school update

Many of you know I graduated in May. However, with my degree I can't do anything in my field until I get licensed. That's another semester of school at an ASHA (American Speech and Hearing Assoc.) accredited school, of which there are 7 in CA. Six of the seven are in Southern CA. Convenient, right? Yeah, it would be if they weren't impacted and not adding anyone else to the 2 year wait list.

It's the same story from every program director. "We're impacted, but keep looking. Perhaps your university is offering licencing." Well, they're NOT. Thanks for nothing! My degree is useless to me until I get into this program. There's a potential summer program at Sacramento State University, but because of budget cuts, the school has no idea if it will be offered next summer.

The 7th accredited school in CA is in Stockton (cow town), in Northern CA...6 hours away. I never thought of it as an option because I can't just move away for a semester now that I'm married. BUT, in an act of desperation, I contacted a friend who currently goes there and asked for details. I was shocked and delighted at what I found:

The program consists of 1 class...and it's ONLINE! I could do it from home!!! The only catch is, you need to intern for 80 hours with one of several therapists contracted with the school. Of course, those are only in Northern CA. BUT, there are a few right near my parent's. I could possibly go up 1 week a month for three or four months and knock out my 80 hours pretty quickly...assuming the therapist's I shadow are agreeable to this. To cram it all in to 3 or 4 weeks might not be the best way to learn and it might be inconvenient for them. BUT, if I find one that is OK with it, that might be my next stop. AND, I might be able to do it as soon as next semester (January).

I have lots of emailing to do, but I'm excited at the prospect of getting this done MUCH sooner than I originally thought. Yippeeeee!