In eighth grade, an audiologist came to visit my science class and talk about hearing loss and how it affects children. From then on, I knew I wanted to be an audiologist and later went to college to obtain a master's degree in audiology in 1989. At that time, the Doctor of Audiology degree (AuD) had not yet been developed, so I went to work and started a family. I knew at some point I wanted to obtain my AuD, but after having five children, two of which were deaf, I just didn't have the time. When I sent my youngest child off to college, I started the Post-Professional Doctor of Audiology program. The program allowed me to continue to work full-time while taking courses, and I was able to choose the courses which I felt were most appropriate for my current job setting. After just two short years, obtaining my AuD finally fulfilled a dream that had been 34 years in the making!