California Dreamin’ as Speech-Language Pathologists

When Salus University alumni, Rachel Plavnik, MS ‘19, Shannon LaSalle, MS ‘17, Amanda Kaufmann, MS ‘17, and Alexa Gutman, MS ‘17, embarked on their academic journeys, despite all the guidance and direction they would receive as students enrolled in the University’s Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program, none of them anticipated their degrees leading them to the West Coast.

In fact, when LaSalle elected to pursue her graduate degree, one of the reasons she chose Salus was for its proximity to home and Philadelphia.

“Although being in the Philadelphia area, I knew that the opportunities would be awesome,” said LaSalle, who now lives in San Francisco, California, working for a mental health collaborative and an acute care hospital. “We had an adjunct professor from Penn, someone from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, so we were able to draw from really big names in healthcare and that was pretty important to me. But also, that Salus really focused on interprofessional collaboration, and it’s a small school with only grad programs. The small class size was awesome, and everyone was so welcoming. It felt like a little family as soon as we started.”

Kaufmann, who lives in Santa Monica, California, working as a SLP at a pediatric private practice, also liked the idea of staying close to home when she enrolled at Salus.

“I wanted that small, supportive environment that wasn't too overwhelming,” Kaufmann said. “I also felt like I belonged there when I went to visit and interview. I knew it in my heart that it was a great place to be.”

But once they achieved the dream of earning their degrees, the California dream also unexpectedly crept closer.

“In terms of being competitive and finding jobs, California is one of the states where there are just not enough SLPs,” LaSalle said. “You will get a job, a recruiter calling you once a week, if not once a day or sometimes a lot of times a day. But in terms of being competitive, I think the experiences that Salus gave us, both the medical and educational aspects, it just made us marketable.”

Gutman, a SLP at a private practice who also relocated to the Golden State upon graduating from the University, agreed.

“With all the really amazing names that taught us, we had a really great background, and we had a really strong academic foundation,” said Gutman who currently lives in Santa Monica, California. “That really helped me feel confident in interviews and in what I was doing.”

That’s a common theme among Salus students. No matter how far their dreams take them, their appreciation for the skills they acquired and the memories they made at the University are always close at heart. Plavnik, a 2019 graduate who also relocated to Los Angeles and currently works as an SLP at a skilled nursing facility as well as an acute care hospital, will never forget the Speech-Language Institute (SLI) of Salus.

“Most of my fun memories were at SLI. I loved and still love SLI,” Plavnik said. “I was obsessed with all the supervisors, and we were always having a fun time just seeing new patients and learning so much, but I loved it. I didn't mind staying late nights because everyone was so nice and friendly, and we would just learn so much from them.”