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For Kent State alumna Shelby Montgomery, ’17, B.S., ’19, M.A., the journey to becoming a speech language pathologist began with an injury on a high school soccer field.

The Coshocton native was standing beside the goal during practice when a teammate kicked a ball that hit her in the head.

“I went down pretty quick with a concussion,” she said. “I had a couple more concussions after that because I never fully healed from the first one.”

The injuries impaired her cognitive skills, which limited her schooling to half days for a time. Though temporarily debilitating, her injuries also sparked an interest to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology, which led to a Master of Arts degree in Speech Language Pathology two years later. Both degrees are offered through the School of Health Sciences.

“I had some difficulty with memory and I worked with a physical therapist to get back to playing soccer,” she said. “That was kind of my bridge into the field.”

Montgomery always knew she wanted to work in pediatrics, so the Speech Pathology program placed her in an internship at East Holmes Local School District to observe and work with children.

“I thought my heart would be in the school system,” she said. “It's kind of where I always planned to land. The internship solidified it for me.”

But things changed in the middle of her graduate school experience. Montgomery and her cohorts were the first class given the option to pursue a one year interdisciplinary fellowship and earn a graduate-level certificate in Early Intervention, offered through the Special Education program in the School of Lifespan, Development and Education Sciences. 

Sanna Harjusola-Webb, Ph.D., and the program has a training grant from The U.S. Department of Education to fully fund graduate-level students to meet critical personnel shortages in Early Intervention. Students are trained to provide developmentally appropriate, research-based strategies to families with infants and toddlers with known or potential disabilities.

Shelby fell in love with the birth- to three-year-old demographic, primarily due to the caregiver component, and enjoys building caregivers’ competence to support their child’s development.

“I've always been involved in pediatrics, but I didn't know a whole lot about the early intervention birth-to-3 world prior to being involved with the certificate program,” she said. “I was a little nervous switching to that parent-coaching model because I don't do as much direct therapy anymore. It's consultative coaching but it really lights my fire.”

A second internship through the EI Certificate Program had Montgomery working at the Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Stark DD), where she was paired with a speech pathologist serving infants and toddlers by supporting caregivers with evidence-based practices throughout their daily routines.

Reflecting on her experiences in the certificate program, Montgomery said without a doubt Instructor Kimberly Travers, M.Ed., ABD, is still a “foundational person in my educational journey.”

“Shelby has a drive to learn and a heart to see families and their young children,” said Travers, who also serves as the EI Program Coordinator. “We can't teach disposition, but Shelby came here with the key ingredients, and we showed her how to critically think through the critical elements of Early Intervention. I wish I could have a thousand more students like Shelby.”

Montgomery’s internship at Stark DD morphed into full-time employment as a speech language pathologist. And her mentor is now a colleague.

She currently works with children identified as having a developmental disability or are at risk of having one. She trains parents on strategies that improve their child’s speech and language skills. These intervention” tactics – acquired through the certificate internship - are employed during everyday routines like bath or play time, as opposed to a weekly, 30-minute session at an outpatient therapy clinic.

As a practicing clinician Montgomery sometimes feels as though she’s working in a thankless job and wonders if she’s really making a difference. Then she reflects on the positives.

“One of my favorite parts of the job is building caregiver capacity, empowering families, building confidence, and helping parents advocate for their children is beyond rewarding,” she said. “It’s the best part of my job, hands down.”

The mother of a 2-year-old daughter Quinn, Montgomery believes that becoming a parent herself has significantly influenced her work with birth-to-three-year-olds.

“Being the mother of a toddler really gives me more of a connection with parents and influences my work,” she said. “Prior to having a kid, I came into the field from this professional-only standpoint. Now I use the same strategies at home that I'm coaching parents on.”

Her advice to students considering a career in speech language pathology?

“Take full advantage of all available opportunities to help narrow areas of focus,” she said. “There’s a huge scope of service and we treat the lifespan. I'm in birth-to-three and I have friends working in nursing homes with the elderly.”