About Grace

 Hi y’all, my name is Grace Spath and I am a junior speech pathology and child development double major from Lake Bluff currently studying at Texas Christian University. I am a SLP intern at GiGi’s Deerfield for the summer (and hopefully the summers to come) and have been running our Tot Talks program which is a speech and language program for 3-6 year old’s who have aged out of LMNOP.

Throughout high school I was a volunteer for Libertyville Stars a Special Olympics swim team, where I found my passion for working with kids and adults with special needs. I quickly came to realize I could not make any money volunteering as a full time job in the future so I looked at all my options and found speech pathology to fit with everything I was looking for in a future career. I love how you are able to see the progress you are making with a client each and every session.

I wanted to intern at GiGi’s because I was hoping to get as much experience as I could with speech and language programs. Learning from Jill why we do certain things in each program has been fascinating. Working with kids with special needs is a passion of mine and being able to learn from Jill who has made a successful career out of that has been so valuable.

I have learned way too many new things to name everything, but GiGi’s has taught me a lot. From seeing what it takes to run a nonprofit to learning more and more about the Down syndrome community, Shannon knows it all and has shared so much insight. I have loved meeting every family and seeing the impact GiGi’s has on each one. I would not have wanted to spend my summer anywhere else and hope to continue to stay as involved as I can in the future.

~ Grace Spath

Sign up for Tot Talks to meet Grace before she goes back to school at the end of August! www.gigisplayhouse.org/deerfield/calendar