A Year of Growth: Pepperdine's First Speech-Language Pathology Cohort Reunites for Second On-Site Experience
In a lab lined with health assessment tables and manikins at the Pepperdine University College of Health Science campus in Calabasas, the inaugural speech-language pathology cohort, usually scattered across Zoom screens, was united in person.
One year after its first on-site experience as brand-new students, the cohort was back on campus for its second in-person session during the week of August 3 to 7, 2026. The agenda reflected what a year of study had trained the cohort’s members to do: comprehensive exams on Monday, hands-on labs on Tuesday, and clinical simulations across the week.
Nava Light learns from Associate Dean Danielle Rich
The second on-site also offered the students and faculty an opportunity to look back on their personal and intellectual growth. Nava Light, a student in the program, reflected, "I think that the things that I've grown the most in are my self-confidence when talking to patients and their families, and in my clinical decision-making. I feel good about how I’m communicating my understanding of care to the clients in patient-friendly language."
Michelle Cutler, assistant professor of speech-language pathology and on-site experience coordinator at the school, has watched the cohort’s students grow in their clinical knowledge over the past two on-sites.
"When this cohort arrived last September, we were opening a brand-new program," she said. "While the students were excited and ready to embark on the speech-language pathology journey, they were unfamiliar with what to expect and what graduate school was like. As they returned for our second on-site, the students showed more clinical confidence. I saw a tremendous amount of growth in both their clinical and their academic skills. I personally enjoyed seeing how much each student has grown over the course of the year."
Tatiana Steen-Olsen works in a lab
For speech-language pathology student Tatiana Steen-Olsen, growth has been personal as well as clinical:
"I'm proud of myself for actually recognizing my growth, because I can be very hard on myself. I can acknowledge the progress I've made while still recognizing that it's okay to not know everything," she said.
Dr. Leah Fullman, founding dean of the School of Speech-Language Pathology, has also witnessed the school grow alongside the cohort.
"This one-year milestone is a meaningful reminder of the purpose of the Pepperdine School of Speech-Language Pathology: to prepare exceptional clinicians who have answered the calling to serve others," she said. "Our inaugural cohort has helped establish a culture of academic excellence, compassionate service, and purposeful leadership that reflects Pepperdine’s Christian mission and sets the foundation for generations of speech-language pathologists who will use their knowledge and gifts to serve their communities."
The Pepperdine School of Speech-Language Pathology and its online Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program debuted in fall 2025 alongside the School of Nursing within the College of Health Science, Pepperdine's sixth school. It was then that the cohort members received their white coats at the college's first student dedication ceremony on September 5, 2025.
Dean Leah Fullman instructs students
Ahead of the cohort lies another trimester of online coursework, more clinical clock hours, and one final on-site experience. That third and final visit to campus will culminate in their graduation in May 2027.
For Light, and for many other students, these on-site experiences have clarified the specific population they hope to work with following graduation. Light originally thought she wanted to work with children, but two trimesters of classes, faculty mentorship, and hands-on practicums later, her dream has taken an unexpected turn.
"I thought I wanted to work with kids," she said. "But being hands-on in my practicum really changed how I looked at this profession. Now I really enjoy working with adults with traumatic brain injuries. I really connected with Professor Marshall and my supervisor for my last practicum. Under their guidance, I found that I love working with adults."
One year of growth, she said, comes down to three words: "Transformative. Challenging. Rewarding."