As a student returning to higher education, Maria Kapsala M’28 said she felt completely supported by the faculty running Merrimack’s speech-language pathology graduate program.
“The master’s program has that flexibility for people who want to do it online or in person, and I really like that,” she said. “I take the courses online. They fit into my schedule pretty well with some time management on my part. I haven’t felt overwhelmed.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UMass Boston in 2020, Kapsala started working at Hopeful Journeys, an education center in Beverly, Mass., for children and adults with autism.
“I’m doing applied behavior analysis work,” she explained. “It is extremely important, but I don’t see myself doing it long term. I’m looking for something more specialized. Hopeful Journeys is where I got exposed to various different fields – occupational therapists, special education teachers, BCBA’s and speech-language pathologists.”
After much consideration, Kapsala found she had the strongest affinity for speech pathology.
“It’s not just one thing,” she explained. “You can work in a clinic, at schools, with adults or stroke survivors – you name it. That’s what I like about the field. I like to be able to not be stuck with one thing.”
Plus, Kapsala said she’s especially empathetic to those struggling with communication.
“I moved to the United States from Greece when I was 16,” she said. “The move was hard. I knew some English since it’s mandatory in Greece, but I wasn’t fluent. I understand a little bit more when someone has a hard time with language, just because I went through it in a different way.”
Last year, the speech-language pathologist at Hopeful Journeys, who previously took classes at Merrimack, connected Kapsala with Rachel Aghara, associate professor of practice and head of the speech-language pathology graduate program.
“The program opened in the fall, so it was perfect timing for me to do all my prerequisites at Merrimack,” said Kapsala. “It took about a year. There were seven classes and I did one at a time – there wasn’t any rush. It worked out perfectly. Everyone was very helpful because I’ve been out of school for a little bit. My advisor was very helpful and Dr. Agara was always there if I needed her.”
Currently, Kapsala said she can see herself working with adults within a clinical setting.
“I don’t have a career goal per se right now,” she continued. “Every semester, from September on, has a different practicum for each of the five terms. I’ll get my feet wet in all different areas.”
