Where Are They Now: Veronica Baez, MS ‘23, Speech-Language Pathology

Originally from Ecuador, Veronica Baez, MS ‘23, came to the United States with her family when she was two years old, specifically because she was born with a cleft lip and palate and the U.S. health care system better met her medical needs. 

She received a lot of services growing up, and something that stuck out to her was how difficult it was for her to talk. 

“I had such a great team at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and services at my school, and the impact it made, it really did help me find my voice and feel comfortable with myself, even as I was going through a lot of different changes because of cleft,” said Baez. “I’ve known since I was a kid that speech-language pathology was what I wanted to do. I wanted to help people the same way that I was helped, not just the patient but the families as well.”

After graduating from Penn State in 2019 with a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Baez became a speech-language pathology assistant at the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, where she was able to gain experience with school children and telehealth appointments with parents. 

She decided to enter what was then the Salus University — now Drexel University — Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program on the Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus, because of the early clinical experiences students received at the on-campus clinical facility, the Speech-Language Institute (SLI). 

“We were thrown into the clinic with patients in week two of school. That’s something that was really scary, but we had the professors there and they were very supportive and hands-on with us if we ever had questions or felt uncomfortable with anything,” said Baez. 

Because of that early exposure to clients, Baez said she felt comfortable and prepared working with younger patients and their parents. 

“So, once I was out in the real world, I felt it helped me transition very smoothly to working with the population, as well as asking questions,” she said. “My professors and supervisors were very open and helpful, and because of that, I felt I could also do that in the real world. Getting that in grad school helped me feel confident enough to do that in my profession.”

Since graduation, Baez has been working at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, which is where she completed her first internship during her second year of grad school. She mainly works with outpatient pediatrics speech and language patients and is also training to conduct outpatient feeding therapy and inpatient feeding therapy.

“We see a lot of the babies in the NICU; most of them are born premature and have difficulty swallowing because of that. We, as speech therapists, help them eat,” said Baez, who also did an externship at a breastfeeding center during her education. “We use different strategies for what’s best for them when they are actively feeding.”

She is also beginning to work with the hospital’s cleft palate clinic, an area she is deeply passionate about because of her own personal experiences, and is excited to serve as the primary speech-language pathologist within that clinical facility. 

When she’s not being an SLP, Baez helps coach lacrosse at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and at Reign Lacrosse Club. She likes to spend time going out with friends, and she’s a big fan of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Her long-term goal is to be an inpatient speech therapist, particularly working with dysphasia (feeding difficulties) patients.

“Since I’m just starting to work on those competencies, I’m excited to get one step closer to that,” she said. “I really love St. Christopher’s and am excited to grow in this field here.”