
Download the full transcript of the conversation.


This week’s episode of The Missing Link for SLPs podcast kicks off the Fishbowl Series. This will see Katie Widestrom-Landgraf, Janet Tilstra, and Mattie Murrey discussing SLPs topics from three different perspectives, all with the goal of having listeners observe and learn from their experiences.
Discussion & Reflection Questions
1. What is the Fishbowl Series, and why did it receive that name?
2. What background and experience do you each bring to the Fishbowl Series?
3. Tell us a little about your journey as an SLP and how you got into the field.
4. Please talk about some of the challenges in each of your SLP settings.
5. What are some of the most rewarding aspects of working in your SLP setting?
6. Tell us a little about what the plans for this series are and how we’ll be moving through it.
“And so, in my role as a professor, I’m able to be a part of that (growth), whether it’s on the sidelines or as a mentor. So, I find it a real privilege to look for the potential in others. Sometimes, it’s potential they don’t see, but I do. And just to really be able to try to foster and grow that. “
Janet Tilstra, PhD, CCC-SLP
Associate Professor in Communication Sciences & Disorders at St. Cloud State University
Janet Tilstra is a teacher, mentor, connector of people, and fan of the arts. She works as an Associate professor in Communication Sciences & Disorders at St Cloud State University and consults with schools and community organizations to facilitate strategic planning, mentor teams in applied research, and structure important conversations.
Pre-2015, Janet practiced clinically as a speech-language pathologist, served as a Master Literacy Coach with Minnesota Reading Corps, and taught in the departments of psychology and education at the College of St Benedict. She loves nuanced conversations, reading books with great character development, kayaking, all things music, and winning board games. Janet lives along the Mississippi River in Minnesota with her husband and two cats. She strives to think like a scientist, foster potential in others, live a balanced life, and make the world a little bit better.
“You don’t always know where you’ll end up fitting and the setting that will really connect for you. All of that being said, there is no perfect setting.”
“And sometimes, in the medical setting, we as medical speech pathologists, we help people not to suffer. And, to me, that is a great honor, to help a family member feed their mother or father their final sips of water because that’s what they want to give. So, I am deeply in love with being a medical SLP.”
Katie Widestrom-Landgraf, MS, CCC-SLP
School Speech-Language Pathologist
Katie is a speech-language pathologist who has worked in both medical and educational settings for over 20 years. She presently works with adolescents in a large suburban high school. Katie is a past president of the Minnesota Speech-Language-Hearing Association (MNSHA). She has collaborated with the MN Dept. of Education to expand the understanding of oral language as a critical neurodevelopmental infrastructure for academic achievement processes. She is most passionate about helping students develop their language skills as a tool for thought, wonderment, questioning, and
curiosity…and of course communication. When Katie is not working with the students on her caseload, she is still working with students to develop their communication and self-expression as a high school forensics coach. Katie enjoys great conversations and connections where one loses a sense of time, fabulous dining experiences, transcendent cups of coffee, and books that are so good she negotiates with her alarm clock so that she might finish just one more chapter.
Mattie Murrey Tegel, MA, CCC-SLP, L, CPC, CLSC
Medical Speech-Language Pathologist and Founder of Fresh SLP
Mattie Murrey-Tegels is the founder and SLP behind Fresh SLP and The Missing Link for SLPs Podcast. She’s been “in-the-trenches” as a medical SLP around the world for over 25 years and now an Assistant Professor for 3 years. She is thrilled to be adding this dream of a podcast because paying her experiences forward is something she is very passionate about. If you ask her patients and students, one thing they will remember is how much she loves her job! She may not look like it but she is a huge introvert and when she is not actively working as an SLP, she is almost always reading, writing (writing over 1,000,000 words a year), or listening to amazing Chicago Blues bands. She also loves being outdoors and definitely enjoys soaking up the sun at her home in Minnesota, where warm and sunny days can be limited. She’s ridden motorcycles for many years, raced sled dogs, hiked huge mountains yet she cherishes the quiet moments of climbing into a hammock to nap or timeless conversations with friends and family.
The Missing Link for SLPs podcast and Fresh SLP is her legacy, giving back to a career that has so richly rewarded her.
Thank you for listening to The Missing Link for SLPs podcast! If you enjoyed the show, I’d love you to subscribe, rate it and leave a short review. Also, please share an episode with a friend. Together we can raise awareness and help more SLPs find and connect those missing links to help them feel confident in their patient care every step of the way.
Follow me on Instagram, join the Fresh SLP community on Facebook or learn more at FreshSLP.com. Let’s make those connections. You got this!
Not a substitute for a formal SLP education or medical advice for patients/caregivers.
0 Comments