Alumni Spotlight #4: Julianne Fazio, '07

Today’s “Alumni Spotlight” illuminates Julianne Fazio, who graduated in 2007 with a major in Communication Studies and a minor in Health Studies. Since graduation, Julianne has been enrolled at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (wait a minute… I hope this doesn’t mean she will be rooting for Nebraska over my Washington Huskies in the Holiday Bowl…), and she will be graduating this coming week with a Master’s of Science in Speech Language Pathology! Let’s catch up with Julianne…

Julianne became interested in speech pathology while she was an undergraduate student here at USF, and after taking some courses in the subject at San Francisco State University, she decided to continue her studies by going to graduate school. While in her Master’s program, Julianne completed clinical rotations working with young children in a private practice setting, with elementary school students, and with older adults at a hospital and rehabilitation facility. Julianne became particularly interested in studying and working with people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She had the opportunity to work with children with ASD and explore their creativity through acting, dancing, and singing at the Rose Theater in Omaha. Accoring to Julianne, “My most proud accomplishment while at UNO came when I coordinated Together We Dance, a family-friendly fundraising night for the Autism Society of Nebraska. The event increased community awareness of ASD and raised money for research and funding of programs for the Austism Society of Nebraska. The night was filled with games and dancing. A group of parents who have children with ASD commented, ‘We have never seen our children like this. It is so fun to watch!'”

Julianne garnered two very impressive honors while in graduate school. She was recognized as one of UNO’s Top 12 Student Leaders (one of only 12 from the entire university!), and in 2009, she was awarded a Members Honor Award from the American Speech Language and Hearing Association for her academic and service achievements. She was given this national award at the ASLHA national conference in New Orleans, LA.

I wanted to profile Julianne for this Alumni Spotlight for many reasons, but two stand out. First, she she is an alumna who embodies the ideals of Jesuit education. Julianne told me that she has referenced USF’s motto of “Educating minds and hearts to change the world” throughout her time in graduate school. “I have been blessed with the gift of education, and I feel it is my responsibility to serve those who are in need of assistance.” Second, Julianne has taken a very different route than many of our grads, and I think it is helpful to see how many different fields you can go into with a background in Communication Studies.

After graduating this coming Friday with her Master’s, Julianne plans to move back to her home state of California and begin working. Congratulations, Julianne, for all of your success!