Devora Zinn, MS, CCC-SLP

Devora Zinn grew up in the Five Towns and wanted to be a physician for as long as she could remember. However, when she realized in high school that being a doctor wouldn’t allow her the flexibility to be as involved in raising a family as she wanted, she started to look at other options. “A week before registration for my first fall semester, I had the opportunity to shadow a speech-language pathologist. I realized that the combination of health science and education made speech-language pathology the perfect career choice for me.”

Devora’s parents had always emphasized getting a good education and developing the ability to stand on her own two feet, and Touro’s undergraduate program at Lander College for Women (LCW) gave her both. “It provided me with a quality education in an environment that fostered my values. I was very well-prepared for graduate school. In fact, I was told by practicing speech-language pathologists that I was learning things at the undergraduate level that they had not been introduced to until graduate school.”

After such thorough preparation, it was an easy decision for Devora to continue at Touro's School of Health Sciences for graduate school—and it lived up to her expectations. “Touro’s graduate program in speech-language pathology is unique in that all of the professors are currently working in the specialized subject that they teach. Class discussions included case studies from patients that the professors saw the day before or even that morning. Professors led by example, keeping up to date with evidence-based practice, a high standard of ethics and dedication to interprofessional practice.”

Now working at a special education school for students ages 11-21, Devora is constantly inspired by the diverse caseload she handles. “What I like most about the field is the breadth of opportunities within a single discipline. The same license allows me to work on feeding skills with premature infants, literacy skills with students, conversational skills with teenagers, vocal training with singers, and memory strategies with adults post-stroke. Regardless of age, disorder or functioning level, I teach my students skills to enable them to reach their individualized goals.”

Devora hopes to continue working as a pediatric speech-language pathologist in the school setting and feels well-prepared by her experience at Touro. “One professor mentioned during orientation that they were training us to be their colleagues. This was true for every professor throughout the entire program. It was evident that the school was invested in our success.”