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Speak Out
June 2015
Speech Pathology Australia
BRANCH news
queensland
I was coming to the end
of my
Master of Speech Pathology degree,
while everyone else was busy applying
for jobs, I was applying for an overseas
internship.
Where did I go? New York City of
course! It was even more beautiful than
I’d ever imagined. I set off with a lengthy
bucket list and I managed to tick each
item off, except for seeing Jimmy Fallon
live! His shows were booked out for
months.
Once my NYC bucket list was
complete, I made a new one. This time
for Washington, DC. I hopped on a
bus and arrived in DC five hours later.
No, I didn’t run into Obama, however
I may end up on YouTube. There was
an incident, with me sitting in a park
and squirrels climbing all over me,
begging for food. Fellow tourists
pointed, took photos and recorded the
impromptu show.
But on the topic of my internship! It ran
for six weeks and involved me working
in a research capacity at one of New
York University’s (NYU) research
facilities, the Nathan Kline Institute
for Psychiatric Research. I worked on
research projects led by Professor
Diana Van Lancker Sidtis. Professor
Sidtis was also my supervisor and
we were investigating deep brain
stimulation and its effects on speech
and the voice on patients with
Parkinson’s Disease. During the six
weeks I was also given the opportunity
to attend doctoral seminars and
specialist lectures at NYU alongside
NYU’s doctoral students.
One of my biggest goals while I was
in NYC was to write the ASHA praxis
exam. I wrote it and passed! I was so
happy when I received my results that I
forgot to hold on while travelling on the
train, I went tumbling across and broke a
toe. One day I hope to move to NYC for
a little while to work in a clinical capacity.
I think it is fair to say that I did fall in love
with everything that is NYC.
This internship was truly a once in a
lifetime experience and I’m so grateful I
was given the opportunity. A huge thank
you to my supervisor, Professor Diana
Van Lancker Sidtis; Griffith Head of
Speech Pathology Program, Associate
Professor Elizabeth Cardell; clinical
educator Kristy Cooney; and the Griffith
Global Mobility Team & the Academic
Internship Council.
Tiyana Jones
Speech Pathologist,
Griffith University Alumni
Griffith University to New York City
Griffith University graduate Tiyana Jones sees the NYC sights while undertaking an internship.