FINDING BALANCE
Audiology graduate Jacob Buccini celebrates his background while serving others
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As Jacob Buccini helps others find their balance, he finds his own, forging a path that lets him care for others while celebrating his heritage.
Buccini, a graduate of ECU’s College of Allied Health Sciences with a Doctor of Audiology degree, will take his next step as a clinical audiologist near his hometown of Eden, North Carolina. Buccini will help the area’s Spanish-speaking population with hearing and balance issues.
Volunteering with special needs populations inspired Buccini to pursue audiology. As an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill and throughout graduate school, Buccini worked with a family whose adult son had special needs.
“My job was to work on receptive and expressive communication through spoken and signed languages. I also taught him life skills such as tying your shoes, morning and night routines,” Buccini said. “It was such a meaningful experience for me. He’s also deaf in both ears and has cochlear implants, so he has audiology services that I want to be providing.”
A first-generation North Carolina native of Cuban and Italian descent, Buccini grew up in an English-speaking home and spent time learning Spanish after recognizing its importance as part of his heritage.
Buccini, a graduate of ECU’s College of Allied Health Sciences with a Doctor of Audiology degree, will take his next step as a clinical audiologist near his hometown of Eden, North Carolina.
“I still had all these family members, especially my grandparents, who knew Spanish but didn’t know English because they settled in areas that were heavily populated by Cubans,” he said. “I was 17 or 18 years old and was like, ‘Man, I still haven’t had a meaningful conversation with my grandparents.’”
After completing an undergraduate degree in romance languages with a concentration in Hispanic linguistics, Buccini pursued a doctorate of audiology. He recently returned to Eden after an externship in Miami, where he worked with patients to hone his medical Spanish skills.
Buccini helps others find their balance while he forges a path that lets him care for others while celebrating his heritage.
“With balance, you have all these different systems involved — the brain, the spine, your legs, your heart, your ears. I like the puzzle aspect of it — trying to figure out where the problems are coming from,” he said.
Passionate about North Carolina and its underserved populations, Buccini said ECU was a natural fit.
“I know that in North Carolina, there’s a lot of help that’s needed here and I knew that ECU worked in the rural and eastern parts of North Carolina [where] there’s not as much access to health care,” he said. “I knew that ECU was doing incredible things to give access to people and I just wanted to be a part of it.”
STATISTICS
Name: Jacob Buccini
College: College of Allied Health Sciences
Major: Doctor of Audiology (AuD)
Age: 26
Hometown: Eden, N.C.
Hobbies/Interests: Sunny days in the OBX, drinks on the patio of Mi Cabaña, hunting for the gold nail in Farmville, and taking photos with all of the bear and crab statues in New Bern and Washington
Clubs and organizations: ECU Student Academy of Audiology, Special Olympics North Carolina, Special Olympics Florida, The CARE Project, Camp Woodbine, The Arc of the Triangle, Project SEED Health Fair for migrant farmworkers
FAVORITES
Favorite hangout: Catching up with Ms. Shirley in the hallway with my classmates
Favorite place on campus: The rocking chairs outside of the Health Sciences Campus Student Center
Favorite place to eat: Tokyo Express
Favorite class: All of them because I learned something new
Professor who influenced you the most: Shout out to all of the professors and clinical supervisors that I’ve had along the way
Favorite TV show: “Jane The Virgin” (I’m Team Rafael)
Favorite band/musician: Bad Bunny ba’, ba’, ba’
Favorite movie: “Bridesmaids,” specifically the scene when the bridal party has food poisoning and is being fitted for dresses
MOTIVATIONS
Dream job: Audiologist by day and beach lifeguard and/or storm chaser by night
Role model: My family, without a doubt
Your words to live by: “Don’t forget to breathe.”
What is something cool about ECU that you wish you knew during your first year?: The slide in the Health Sciences Campus Student Center makes everything better.