Brooklyn Friederick was valedictorian of her class, but she decided to change her career path twice. Brooklyn went through her high school years involved in many things in school. She was a two-sport athlete, and a member of NHS, Spanish Club, Band, Choir, Environmental Club, and SADD. Brooklyn graduated in May of 2021. “My plan after I graduated was to attend Saint Norbert College (SNC) in De Pere, WI, and major in biology to eventually go to Physician Assistant school,” said Brooklyn. Brooklyn was interested in Speech-Language Pathology and was planning on job shadowing before she picked her major. She was not able to because of COVID, so after COVID, she ended up doing the job shadow. Brooklyn in her freshman year at Saint Norbert then knew what she wanted to do and knew she had to change her major.
“Changing my career path forced me to change schools because SNC didn’t have the undergraduate program I needed as a Speech Language Pathologist,” said Brooklyn. Brooklyn then decided that she wanted to move closer to home and she realized that Madison would be a good fit for her. He decided to move to Madison and now she is getting a certificate in disability rights and services (It’s like a minor).
Speech Language Pathology is a lot of different things and it’s kind of in its name. “SLPs work with individuals from birth through old age on things to speech and language production as well as other things like chewing and swallowing,” Brooklyn explained. SLPs can work in a lot of different settings like hospitals, homes, prisons, schools, clinics, and more. Speech Pathology is a very diverse field that is constantly changing and is very much needed to help people communicate.
Brooklyn has big plans after she graduates school. “After graduating with my undergrad next spring of 2025, I will then attend a two-year master's program where I will train to become a Speech Language Pathologist,” said Brooklyn. Brooklyn doesn’t know where she will be going for her graduate work, her top schools are UW Madison, UW Eau Clarie, UW Milwaukee, Marquette, and the University of Iowa. After she finishes her master's program, she wants to work with children in schools and clinics. “My passion lies in children with disabilities and how we can find ways to help them effectively communicate.”