From Clinical Hours to Community Impact: How Participation in a National Service Corps During Fieldwork Shapes the Professional Identity of Speech-Language Pathology Students

Abstract

Purpose: Professional identity formation in the field of speech-language pathology has received limited attention, particularly regarding how sustained civic engagement experiences during graduate training shape students' understanding of their future roles, values, and responsibilities. While programs such as Teach For America have sought to purposely cultivate service-oriented professional identities through engaging new teachers in specialized national service-oriented cohorts, few parallel efforts have existed for speech-language pathology students to integrate civic engagement into their early clinical training through a civically engaged cohort experience. This clinical forum examines how participation in AmeriCorps, a national service program through which members engage in community service, during graduate clinical education influences the professional identity formation of speech-language pathology students. Method: Seventy-eight students completed one-semester externships in underserved public schools while serving as AmeriCorps members at Montclair State University between summer 2022 and fall 2025. These students wrote reflection papers in response to a common prompt at the end of the AmeriCorps term. We conducted thematic content analysis of these reflection papers to explore how participation in AmeriCorps appeared to impact students' emerging sense of professional identity. Results: Thematic analysis revealed six key themes demonstrating AmeriCorps' impact on students' professional identities. Three themes illuminated mechanisms facilitating identity transformation, including (a) reframing getting clinical hours as an opportunity for community service, (b) fostering students' sense of belonging to a larger service community, and (c) providing financial support enabling full engagement with their clinical education. Three themes captured the impacts of AmeriCorps on their professional identity: Students (a) expanded their understanding of the speech-language pathologist's (SLP's) role to include equity-oriented practice, (b) viewed civic engagement as central to professional identity, and (c) solidified students' views of using clinical skills to serve a broader societal purpose. Conclusions: Embedding speech-language pathology clinical training within the AmeriCorps national service framework appeared to facilitate professional identity transformation during graduate education. This partnership model represents a promising approach for cultivating service-oriented professional identities in speech-language pathology students.