What is it about?
This study examines a 7-week seminar designed to help undergraduate speech-language pathology students reflect on meaning, purpose, and character in their academic and future careers. The seminar introduced practical ideas from ancient Greek and Roman philosophy and applied them to students’ academic work and professional goals. After completing the seminar, students reported greater clarity about why they chose the profession, a stronger sense of purpose, and new strategies for handling challenges in meaningful ways.
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Why is it important?
Health professions such as speech-language pathology face growing demands and high rates of stress and burnout. Yet professional training often focuses primarily on technical skills, with less attention to meaning, purpose, and character development. This study offers an example of how structured reflection on these themes can be integrated into undergraduate education. By helping students clarify their values, develop resilience, and connect their daily work to a broader sense of purpose, this approach may support long-term well-being and strengthen preparation for human-centered careers.
Perspectives
When we began this seminar, we were unsure how undergraduate students would respond to ancient philosophical ideas. What we found was genuine curiosity, thoughtful engagement, and a willingness to apply these concepts to real academic and personal challenges. Watching students wrestle with ideas about virtue, purpose, and resilience, without the distraction of technology, was both refreshing and personally meaningful. This experience strengthened our conviction that ancient wisdom traditions still offer practical tools for forming thoughtful, resilient clinicians today.
Brian Orr
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
It was a pleasure to see students engaging so earnestly with the big questions of finding meaning in one's work. There seems to be a genuine desire to aspire towards a more fullfilling life amongst emerging professionals, and watching students hone their craft in the meaningful work seminar indicates that there may still be lessons in the ancient philosophical teachings that are pertinent in the modern era!
Konstantinos Xanthios
University of Toronto
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Obstacle Is the Way: Communication Sciences and Disorders Student Perceptions of a Meaningful Work Seminar, Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, February 2026, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA),
DOI: 10.1044/2025_persp-25-00102.
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