Kendall Bridgmon, Edward Guy Award

Major: Communicative disorders (concentration in speech pathology)

Minor: Psychology

Hometown: Lakeview, Alabama

Favorite Experience at UA: I transferred to the University of Alabama in the Fall of 2020 prior to graduating from Shelton State Community College. My graduation was held online, along with all of my classes during my first semester at UA. I believe every college student will agree with me when I say this, the pandemic has put a huge strain on our education. At the beginning of the pandemic, I struggled to become motivated to get my school work done and take care of myself. Yet, today I am completely focused on my education and how I can take advantage of furthering my career. I made it through my first semester successfully. I am currently in my second semester and am just so grateful and honored to attend the University of Alabama. I told myself over and over again that there is no possible way I will allow the pandemic to take away my education. With all of my classes being held online, I taught myself to be self-sufficient and I put in a lot more time than I would have before the pandemic so that I could understand the material better. I worked extremely hard from home for four months and it paid off. I was awarded the Edward Ervin Guy Jr Endowed Scholarship in Communicative Disorders. This scholarship has given me the opportunity to advance my education to the next level. I cannot even express how honored and grateful I am to receive this prestigious award. I am so thankful to Mr. Guy’s generous support for the students majoring in Communicative Disorders. If you are a student struggling because of the pandemic, it will get better with time and effort. Nick Saban didn’t allow Covid-19 to win and neither will we. We will champion our education. Roll tide!

Favorite Class: My favorite professor is, without a doubt, Dr. Paul Reed. I am currently in Dr. Reed’s Phonetics class (CD 244). He is such a devoted and caring instructor. Dr. Reed would climb Mount Everest for his students. This professor has made light out of teaching during the pandemic and I respect that so much. Dr. Reed is extremely passionate about phonetics, which makes his teaching style very intriguing and beneficial. I have learned so much attending his class and I am eager and excited to learn more. Not only does Dr. Reed teach in a way that his students will understand the material, but he also makes sure that all of his students are grasping it. Dr. Reed updates grades every week and gives so many opportunities to gain points through assignments, discussions, and quizzes. He also is very understanding of how busy life can get and gives us the option to join student hours twice a week on zoom. I am so honored and grateful to be taught by the highly successful Dr. Reed.

Future Plans: In the future, I plan to attend The University of Alabama’s Master of Science degree program in Speech-Language Pathology. This program will allow me to prevent, assess, and treat communication disorders. I have aspired to become a Speech-Language Pathologist since I was a little girl and I plan to make that dream come true. After passing boards, I hope to receive a position at a Speech and Hearing Center and further my knowledge every day. I dream of opening my own Speech and Hearing Center one day. I aspire to be the best Speech-Language Pathology I can and I will continue working extremely hard to achieve all of my goals.