Volunteer Spotlight: Sarah Waggoner, AuD

What is your background in audiology?

My path to becoming an audiologist started during my undergraduate career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, minoring in speech and hearing sciences, and being mentored by Jack Roush, PhD. I then went on to earn my doctorate in audiology at the University of Pittsburgh under the fantastic leadership of Catherine Palmer, PhD. I have now been working as a full-time pediatric audiologist for the past 3.5 years, and currently work on the wonderful pediatric audiology team at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Why do you volunteer with the Academy?

I volunteer with the Academy because it is such a wonderful way to meet like-minded professionals that you would not otherwise have the opportunity to meet and work toward the common goal of advancing the field of audiology together. It was instilled in me very early on during my time at the University of Pittsburgh how important volunteering with the Academy is once you are out in the field in order to work toward bettering the profession as a whole. The work that gets done with the Academy is very important to how our field will continue to grow and develop over time and ensure the field is going in the right direction.

What is one thing that you can say volunteering has done for you and your personal success as an Audiologist?

Volunteering with the Academy has been such a fantastic experience for me! It has allowed me to meet so many wonderful professionals in so many different parts of the country who are also as passionate as I am about advancing the field! It is sometimes rare that you meet other people who care as much as you care about a particular topic and want to work together on that topic to make change happen. I feel as though my voice is heard in all of the groups that I am a part of at the Academy and I am thought of as someone who works hard within the groups that I volunteer with to accomplish our common goals. My volunteer experiences at the Academy make me so confident in what I am doing every day in our clinic, and I know that we are adhering all of the recommended evidence-based practice guidelines to make sure we are caring for our patients and families in the best ways possible! I love taking back what we are working on at the Academy to our pediatric audiology team at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and sharing how we can do things even better to serve our patients! 

What is your favorite movie quote?

My favorite move quote is from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

What game show do you think you could win?

The game show that I think I could win is The Price is Right! I have always loved this game show from a young age and tried to play along at home and win the game with the contestants! It would be so fun to actually go on the show someday!