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Speech-Language Pathology
Samuel Farrand, MS ‘17, has been named the Speech-Language Pathology 2025 Alumnus of the Year Award recipient.
“The award feels great as an acknowledgment that the work I am doing is serving that purpose and improving the quality of life of many children who stutter,’’ he said.
Nominator Robert Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, chair and program director of the Speech-Language Pathology program, Salus at Drexel University, said that Farrand demonstrates care for his clients and his community.
“Sam embodies the core facets of this award by demonstrating extraordinary service and contributions to the Speech-Language Pathology profession while bringing honor and prestige to the University,” said Serianni.
Farrand is a graduate of the inaugural cohort of Speech-Language Pathology students. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in Criminal Justice and had a variety of positions such as exercise technician at a physical therapy clinic in Delaware, in food service, and did a stint as a bartender. He then moved back home to New Jersey to help his father on the farm, and spent summers building sets for theatrical productions.
It was Farrand’s mother-in-law who suggested that his background in child care with foster children and theater, would be perfect for getting into speech therapy.
“I heard about Salus word-of-mouth from somebody at one of the job sites where I was volunteering. She was an SLP student, and she said there was a new school accepting applications,” said Farrand. “It was a new program, a health-focused school and it had a lot of good resources for research and a lot of focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, which was really great.”
According to Farrand, the SLP clinical and externship programs were very robust for a new program. He was fortunate enough to complete his externship at a Level 1 trauma unit at a hospital, which he said was invaluable.
“I talked to a number of students after the fact, and I didn’t hear about very many who had an experience like that. Salus gave me that access,” he said.
After graduation in 2017, he secured a job at a large school district in Delaware, and was confident going in that he was well trained and could handle the task.
After five years working in that school district, handling a heavy workload and the stresses that comes with it, Farrand decided he needed a change.
In June 2022, Farrand accepted a position as a Research Speech Pathologist at his alma mater, the University of Delaware in Newark. He is currently the lab coordinator and research SLP for the Delaware Stuttering Project in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University.
There, he’s involved in a series of studies on the anatomy and function of the brain and their effect on stuttering in adults and children using brain imaging such as MRI scans. Farrand’s role is to be the main contact for parents and children who participate in the studies and to help build the research network as well as being a resource for parents of children and adults in the region who stutter.
The study has a five-year grant and could be extended according to Farrand. After that, he could choose to get more involved with the University of Delaware and maybe pursue a doctorate in SLP or Public Health.
Farrand and his wife, Jessica have two children, a son Phineas, and a daughter, Felicity, three- and-a half year old twins. In his spare time, Farrand enjoys doing improv comedy, playing competitive in-league soccer, and dabbling in real estate investments with his wife, who is a registered dietitian.
