Nikki Fasci

I have always known that I wanted to work with children and children with disabilities, though I didn't initially know what that would look like. Like many of my colleagues, I started as a nursing major because I wasn't exposed to many different fields, but after taking prerequisites, I realized it wasn't for me. I explored business classes but still didn't feel fulfilled. It wasn't until friends on my collegiate cheerleading team talked about their speech pathology classes that I discovered the field. I had a cousin growing up who is autistic and uses an AAC device to communicate, and I was around that but never connected the dots that speech pathology was the profession behind it. While learning about speech pathology, I was also the special needs director at a competitive cheerleading gym, working with children with cognitive and physical disabilities. I'm a Christian woman, and I believe that if this is what God's will for my life is, it will come to fruition, and it became very obvious through my coursework that this is exactly what God had planned for my life. After completing my bachelor's degree, I went straight into my graduate program, completed 2 years of master's coursework, and graduated with my master's in speech pathology 7 years ago. Though I initially thought I wanted to work primarily with children with autism, my focus shifted to a more niche population - pediatric dysphagia, working with infants and children with feeding and swallowing disorders. I work with babies born extremely premature, as early as 24-26 weeks, addressing their feeding skills and following their speech and language development as they grow. Four years ago, my company approached me about becoming a recruiter, which was difficult at first because I had spent 7 years in school and invested a lot of money to become a speech pathologist. But I've absolutely thrived in this hybrid role, getting to tell people about the amazing company I work for while increasing revenue and helping the company grow. I love the divide in my responsibilities - managing clients and their plans of care while contributing to other aspects of company growth. My career has taken an unexpected turn, but I'm so blessed it did, and I tell candidates that you never know where your career will take you when you work for a therapist-operated company with so much opportunity for growth.