Join Robert Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, the chair and program director of the department of Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) at Salus University, as he speaks with India Jenkins-Brown PBSLP '22, '24SLP, the first Post-baccalaureate Speech-Language Pathology track graduate.
Jenkins-Brown: I chose to attend the SLP track and Post-bacc program because I felt the program was very supportive of my future endeavors and getting into an SLP program. It put me right on track where I needed to be and I didn't realize that I didn't know what I didn't know until I got into the program.
Serianni: I was excited when you applied to the Post-bacc program because you really were the right candidate for our courses. You had had some experience at your previous institution, you had some good courses, but needed to backfill with some other courses. Could talk a little bit about why you chose the Post-bacc route?
Jenkins-Brown: I'll start off with being honest and saying that I didn't know what a Post-bacc program was prior to [attending Salus]. I chose the Post-bacc program because I was missing some coursework and I really needed that coursework to get ahead and get on track, especially in my health sciences. I didn't know that I was strong in anatomy in terms of speech, but I needed anatomy for the whole body to understand what happens within our system. I chose the Post-bacc program so that I can get on track along with my other peers, just to stay on the game, a little ahead of the game, actually, because the Post-bacc program really set me up to know a little more than what I was supposed to know.
Serianni: You have successfully matriculated into our graduate program here and I think that's really due to your hard work. What do you see as some of the advantages of being a post-doc student as you are attacking the Master's program?
Jenkins-Brown: One advantage was getting that early exposure to the environment of being in a grad program. It was also being introduced to that grad-level of coursework, which set me ahead of the game. It really matured me in a sense. Another benefit to the Post-bacc program [was] just the coursework, the load. It was very different than the bachelor's program. Undergrad is very different, I'll say, a little more intense some days. Some days you don't know what's going on and you know you just got to keep moving. So I was very prepared for that once I got into the program.
Serianni: The idea of developing our Post-bacc program was to give students a sneak peek into the world of graduate school, moving them from an undergraduate level to not quite a master's level, but pretty darn close. What do you hope to do as a speech pathologist now that you're in a Master's program and where do you see yourself going?
Jenkins-Brown: I used to dream of opening my own private practice. I have this whole layout of how I want to play with a bunch of kids and do a lot of things, but right now I'm just open. I'm learning so much right now that I just want to keep that open to see where I go. I [also] want to shout out Kim Edmonds for helping me get my 25 hours.
Serianni: Kim, our coordinator of the Post-bacc program, is there to advise our students to support them through the other aspects, like obtaining the observation hours. India, I can see you running a very large private practice. You are definitely an entrepreneur, a risk taker, and I think that's really what made you successful in our program and eventually will be successful in our master's program.
