Scene Magazine | Spring 2022
Rachael Suddarth, PhD, Associate Professor in the Master of Speech-Language Pathology program, knows she is strong. And she knows students are so much stronger than they think they are, so she generously tells them, as often as they may need to be reminded, "You can do great things."
It is knowledge borne from personal experience. "Sometimes when people meet me, they assume things about my background that are not accurate. I am not from a middle-class, white collar family," she said.
Suddarth is an accomplished speech-language pathologist. Her course load at St. Ambrose includes Research Methods, Advanced Language Disorders, and Phonetics. She's an invited presenter in her field and has published research.
As illustrative of her achievements, she will tell you, is the "Bee-First!" sign on her office door. It proudly proclaims Suddarth was a first-generation student.
"I want everyone to know that this is my background and students can come talk to me," she said, "and maybe I understand where they are coming from in a way some other people don't."
Suddarth was academically successful in high school, and the plan always was for her to attend to college, but her parents couldn't help her navigate the system. At one point her guidance counselor expressed doubt she'd ever go to college. She subsequently did everything she could to prove him wrong and arrived at Truman State University on a full scholarship. Soon, she faced other challenges to navigate on her own, such as choosing a major without any guidance and figuring out how she could feed herself on Sunday nights when the cafeteria was closed.
She surpassed each challenge, and after graduating with bachelor's and master's degrees in communication disorders from Truman State, she earned a doctoral degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences from the University of Arizona.
Through all of those experiences, and more, Suddarth realized she is resilient. "And, that I can problem-solve, right? It helped me become a personal problem solver," she said. "And what it helped me learn as an educator is that I can't assume everyone knows how to navigate the system, so I try to be an educator by invitation. I don't just sit back and wait for someone to show up at my office. I invite them."
Academics are important, but some students need to talk about more than an assignment. Suddarth's invitation is all-encompassing, and students don't need to knock. In so many ways, she is holding her office door open and encouraging them to come in. She'll make no assumptions and she will generously extend support.
"I'll send little notes to students just to let them know, hey, I see you. I see you are working hard and to remind them that I am here, that they are valuable and they have an important role to play," Suddarth said.
"I tell students to trust in themselves and that they have the ability to be here, and that St. Ambrose will help them problem-solve. That's what we're all about. We want to see you succeed because we care about you as a person," Suddarth said. "Just having that knowledge – that we are valuable because we are people – can go a long way, and to always know that we are stronger than we think we are. We can do great things."
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