https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vwWrZJkQy12P8akUPJErgBtd_0CJ_oWW/view?usp=sharing

For my assignment, I interviewed Dr. Kimberly Ofori-Sanzo. Dr. Sanzo is a Speech-Language Pathologist working in Connecticut. She is also the founder and owner of her own company, Language First. Language First is an organization that strives on teaching the importance of early and equal access to ASL for Deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Dr. Sanzo has bachelor’s degrees in both Psychology and Communication Sciences and Disorders, she has he master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology, and she most recently got her Doctor of Speech-Language Pathology. She is also a board-certified specialist in child language and a licensed Speech Pathologist in both Massachusetts and Connecticut. What inspired Dr. Sanzo to get into Speech was her interest in languages and having the opportunity to shadow a Speech Pathologist allowing her to find her passion. Before her current job position, she worked at a school for the Deaf. Getting her M.S. from a primarily Deaf university, Gallaudet, she knew she wanted the Deaf population to be her focus. While working, she realized the misinformation being spread about how hearing devices and language works. That is when she saw the need for Language First. When she was working at The School for The Deaf some of her basic responsibilities included providing language therapy in ASL, evaluations, writing IEP goals, and having IEP meetings on students’ progress. Now at Language First her main responsibilities include organizing events and presentations for SLPs and school districts. After Covid, she thinks that her work environment has become more sustainable because she has a lot of her meetings via zoom. She said that even before Covid when working in the hospitals most tools could be reused making things more climate-friendly. She thinks that sustainable climate-friendly practices are very important in the work environment, however; she feels that she does not know enough about the subject to do it right. She said that while she was working as a full-time pathologist a more sustainable practice that she saw a lot of her workplaces doing was going digital as opposed to staying on paper. If she was printing out activities she would then laminate them so that they could be used again. Some barriers she could see stopping a more sustainable workplace are financially and logistically there could be issues. Some recommendations she has for workplaces is to go all digital to make a little less waste. When working her favorite things are seeing the progress that her students would make and being able to create presentations that blow people’s minds and really makes them think about the Deaf community in a new way. The thing that she found the most surprising about her career was how quickly you get burnt out and get compassion fatigue. The thing that she found the most challenging about her career was trying to help parents and audience members to accept a different way of thinking about language acquisition in people who are deaf. Finally, the advice she would give to someone getting into the Speech Pathology field is to try and get internships and experiences in a variety of different settings.