Meet Emma Sked, MA, CF-SLP! Emma is an alumna of the UConn SLHS Undergraduate program, as well as the Master’s program in Speech-Language Pathology (Go Huskies!).
Emma originally started undergrad planning to major in special education, but quickly realized it wasn’t for her. She did some research on similar careers and stumbled upon a NICU SLP video and was immediately interested. She shadowed an SLP in a school setting and loved it! She wanted to learn more about all the settings SLPs could work in, particularly pediatric feeding, and changed her major to SLHS.
Emma is currently finishing up her clinical fellowship at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, where she works in an outpatient medical clinic setting. Her clinical interests include: dysphagia, autism spectrum disorder, gestalt language processing, and augmentative alternative communication (AAC). She expressed that she is fortunate to see all Big 9 areas regularly at Connecticut Children’s and she loves them all, but those are her favorites!
When asked about the best part of her job, Emma said, “My favorite part of my job is watching patients build connections with their caregivers/families. Whether it be having a positive interaction while feeding, being able to communicate their wants/needs/feelings with their caregiver for the first time through multi-modal communication, or even just sharing a social smile while engaging in play, I love seeing the excitement both patient and caregiver share in these moments as they are better able to connect with each other.”
Emma said that her favorite part about UConn’s MA-SLP program was that they jumped right into clinical their first semester of grad school. She expressed that she is a hands-on learner, so she appreciated the opportunity to take what she was learning in the classroom and apply it with her patients in the clinic. She felt that it really helped prepare her for off-campus placements. She also loved that there was such a wide variety in the placements she had – she really got to see so many different areas/ways that SLPs provide services.
Emma offers the following advice to current grad students: “My #1 tip is to save EVERYTHING! You never know when resources, articles, activities, etc. may be useful in your career (or for your clinical project). My second tip is to remember that you are exactly where you need to be in this moment—soak it in! You might not be at your ideal placement or you may be overwhelmed with the demands of grad school, but take the opportunity to learn and reflect right where you are! There is so much to learn about yourself, not just about how to be an amazing SLP, as you move through your grad school journey.”
Finally, a fun fact about Emma is that she knows how to scuba dive!
