J Am Acad Audiol 2020; 31(06): 369-370
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1714670
Editorial
American Academy of Audiology. All rights reserved. (2020) American Academy of Audiology

Audiology Saved My Life: “Yes,” “Sometimes,” or “No”? A Commencement Address for the Class of 2020

Gary P. Jacobson
1   Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
03 August 2020 (online)

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Gary P. Jacobson

The following is a commencement address for the graduates—of every college and university—who did not have the opportunity to celebrate their graduation with their classmates this year.

Graduates, and families, you will remember this day for the rest of your life because it signifies for most of you the beginning of your professional career. Regardless of today's weather, or how hard you had to work to get this far, or how much money you spent to complete your degree, this day will mark the end of your training and the beginning of your life as an independent professional.

Along the way on your journey, you have no doubt interacted with a number of key individuals who enabled you to reach this goal. These people have become chapters in your academic autobiography. I would like to invite you to cast your mind back a few years to remember those individuals who were most influential on your path to becoming an audiologist. While you are doing that, I will share with you a little bit of my own story.