Why are you interested in joining the national SAA Board of Directors?

I am passionate about being a part of change and progress. The Academy and national SAA play a pivotal role in what the field of audiology looks like and will look like. I want to be a part of the people who shape that. I have really enjoyed being a part of both university and national-level SAA, and the next step is to get involved with the Board of Directors to take on a larger role within an organization I love. Since becoming more active with national SAA, I have met so many incredible people and made connections that I could not have made as a student without the backdrop of SAA. I am eager to create these experiences and opportunities for my peers.

If you could change one thing about the profession of audiology, what would it be?

I would make audiology services and hearing-health care more accessible. In my experiences as a student clinician, some of my most difficult experiences can be boiled down to audiological care not being accessible and affordable. In an ideal world, hearing-health care would be more substantially covered by insurance, especially Medicare, for both diagnostic testing and the treatment. It benefits nobody to test and diagnose hearing loss and then watch a patient struggle to afford the technology they need for success. I feel these are the situations that contribute to professional burnout within the field. Not being able to help and having to watch people struggle to access necessary care deeply and negatively impacts anyone, but especially within the field of audiology, where people often pursue a career with the goal of providing care, helping others, and giving back to a field that impacted their life in some way. Burnout is a major conversation in the health-care world, and I believe addressing the accessibility of care will aid in solving both issues.