Tim Worthen Blazed a Trail

While studying at Longwood, Tim Worthen blazed trails in the Communication Sciences and Disorders, M.S. program. Worthen graduated as an Interdisciplinary Training for Inclusive Practices (ITIP) scholar, telepractice researcher and hybrid student in 2021.

“Longwood's program really let me hit the ground running with my career,” said Worthen. 

Currently the only speech-language pathologist (SLP) for Madison School District’s junior high and high schools in Rexburg, Idaho, Worthen noted that Longwood’s emphasis on clinical work prepared him to connect to diverse populations in an educational setting. 

“At Longwood, we start seeing clients the second week of classes,” said Worthen. “I was very comfortable working with students and had a lot of hours of direct client contact because of that. I've had supervisors in my job mention that they can tell a difference in clinical skills compared to students who don't work with clients right off the bat.” 

While in the program, Worthen piloted a project that identified a need for telepractice training — research that became critical with the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Once the pandemic happened,” Worthen explained, “we expanded the research to include speech-language pathologists from all 50 states. What we found was that, in general, speech-language pathologists didn't have adequate training in using telepractice but were forced into using it.”

Worthen was one of the first students to take advantage of the CSD program’s hybrid second year. Now, in his role as speech-language pathologist for young adults, Worthen continues to rely on Longwood’s faculty for professional advice whenever he needs support.

“I know that I can text them or call them any time and get answers to questions, even now that I've graduated,” Worthen said. “A few weeks ago I had a question about a client, so I sent a voice recording to a professor. Two days later, I got a phone call with three of them on speakerphone helping me.”