In Her Sister’s Steps

In Her Sister’s Steps

Experiencing Longwood’s CSD Graduate Program as Siblings, Sisters, and Friends.

Alyssa Hazelgrove, a 2020 alumna of Longwood CSD program, never thought that she would see her own sister present as an expert on Augmentative Alternative Communication during grad school. But Jennifer Sites née Hazelgrove, also an alumna, had graduated from the program in 2013 and had since worked successfully in her field. The learning had come full circle. For Alyssa, the moment was one of her most memorable:
“That experience was one that I will never forget. I was proud to tell my graduate class that my sister would be presenting and was an alum of our program,” Alyssa explains.

Alyssa, who is a speech-language pathologist in a school setting, is the youngest of three sisters and comes from a Longwood-rich tradition within her own family. 

“I believe I chose Longwood because of the history the university has in my family. I am the youngest of three sisters that have all attended Longwood at one point in time. The CSD program is where my oldest sister and I decided to start our careers,” says Alyssa.

Sister Jennifer, a speech-language pathologist at Central Virginia Veterans Healthcare System, says that after completing her undergrad in CSD in a much larger program at a different university, she was drawn to Longwood’s smaller size and intimate setting. She graduated from the Longwood CSD program in 2013.

“I felt that a smaller graduating class would be beneficial for the intensity of the material learned during the speech pathology graduate program. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt thankful for the small group of girls and the community we created during our two years together,” Jennifer explains. “It was a great fit for my learning style. I felt like my professors knew me and were able to place me for my clinic placements with my strengths and weaknesses in mind. Collectively these details built a firm foundation of knowledge and personal connections that have allowed me to be successful in the field of speech pathology.”

Although Alyssa and Jennifer have different reasons for pursuing careers in the field of language and speech pathology, both are ultimately motivated by their deep love to better others’ lives through the skills they have learned.

“Ultimately it was my love of adult medical speech pathology that continued to draw me into the program,” Jennifer adds.

Although their time was separated by almost seven years, both Jennifer and Alyssa concur that the professors and their intense investment in the students are essential to making the program so memorable.

“The community is a tight-knit one in which students are empowered to become the best clinicians they can be,” Alyssa says. “I also appreciated Longwood’s unique ability to nurture yet not coddle its students toward success. The professors were willing to grow the students’ knowledge as new clinicians and new members of the field.”

Alyssa and Jennifer enjoy looking back on their time at Longwood. Even though they weren’t “together” they were clearly connected by what matters most – memories and friendship.

“Seeing the beautiful building that is now home to the Longwood Speech, Hearing & Learning Services clinic, Alyssa and I are both aware of how far the program has come and how proud we are to have been a part of it,” Jennifer says. “Our highlights are centered around the people: our professors, clinic supervisors, peers, and clients. It has been so fun sharing memories of certain professors and supervisors with Alyssa across her two years in the program.”

The two sisters also hold one other thing in common as well. 

When asked about her most memorable moment, Jennifer mentions a familiar scene: “A colleague and I were asked to conduct presentations annually for the graduate student classes at both Longwood and UVA,” Jennifer explains. “So my younger sister got to hear me present on the topic of low tech communication options. So she should be an expert by now too.”

Knowledge to knowledge, from sister to sister. The Longwood CSD chain continues on.