Jennifer Alcorn Westmoreland is a Faculty Clinical Instructor at Florida State University. Jenn worked as a school-based SLP for several years while running her own business making materials for SLPs, Crazy Speech World. After leaving the schools, she was offered a project coordinator position for a research study at a local university. Jenn shares her experience transitioning from a school-based SLP to a research coordinator as well as an adjunct faculty member. She also discusses the interview process she went through for her current position as a full-time Faculty Clinical Instructor. You can connect with Jenn on Instagram @crazyspeechworld, Facebook, and Twitter. You can find her blog and SLP therapy materials at https://crazyspeechworld.com/
Transcript
NOTE: This podcast was transcribed by a free tool called Otter.ai. Please forgive any typos or errors.
Danika Pfeiffer
Hi Jenn thanks so much for being here with me today.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Hi, thank you so much for having me.
Danika Pfeiffer
I’m excited to hear your story and how you got into academia. As a clinician, I think a lot of people wonder about ways that they can do that. So I’m really glad that we have some time to chat today.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Absolutely.
Danika Pfeiffer
Can you start off by just telling us a little bit about yourself and how you found the field of speech language pathology?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Sure. So I grew up in Florida, and my mom was a teacher. So I knew a little bit about the field. I wasn’t sure that that was what I wanted to do. I actually went to college interested in criminology, specifically juvenile justice. So I started in that major, and I took an intro to communication disorders course. And then that’s when I was like, Okay, this might be more what I want to do. So that’s when I switched majors and really just fell in love with it. And here I am now.
Danika Pfeiffer
Where did you do your training?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
At Florida State. I did my undergrad and my graduate degrees at Florida State in Tallahassee.
Danika Pfeiffer
Okay, awesome. And how did you decide where you were going to work when you finished grad school?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Well, I was a mom at that time, and my son was five when I graduated, so I knew that I needed something that would be flexible and the schools were the most flexible for me so I could have the same schedule as him. I ended up working at the same school that he went to. And I really, once I got into it, I really loved it. I loved the schedule, obviously. But I also liked the team approach of being in the schools and working with teachers and other service providers to meet the needs of kids. Somewhere along the way you started making materials to share with other SLPs.
Danika Pfeiffer
Can you tell us about that?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
So this also stemmed from me being a single mom and just kind of needing something outside like a creative outlet. And so I started making materials and blogging at Crazy speech world as the name of my website and it kind of exploded into another business for me. And so it’s been a really fun experience to watch that grow. I’ve been able to connect with so many SLPs all over the United States, but also all over the world. And it’s just been a really cool experience to kind of see things from a different angle and connect with other people because they’re so isolated in the schools. So that was a really cool way to connect with other SLPs and also be able to feel like I’m giving something to the field as a whole by providing you know, activities and ideas for other SLPs that are working with kids.
Danika Pfeiffer
Awesome. And I’ll put your information in the show notes so people can find those resources. What kinds of things will they find when they go onto your website?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
It’s all mostly geared towards kids, elementary aged kids, because that’s what I did. I worked the majority of my career in an elementary school. So you’re gonna find things related to from about preschool, up to fifth grade, a lot of literacy based materials, because that’s my sort of passion within the field. So I love using books and therapy, so you’ll find a lot of materials related to that.
Danika Pfeiffer
Great. All right. So you started off working in the field, and how long were you working in schools?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
I started in 2007. And then I stayed I worked in two different school districts. I began my career over in St. Augustine, Florida, and then I moved back to Tallahassee in 2015. And I got another job in the schools. And I stayed until 2020. The pandemic hit and it it impacted my career quite a bit. And how did you decide to make a decision to leave the schools with a pandemic is really ultimately what what ended my career quite honestly, I I became very burnt out in that situation because of the amount of stress and increased workloads related to just providing my job you know, we already have a difficult job and then you added the layer of virtual and kids in front of you and masks and it was just my head was always spinning and I just became very burnt out. It was kind of scary for me because I’ve always really loved my job. And I started to not want to come to work. And so that’s when I knew that like I needed to take a step away. So I left in the fall of 2020 and I took a leave of absence from my position and then I ended up resigning at the end of that school year.
Danika Pfeiffer
Okay, I’m sure that was really difficult, kind of leaving the kids and leaving what you knew to be your normal routine.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Yeah, it was it was probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, but it was definitely the best thing. In hindsight, it was the best thing I could have done for myself.
Danika Pfeiffer
So you took a step back kind of took some time to yourself and how did you figure out what was going to be next for you?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
I really had no idea. Luckily, I did have my business to fall back on so I that was a good safety net for me, because that still provided income for me and my family. So I kind of just lay low for a while I went through a period where I wasn’t even sure if so wanted to be an SLP anymore, so I just kind of took it was about a year and a half. Just doing my thing honestly and taking care of myself, which I don’t feel like I didn’t realize until that time that I just had not been doing that and I hate workaholic to be honest. I mean I love to work. And so, you know taking that break and letting myself do nothing for a little bit and it was good for me, but I ended up getting a call from a friend of mine at Florida State. Dr. Kelly Farquharson, asking me if I was interested in moving into research, which I jumped at the chance because one she’s amazing, and we’re really good friends. So the idea of working with her was really exciting and do it was something different, something I hadn’t done before. So that’s kind of how I recovered from my burnout in the schools and had a new direction.
Danika Pfeiffer
Okay, so before we jump into what this turned into, I’m curious how you started this relationship with Kelly who’s a researcher and a faculty member because I bet some people are thinking, how would I even meet these people? Get to know them. So how did you all become connected?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Instagram to be honest, I had started following her I knew that she was in Tallahassee, but we hadn’t really chat I don’t think she realized I was in Tallahassee. So we made that connection on Instagram, just chatting in DMS. And her research and her interests are very much aligned with what I’m interested in. So we would often chat just about SOP and then we ended up getting together and we just figured out we had a lot in common and just became good friends from there.
Danika Pfeiffer
Awesome. So just social media bringing clinicians and researchers together. Do you have any advice for other clinicians that might want to get involved in research and just making that initial connection?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
I think just put yourself out there. I think that, you know, there’s this I think perception that there’s this great divide between researchers and practicing clinicians. And I think that it doesn’t have to be that way. Right. So I think you if there’s somebody that’s doing research that you’re interested in, reach out to that person and start those conversations, because in my experience, they want to have those conversations with us. They’re very interested in having the conversations with clinicians. So I think it’s just putting yourself out there and starting the conversation.
Danika Pfeiffer
Yeah, I absolutely agree being on the researcher end of things I would love that would be really excited if clinicians reached out and wanted to be part of the work I was doing. I think it can really help inform the work that I’m doing to make sure it’s really clinically relevant. I agree. Just reach out and see who’s in your area. See who’s at your local universities. Okay. Yeah, higher.
Danika Pfeiffer
So you got this call from Kelly, who had an opportunity for you. So what was it? What did it look like?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
She was starting a new study, which was interdepartmental with another professor, Dr. Lindsay, dentist in the School of Education. And they were looking at practice based coaching for paraprofessionals and SLPs, during shared book reading, so obviously, my head starts digging like shared book reading, like that’s, I’m into that. So they were looking for a project manager and I’m like, Well what does that mean? So she kind of explained to me that they would want me to kind of one organize everything as the project manager. This would be a remote position where I could still work from home, and also to create the materials for the study which is obviously something that I’m already doing that I enjoy doing. So she kind of wanted to tap into that. So I you know, I was like, Let me think about it a little bit. It was very part time. It was just 10 hours a week. And so after thinking about it, I was like why not? Why not? Not you know, very busy doing anything. else besides my own business stuff. So I jumped right in.
Danika Pfeiffer
Yeah, so you were going to be a project coordinator. And it sounds like organize some of the study materials, create some study materials, any other responsibilities that you had at that point in your coordinator role.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
I did a lot of recruitment and intake participant intake. So making sure we had consent forms and surveys filled out, like all the little pieces that you need, going along with getting new participants in a research study which really i i worked a lot of research in college, but I’d kind of forgotten what that process looked like IRB and all that stuff. So it was a really cool experience to kind of see things from a different angle. And yeah, it was a lot of organizing and meeting and that kind of thing.
Danika Pfeiffer
And did you have any training? I bet some clinicians are thinking like you just said, I haven’t done these kinds of things in a long time. Did you have any training during this time or what kind of support was offered to you during this time as you’re learning the role? Not a lot of training.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
I think it could I could tap into a lot of the things that I already do well, right which and I think a lot of SOPs do well, which is organizational skills that that type A personality comes out a lot in that situation. We’re just trying to keep things organized and managed well so that everybody knows their role and everybody’s able to be successful. They trained me quite a bit on what the study was and how to interact with the participants and the coaches that we were using in this study. But I think a lot of the other things that were the project management role, just in general, were just things that I do. Naturally.
Danika Pfeiffer
Yeah, like I’ve met a lot of SLPs would fit really well into that role, like you said, with skills that you already have to use in your everyday practice. Right, exactly. So the study started and how did they go? Are you enjoying this role and being kind of outside of the school is doing something different?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Yeah, I really liked it. And it was cool to be a part of that. And I got a publication out of it. So you know, that was exciting stuff that I hadn’t been doing previously. And I kind of started making me think that academia might be the direction that I wanted to go with my career, which led to another that we ended up doing a second project kind of piggybacking and they asked me to project manage that one as well. So it was like one after the other once I knew what I was doing. It led to the opportunity to continue to do that.
Danika Pfeiffer
Awesome. And you mentioned publication, I’m sure others are wondering about that process. So what did that look like in a publication?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Yeah, um, that was That was intense. That was not something I had experienced either. So you know, the writing piece and editing and submitting to a journal is there’s a lot of steps there. And I think a lot of us are kind of naive to what that process looks like just because we haven’t experienced it but the submitting to the journal and then you know, getting back edits that you have to fix and then resubmit and you’re always I felt like you we were in a constant state of waiting during that time, but once we got the final like, Yay, you’re in it was very exciting and we very much worth celebrating.
Danika Pfeiffer
Yes. So what was that publishing the data from your first study that you were a project manager for?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Right, right. It was the practice based coaching study for preschoolers and building their vocabulary.
Danika Pfeiffer
All right, so you have a publication now that’s in the works. And now is published today. And you started coordinating a second study. So what happened after coordinating that second study?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Well, that was still actually going on. But once I started working with Kelly, I also got to know Dr. Tricia Montgomery, who is our clinic director at FSU, and she knew that I was interested in clinical supervision. I had supervised for FSU, previously in the schools quite a bit. And they had a vacancy that happened very quickly in August of last year. So she reached out to me with the possibility of an adjunct clinical instructor position. So I immediately was interested in that that process all happened very, very quickly. And I don’t know if this is typical for all adjunct positions. But this is just my experience. They had a vacancy that they needed to fill very quickly because the semester was getting ready to start. And so I was able to kind of be fast tracked into that role. Very quickly. It wasn’t very much of the application process. I just met with them express my interest, kind of what my goals would be for that position, and I ended up in it very, very quickly.
Danika Pfeiffer
Okay, so another new role for you. What did your adjunct position include? What were some of the responsibilities that you would need to do in that position?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
So this was a 30 hour week clinical instructor position. So I was responsible for a team of six first year graduate students, and this was our first semester in the program so I would be supervising them and their treatment sessions with clients and as well as running diagnostics with them and their first clinical experiences.
Danika Pfeiffer
Okay, so when you were in the schools, did you provide clinical supervision for your students that would come in for externships and things like that? Yeah.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
I was I supervise for Florida State and I also supervise for Valdosta State with practicums and externship students. Yeah. Okay.
Danika Pfeiffer
So you had kind of some experience with that prior, where yes, differences about doing it in this university setting that you would want others to be aware of and know about?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Yeah, it was it was. It’s similar but very different. You know, you’ll usually have one at a time when you’re in the schools or in community placements, but here being responsible for six of them was very different and you know, balancing how they best learn, because they all have different learning styles. So trying to be what they needed as a supervisor for six different people was was an adjustment for me, but I loved it. It was so much fun. And I realized very quickly that this was what I wanted to do with my career. I just became very passionate about it and I fell in love with it.
Danika Pfeiffer
And now you’re moving on this semester as well.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
So I went through once they knew that they had a line approved for a full time clinical instructor. I was able to go through that application process over the course of last semester to fill that full time positions. It’s funny how life works.
Danika Pfeiffer
And these things just pop up kind of right when you meet them. So tell us about that application process.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
That was rigorous. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything quite like that and I didn’t again, I was very naive to what that process looks like. So that started with a application, writing a CV, which was not something I had done previously I had a resume. A resume looks very different from a CV so I needed some help with that. So that was something that a couple of people helped me with, and then writing a cover letter. And you know, my previous experience with it applying to positions were only in the schools so it’s like a district standard application. There’s no submitting a resume or CV. There’s no letter cover letter that you need to write. So these I came to understand were very important pieces of applying to a position at a university. So once I submitted those things, and then there’s is a general application to the university. And then once that process was complete, they start interviews. So there’s a search committee that is in charge of going through all those applications and CVS and deciding who they want to interview. Then there is the interview process where I went in with that search committee, and it was more like a discussion and interview that I’ve experienced previously. So we kind of just talked through what my vision is, as far as being a supervisor. At that level, any kind of passion projects I could bring to the table and ways that I could contribute to the department.
Danika Pfeiffer
And who was that with? Was that with clinical faculty a mix of research and clinical What did that look like? It was a mix.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
It was with the clinic director, two of the other supervisors, and then two of the research faculty, and then our program chairperson. Once that was complete, then we got to do job talks, which was also a very new experience for me a job talk for this position, basically was a presentation that I came and gave to the whole faculty about basically why I was good for this position. So that was a little bit intimidating for me. I’m not gonna lie. I was super nervous about it. So I created like a PowerPoint presentation, just about my career and where I’ve been, what my experience was, and then what my goals were. So things that I wanted to do within the program and strengths that I would bring to the department as a clinical supervisor, so that was actually a resume. So I gave that to the faculty. And then the faculty all kind of fills out a survey about you and shares their thoughts and that’s not something that I get to see but I know that that is what they do. And then the search committee takes all that information and it makes a decision about who they’re going to hire. And luckily it was me.
Danika Pfeiffer
Congratulations!
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Thank you, thank you. But it wasn’t intense process. It was it was long and rigorous and I don’t ever want to do it again.
Danika Pfeiffer
Now you will be in this position for ever, never leaving. I want to go back to what you said in the beginning about the documents and preparation of the documents because as you said, this would be a process that’s really new for clinicians something they haven’t gone through before. So you mentioned that you had to put together a CV and how it’s a little bit different than a resume. So what did that look like? How did you have to restructure and how did you get help with that?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
So I am very used to making things look pretty like graphic design angle of things just because that’s what I do in my business. So I realized quickly that this was something that it didn’t need to be creative. It needed to be straightened to the point and I needed to basically brag on myself about all the things that I’ve done, which I think is unnatural for a lot of people and it feels a little strange to put every single thing you’ve ever accomplished down on this this piece of paper but I got with Kelly Harcourts and she’s the one that helped me figure this whole process out with how to create it and what it needed to look like and she was super helpful in that and then I looked a lot online. I looked at examples on the internet, just trying to make it look, you know, as professional as possible and something that people wanted to read.
Danika Pfeiffer
Yeah, yeah, it does feel a little strange to have to put all of the things that you’ve done on one piece of paper and brag on yourself. Like you said, what kinds of information did you share on your CV?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Well, it had you know, it has the basic stuff about your previous jobs, but it also I also added things like awards. So I was Teacher of the Year at my at my school one year so that was something I added on there like Ace awards. that I’ve gotten from Asha. But I also listed all the presentations that I’ve done over the last few years and then our publications which were in press at that time were listed on there.
Danika Pfeiffer
That’s great. A lot of researchers are now making their own professional websites and that’s another place for those that have to make a CV and are looking for examples. You can google researchers in our field and a lot of them are available online to view to see more extensive they need them.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
What did you have to outline in your cover letter that was basically here are all the things that I think I can do within this role that bring value to the program and the university. So you know, I have a lot of project ideas and things that I want to do with students and so that was a place for me to kind of just lay it all out like here’s some things that I’m really interested in that I think I can do with these students. That would be very valuable experiences for them, but also be good for the program as far as expanding what we’re doing currently in the clinic.
Danika Pfeiffer
Great. And then you started your interview process, as you told us and you met with the search committee. Are there any other interviews that were part of interviewing for this position? Or was it just one meeting with the search committee and your job talk?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
It was just that one meeting that I had and the job talk and it may you know I worked there already as adjunct. So I don’t know if that had any impact on how that process went down. I know I wasn’t the only person they interviewed or that gave a job talk but I already had relationships with some of these people. So I feel like they they were able to get to know me in a different way because I was already in the building.
Danika Pfeiffer
Okay, and so then you got the offer and accepted the position, which is very exciting. I bet summers wondering about if there was any negotiation and how that might have looked differently than the schools or was it pretty similar receiving an offer and in deciding if you’re going to accept it or not?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
That looked like an official letter came to my email with an offer for the position with salary and the package and all that so there was no negotiation there. It was either you accepted the offer or you didn’t.
Danika Pfeiffer
How’s it going in this role?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
It’s good. It’s a lot different than being adjunct a lot more responsibilities, but I am loving it so far. It’s only been a month. Just beginning just starting out.
Danika Pfeiffer
You mentioned how being an adjunct is a little bit different than your current position. So how would you describe the differences there between an adjunct position and the clinical faculty position with the adjunct position?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
You sign a contract for a certain amount of hours a week and there’s no other responsibilities outside of that, that role? So as the adjunct clinical instructor, I worked 30 hours a week, and I went in and did the, you know, my responsibilities as far as supervising the students that I was responsible for, and that was it as far as being a full time faculty member. In addition to that same clinical instructor role, I’m also teaching courses. I’m involved in committees within the department and go into faculty meetings, and I have voting privileges.
Danika Pfeiffer
So it’s a little bit different, a little bit more responsibility, more responsibility, and you’re a full
member of the department, you get to contribute in all those ways that you just mentioned. So that must be pretty neat, too. Has there been anything so far in making this transition? I know you just began, but has there been anything so far that has surprised you about this or things that you think maybe clinicians wouldn’t necessarily know about being a clinical faculty member that they might want to consider before going down this path?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
It’s just very different than anything I’ve experienced before. There’s a lot more opportunity and freedom I think I’ve been given to go out and do things within our community and and make connections with researchers and work on projects that I don’t think I would have ever had the opportunity to do if I wasn’t in this role. So I think it the freedom almost is really cool and something that I’ve enjoyed and that I can just do more things and be creative about supervision and clinical service provision and that sort of thing.
Danika Pfeiffer
Do you think you’ll ever go back into the schools or do you think you’ve kind of found where your future is for your career now?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
I never want to say never. But I cannot see myself going back into schools now. And that’s not to say that I didn’t love it. I did very much love that job. But I think it also depends on you know, where you are in the world and the kind of districts that you’re able to work in depending on where you live. And yeah, I just didn’t have a very good experience where I currently live in the school system. So that’s part of it, but I also really love what I’m doing and I feel like it’s given me the opportunity to grow in a lot of different ways professionally, and really just throw myself into something new and kind of reignited a fire for the profession. By being there.
Danika Pfeiffer
That’s amazing. That’s really exciting. You said you’re teaching now how is the teaching going?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
That’s fine. I’m teaching. It’s been a little overwhelming because I found out that I would be teaching just a couple of weeks before the semester started. So but luckily I’m co teaching this semester I have some awesome co teachers that I’m working with. So that’s been really great to just kind of get my feet wet but it this is the online course for phonetics. Okay, so I’ve been doing a lot of relearning could addicts concepts myself, because, you know, it’s been a long time since I had medics, so that’s been cool. And the students that are in this course are in our bridge program, which are students who have already graduated with their undergraduate degree, but it’s not related. They were not in the Communication Disorders program. So they’re students from a lot of different backgrounds, and they are using these courses to be able to apply to graduate school. So they’re kind of in between and it’s been a really fun experience.
Danika Pfeiffer
Awesome. It’s nice that you have some support as you’re doing this for the first time.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Yeah, it would be really overwhelming definitely, I don’t think I would have survived without another person with me, but it’s going well good.
Danika Pfeiffer
I’m so glad to hear that. All right. So let’s wrap up this part of our time together with any last advice that you have for clinicians out there who might be in a similar situation kind of looking for a new path in the in this field and are wondering if maybe academia could be for them. What advice do you have?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
I would suggest making those connections with the people in the department where you’re where working or living I really think that a lot of what’s happened with my story has been because I’ve had those connections with people that I’ve made those relationships with people that work within the department so they knew me as somebody that was interested in this kind of role and clinical supervision and you know, that’s why I got the call about a possibility of adjunct faculty for the clinical instructor roles. So I think reaching out and making those connections and, and forging those friendships are huge as far as kind of getting your foot in the door. So to say,
Danika Pfeiffer
Yeah, absolutely. And when you reach out there might not be something that’s open in that moment, right. But I think as you’ve showed us in your story, these things can happen in the future, there might be a last minute opportunity. And then they already know you, you’ve already made that connection, so it’s easy to fit right into that role. So all right, the last part here is part that I do with all of my guests. I have a few rapid fire questions here for you. Okay, and the first one is what is one resource that you couldn’t live without?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
As far as speech therapy?
Danika Pfeiffer
It can be speech therapy, it can be something that you use in your new position, whatever you would say you just cannot live without picture book. Great. Yes. Definitely. Yes. What has been a defining moment in your journey so far as an SLP?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Learning to advocate for myself and say no.
Danika Pfeiffer
Awesome, that’s very hard to do. So yeah, it’s a big one. What is one thing on your professional bucket list?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Oh, my goodness.I want to speak at ASHA. I gotta I gotta work up the nerve. Really want it to be good.
Danika Pfeiffer
You have to do that. Yeah, yes. That’d be awesome. What has been your favorite part about your job so far as the clinical faculty member?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
The students. They are so full of energy and excitement and a lot of nerves but like it’s so fun to be around them. They are just, it’s the best part.
Danika Pfeiffer
And lastly, how can people connect with you or learn more about you and what you’re doing?
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
You can find me on Instagram at Crazy speech world. I also have a website crazyspeechworld.com And a Facebook page which is crazy speech world.
Danika Pfeiffer
And I will link all of those in the show notes. Thank you again for being here and sharing your journey with us. I think it will be really inspiring for a lot of people to hear.
Jenn Alcorn Westmoreland
Thank you so much for having me.
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