The Shea Center offers a unique learning environment, welcoming students in occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, and mental health. These students must accumulate numerous clinical hours to complete their degrees and receive valuable mentorship for skill development.
We’re excited to introduce you to our newest speech therapy intern, Elise, who has spent the last three months at The Shea Center working under Terri Hutchinson with Life Spirit Speech. Below, Elise shares more about her background and favorite moments so far at The Shea Center.
Her journey to Shea: “I grew up in San Clemente and attended JSerra High School. I headed to the University of Montana for my Communicative Sciences and Disorders undergraduate degree. While there, I began working with local elementary school students at my university’s farm. I realized how children thrived in a natural environment, especially in connection to the farm animals. I wondered how I could implement this realization into my future.
After completing my undergraduate degree, I returned to Orange County to attend Chapman University’s masters program in Speech and Language Pathology. I was incredibly excited to learn that The Shea Center was practically in my backyard and immediately signed up to be a sidewalker.”
What makes Shea unique: “So many things. This center is one of a kind. It is so magical for our clients to have the opportunity to make connections with the horses while improving their speech and language. Another aspect that I love is how the different therapists work together as a team to give our clients the best care.”
Favorite client moments: “I am not kidding, my cheeks hurt at the end of the day from smiling with the clients. They all are so unique and have so much joy to bring. I recently had a client working on his ‘s’ sound. Baxter, Terri, Jaye, Kris, and I brought in 3 toy snakes and named them. We decided on Stinky, Sammy, and Saucy. Our client had so much fun working on his speech skills. We even took our 3 ‘pet snakes’ on a trail ride to show them the beautiful views. He had us all laughing, smelling Stinky, and then smelling Sammy who apparently smelled like roses.”
Favorite Shea Center horse: “Who doesn’t love themselves some Mac n Cheese? I also love Baxter because I think it’s super fun to hear the kids say, ‘Go Baxter, go.’ Although I have never worked with Boots, I think that it is my favorite name for a horse.”
What’s next for her: “I wish I could stay forever, but I will be onto my next rotation starting in December 2023. Once I graduate from Chapman University in May 2024, I hope to come back to The Shea Center and work as a full-time speech pathologist.”
