When she was in high school, Lauren Bevan, MS ‘17, babysat for a woman who worked as a speech-language pathologist (SLP). The woman suggested that even at that young age, Bevan would be a great fit for that profession.
“I thought I might like SLP, so I just did it,” said Bevan.
And, now she’s Salus University Alumni Association’s 2024 SLP Alumna of the Year. Bevan and other alumni of the year award recipients from the various programs at Salus were honored at the University’s Annual Recognition Reception, held June 2, 2024, at Pinecrest Country Club in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.
Growing up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Bevan received a bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2013 from Penn State. She then took a gap year and worked in a speech pathology private practice.
Bevan found getting into graduate school competitive but she really liked the interview process at Salus and that gave her the confidence to enter what was then a new Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program.
“Everything was brand new and that was very cool,” she said. “We got to be close with our professors and our clinical supervisors and really develop relationships with them, I think because we were all the first. That was awesome.”
After graduating with the first SLP class, Bevan took a job as a speech-language pathologist in an elementary school in the School District of Philadelphia, where she still works today. She also started her own private speech pathology practice on the side, where she mentors Salus Master of Science SLP students. More recently, she has become an adjunct instructor in the SLP Post-baccalaureate program at Salus teaching speech and hearing science.
“I love teaching. I like mentoring students for the same reason. I had such great supervisors and great teachers and I like being able to be someone that can show other people that this profession is great, you’ll learn so much and you’ll help so many people. It’s fun to guide them into that,” she said.
When she’s not working as a SLP, Bevan hangs out with her dog Mia, a Morkie (combination of a Maltese and a Yorkie.) And, she is a foodie, so she enjoys going out to restaurants in Philadelphia and the surrounding area.
As a member of the SLP program’s first cohort, Bevan believes strongly in being an advocate for the program.
"I feel a responsibility to keep it going. I’m always recommending it to people that are in undergrad programs. I want to help the program continue to grow,” she said.
