(Working Women) - Fellow Portland SLP, Kegan

I went to graduate school with Kegan at University of Oregon. Early in the program, we were assigned to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) together where we learned about dysphagia (disorders of feeding/swallowing) and became fast friends - she was not only supermodel-beautiful (I mean, who doesn't like to hang out with the best looking people?!?) and made glasses look cool, but she was open, funny, kind, interested and interesting, could laugh at herself, loved her family, and had the kind of laid-back personality that makes her so easy to be around. She also made me want to have sisters, which I had never before thought twice about. I recently had the pleasure of observing Kegan and her boss, Parkwood Clinic owner, Ashley, at work. Kegan (and Ashley, too) is exactly the kind of speech path you want to work with your own kid - relatable, fun, spunky, very clearly knowledgeable, and dedicated to help the clients make change. As a fellow speech path, I was inspired by her enthusiasm and positivity. We could all use clinicians - and co-workers, really - like Kegan.

 

 





  

Bio info - who are you, how old are you, where are you from, where do you live, what's your living/family situation, what are your hobbies, etc. Essentially, what's your story?

 

My name is Kegan, I just turned 27 years old. I get to live in NW Portland, on the most happening streets around, 23rd and Kearney. And yes, parking has gotten even worse with the introduction of Salt and Straw to my corner (but I can hardly complain, my house smells like waffle cones 24/7). For 3 years I have lived in a duplex with one of my 3 sisters (my sisters are my whole world) and our good friend Nick (who we call ‘Nona’). We are all in our 20s and living the Single Life. Still in that beautiful in-between stage where we're old enough to own appliances that work and silverware that matches, but none of us have had the opportunity to register for all the things we want, hence being single. So we live the “working adult” lifestyle while hanging on to our youth by the threads of old college kitchenware, furniture, etc. Let’s just say we are slowly but surely chipping away at adulthood.

 

 

 

What is your current job/profession? What path did you take to get there? Any required schooling or training?

 

I am thankful every day to be a Speech and Language Pathologist. I didn’t always know I wanted to be an SLP, mainly because I had never heard of it until I was 19 years old. In my first year and a half of what I now refer to as my“education/party life balance” at Chico State, I dabbled in child development, education, nursing, and psychology (and no shortage of off campus “socializing,” of course). Then someone said to me, “I met a lady who is a Speech and Language Pathologist and they reminded me of you.” Well there you have it. The next day I went to the Communication Disorders and Sciences office to find out what all these big words actually meant and, boom!, I suddenly declared a major encompassing aspects of all my previously considered options.
 

 

 

 

I am currently working for my good friend, Ashley, at the Parkwood Clinic in SW Portland and West Linn. I had the pleasure of going to graduate school with Jo at the University of Oregon, followed by 3 months of independent travels abroad, before getting a job in a Special Education Preschool in Vancouver Public Schools. This was how I spent my first year and half as a “professional” in the working world - loving being an SLP but doubting myself every step of the way. After almost 2 years in the public setting, I left to see what the world of private practice had to offer. While the clinic was getting on it’s feet, I took an amazing part-time job with the Hello Foundation, where I contracted out to Eastern Montana and served their rural schools, out in the middle of nowhere. What a wild experience that was; I would be lying if I said I loved every minute, but I certainly felt fulfilled and excited and challenged every minute. Especially when it reached 30 below zero, with a wind chill of  -45 on one of my expeditions. Since Parkwood has grown, I have shifted my focus to our kids and families here in town and am no longer traveling to the Big Sky Country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are the pros and cons of your current position?

 

I absolutely LOVE seeing progress with the kiddos. I love that the clinic setting and our clinical model allows us to truly see impactful progress with our kids. It is a much more intimate setting than my experience in the public schools and I am thankful to have the opportunity to know my kids and their families so well. I especially love working with another SLP whose experience and expertise rubs off on me daily and I continue to watch myself grow as a clinician. Having your boss also be your friend and mentor is quite a beautiful thing. Wracking my brain for cons. The only one that strikes me is that I am used to having the summer months off with a school schedule, so I have been spoiled in that way J


 

 

 

What is something about your job that other people might not know or expect?

 

Many people are surprised to find out that we work with children as young as 1.5 or 2 years of age. “But that’s too young, they are barely talking at that age.” There are many prelinguistic indicators of speech and language development and if a child is not demonstrating appropriate prelinguistic communication skills (e.g. babbling, eye contact, pointing, joint attention, vowel and consonant imitation, gross motor imitation, etc.) we are able to specifically target these through 1:1 intervention as well as parent training and a home program for the family.

What other jobs could you work with your education/training/experience?

 

Honestly, I have never even thought about it. I may wear different hats throughout my career as an SLP but at the end of the day (and most likely at the end of the my life) I will still be a Speech and Language Pathologist. Whether that includes helping direct one of the clinic sites, training new staff, becoming a mom, I think my experience, education, and training in this field will serve me well.

 

 

Walk us through a typical day, week, or month ...

 

I can’t imagine a day in my life would be of any interest to any reader. But let’s see, a typical week for me consists of walking to work, working with children, talking with their parents, laughing to myself constantly because kids are hilarious without meaning to be. Evenings are typically spent either meeting a friend/s for a drink and dinner or making friends/roomies dinner at home. Grocery shopping happens infrequently and that is what we call getting “creative in the kitchen” with anything we can scrounge up that isn’t expired. Movie nights happen about once a week and my company for this varies between me and Carly, me and Nona, or possibly me, Nona and Carly, or just me and my glass (let’s be honest-- bottle) of wine. Weekends involve either a day at the clinic or at my parent’s pool and maybe one night out on the town if I can commit at least one friend to a night in search of a dance floor. I don’t sleep in, mainly because my body won’t let me sleep past 7:00 am, and there are no exceptions. I often do my paperwork (treatment plans, evaluation reports) either at home or in a nearby coffee shop. I live the Portlander life, walking, smiling, and eating whenever possible. 



How much do you make? (Too forward?!? Probably. But let's be real, a large part of the reason we work is to make money - give us some deets about your income, as much as you feel comfortable sharing, whether specific to your personal salary, or generally speaking, as in, What Would Google Say).

I currently work approximately 20 direct contact (intervention/evaluation) hours a week.  Hours fluctuate on a weekly basis and I get my paperwork done in between kiddos, on a slower day, or in the evening/ on the weekend (I’m single, remember?).

 

(Since Kegan works for a private practice and didn't ask permission, she won't divulge her hourly specifics, but I wanted to direct you to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website which cites the average hourly range of about $24-43 per hour. There is also the US News and World Reports website, with average salary information.)

 

 

Do you anticipate making any career changes in the next 5 to 10 years?

 

I don’t foresee a full-on career change (but never say never, right?). I would be perfectly happy growing into different roles at the clinic or wherever life takes me. I hope I get to find out what it is like to be a mom at some point. I’ll be curious to see how I can balance kiddos at the clinic as well as kiddos at home.

 

If you could have any other job in the world, what would it be?

If I could have any job in the world I think it would be no job. Because while we are wishing for things, I would wish for enough money to live comfortably and then spend my time volunteering around the world. I wouldn’t want to have one “job” because I think it would be incredible to get to experience all kinds of different jobs wherever you are needed most in the world. For example, if someone needs help running a hospital in a 3rd World country, I would love to think I could morph and grow into whatever position was needed for the operation to be successful. I imagine I would get experience in so many different walks of life that way, and there are literally limitless opportunities in the world to do good, it would be cool to be able to do that in a lot of different ways. It just sounds like a dream come true (keep dreaming, Kegan, I know).

 

 

If someone else was interested in your job, what piece of advice would you give them?

Advice I would offer to someone entering the world of Speech Language Pathology would be, find a good mentor. Your mentor in your early years as an SLPimportant than where you receive your education. Find someone who has their personal and professional bar set high, with common goals, who will push you, hold you accountable, teach you, and support you. I would be lost without that, and I certainly wouldn’t be as good at my job. Also, be kind to everyone.

 

 

How do you balance work life and home life?
 

Haha, good joke. I know most people reading this likely work a full/part time job AND have a husband/kids. I don’t want to risk insulting anyone who truly does have to work on balancing their family life AND work life each and every day. My “work/life balance” is on a totally different scale than most (at least at the moment), with my current home life “family” consisting of two working adults who do not require constant feeding, attention, bathing, rearing, etc. I hardly have any responsibilities except to get myself showered, dressed, fed and off to work each day and some days I can barely manage all of that. At this time in my life, if I want to go for a walk or read a book, I can find the time. If I want to take a nap, most days I can make this happen too (Working Mom’s out there, please don’t hate me, someday I hope to be in your shoes—naps replaced with chasing little ones around). But as life has gone and will continue to go, when the demands increase (more work hours, a significant other, eventually children, house payment, etc.) I am confident that I too will grow into the roles ahead and meet the demands, somehow. I’m sure it won’t be easy but I have many amazing women in my life who are excellent role models for what the coming “balance” should look like. I would be blessed to have the opportunity and hope to rise to the occasion when the time is right.

 

 

Thanks for sharing, Kegan. For more of the "Working Women" series, check out this link.