ECU alumna shares Alaskan experiences

ECU alumna Cathy Genaux, at far left, is shown with students who attended her presentation about life as a distance ed student in Alaska. (Contributed photo)

Catherine Geneaux, an ECU alumna and speech language pathologist, spoke Nov. 9 about living and working in Alaska —where clinicians fly bush planes to see patients and many communities do not have speech-language services.

Geneaux talked about life as a distance education master’s student, how speech language pathology is conducted in the state of Alaska and her mission work in Mexico. She gave ECU students great insight into a way of life and a speech-language pathology practice that is very different from experiences in North Carolina, said Dr. Kathleen T. Cox, ECU associate professor and director of master’s education in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Geneaux participated in a unique joint program between ECU and University of Alaska – Anchorage. ECU provides online classes for students in the master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders, and UAA provides their clinic. The partnership helps produce speech-language pathologists for the state of Alaska, and students graduate with a degree from ECU, the only university that offers a speech language program in that state. For more information, visit http://www.ecu.edu/csd.

The presentation was held in the Health Sciences Building in the College of Allied Health Sciences.