Associates. So far this seems like a WONDERFUL practice, and I cannot wait to join their team of SLPs! I will be working mostly with pediatric clients and "occasionally" an adult client. I will be doing many different kinds of therapy and working with many different types of syndromes. It will be challenging but rewarding work. 

I will work a few days of the week at our "in house" clinic and then will also be in one of the private schools in Shelby county. I actually got to hand pick the private school I will *most likely* be working at, and I am so excited to be at this school! 

One of my professors asked us to write a short summary of our grad school experience and what our future holds...

Here is what I wrote and it still holds true:

"As I reflect on my graduate school career, I am overwhelmed by how far I have come. I can remember anxiously sitting in my first graduate school class.  I can remember nervously preparing for my  first therapy session. There were so many expectations, and I wondered if I really had what it would take.  Twenty-one classes and about one million therapy sessions later, the answer is yes! I did have what it would take! The knowledge and skills I have acquired, as well as the friendships I have made and the support I have received from my family, are invaluable to me. I am proud of all that I have accomplished and will forever be grateful for my time at Ole Miss.

As for the future, I’m not exactly sure what is in store. I am excited to be starting a job in a much larger city full of new opportunities. I know that twenty-four is so young, and I still have so much learning and growing to do. I am excited to find my place in this new city and to find my place in our professional world."

Amy Simmons, M.S. CF-SLP  

(I will do another post with pictures soon!)