Tuesdays Abroad: ‘Right Where I am Supposed to Be.’
By Ryan Clark
CHS Communication Director
To gain valuable experience. To get out of her comfort zone. And of course, to see another country.
These are some of the reasons Lynsey McAllister wanted to study abroad.
“I got the chance to immerse myself in a different culture and earn valuable observation hours and hands-on experience working with my own client as an undergraduate Communication Sciences and Disorders student,” said McAllister, a Louisville native who graduated with her CSD degree in 2023.
McAllister was in her second year in the CSD program when she went on her study abroad experience to Belize with the CSD 588 class — Variable Topics in Communication Disorders. There, she was able to work with patients, as the country had just one speech therapist for all of its people.
“I was paired to work with a 6-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder,” she remembered. “I am so lucky to have gotten the opportunity to work with my own client as an undergraduate student. My favorite memory occurred while painting with my client as we worked together on his expressive and receptive language.
“He was having a blast mixing blue and yellow to make green,” she continued. “However, after a while, he lost interest in the paper and walked over to a nearby tree. I quickly followed him and took this as a learning opportunity.”
McAllister engaged him, and got the boy to imitate words like “tree,” and “paint the tree.”
“I noticed throughout the camp that I had to be calm and take advantage of opportunities such as this one for optimal engagement,” she said. “This memory highlights the importance of being creative and remaining flexible as a future speech-language pathologist. I am so incredibly proud of myself for the interventions I provided, and I hope I made even a small impact on his life because he sure made an impact on mine.”
These are the benefits, she said, of and education abroad experience.
Starting this month, the College of Health Sciences is featuring stories from students or faculty members who have had educational experiences overseas. We’re calling it Tuesdays Abroad — and we’re using this space to show just how influential these voyages can be.
Over the past year, the College has put an increased focus on Education Abroad, launching a CHS Global Initiatives website and emphasizing the benefits that an experience to a foreign country can add to one’s overall college experience. Studies show that students who participate reduce their time to degree, earn a higher GPA at degree, and are more likely to graduate in both four and six years.
“Going abroad has helped provide confirmation that I’m right where I am supposed to be and has helped me to feel confident that I am set out on the right career path,” McAllister said. “I am so incredibly grateful that I got this opportunity to expand my knowledge and gain new perspectives. I strongly believe that if anyone has the chance to study abroad, they definitely should and make the most out of it!”
McAllister can point to that moment in Belize as one that forever changed her professional life.
“Working with my client in Belize led me to pursue an independent study focused on autism spectrum disorder during my senior year of college,” she said. “I look forward to continuing my education in graduate school and potentially working with autism spectrum disorder as a future clinician. I am really passionate about helping others, and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for me.”