After graduating in 2009, Kathryn Anderson has continued on her educational journey: she is pursuing graduate studies.

"I chose AU because it offered me the freedom to continue my education at Mount Royal College (now Mount Royal University), a place I had come to love with professors I admired and respected, but also the ability to receive a university degree, something MRC could not give me on its own. I chose to pursue a bachelor of arts in psychology because it was a solid place to start to pursue my goal of receiving my master's in speech language pathology. I also love learning about why and how things work, including people. We equate to very complex machines.

"Earning my degree has allowed me to continue on in my studies and my goal to become a speech language pathologist. Earning my degree has also helped show that I know how to learn and can turn around and apply what I have been taught. Having a degree also shows that I am dedicated to what I do, and I believe that many people in the professional world see those qualities as transferring over to a professional situation. Personally achieving my degree has shown me I can make it. The road to getting there has taught me a great deal about myself and those people around me. The path I chose to follow to that final destination has impacted who I am today by impacting my physical location, the people I have met, and the challenges and successes that I have had along the way.

"My goal has always been to pursue graduate studies in speech language pathology. I never had the intention of being done school after my (bachelor's) degree. I want very few things more than I want to be an SLP, and graduate studies are what will get me there. I could not practice without my master's, so that is what I will do - get my master's.

"I am eternally grateful to the professors that I have had along the way who challenged me to move beyond where I was personally and academically. They set the bar high and then helped me find the tools that I needed to get there. I think AU is fabulous because it allowed me to stay at Mount Royal, and the education I received through that collaboration was outstanding. I do not believe I would have had a similar experience elsewhere and I would not trade it for the world. I believe that AU and the professors it employs truly care about ... students and their goals."