‘An easy decision’

A love of lacrosse is what first brought Brianna McClain, '28, to La Salle University. Since then, she's been able to cultivate a community and prepare for a future career in speech language pathology.

At five years old, Brianna McClain, '28, had tried several sports, none of which worked out.

"Soccer, I was getting hit in the head, I wasn't coordinated with anything else," she said.

Then her uncle suggested lacrosse, something that no one in her family was that familiar with, but McClain gave it a shot anyway.

"After my first game, I came running off the field and I was like 'mommy, this is my sport!,'" she said. "Ever since then, it's all I've done."

Throughout high school, she played club lacrosse, but when it came time for college, McClain thought she might have to stop playing the sport she loved. An illness in the family meant that wanted to stay close to home in Allentown, Pa., and she had no intention of going to college in the city.

When a recruiter from La Salle called, though, she decided to pay a visit to 20^th and Olney.

"I immediately fell in love with it," she said, citing the campus and closeknit community in proximity to Center City, with being a big part of why. "It was an easy decision, I committed on the spot."

As well as being somewhere McClain could continue to play her sport, La Salle also offered her exactly what she was looking for academically through the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program.

"I personally was in speech therapy growing up, I would be that kid that was pulled out of class to go work with the SLP one-on-one up until fifth grade, so it's a very comfortable environment for me," she said. "As well as I really do enjoy learning about that major, and we have so many resources on here on campus, like our own clinic."

Although McClain hasn't yet started the clinical portion of the program, the interactivity of the major is already a standout of her education.

"Last week we had to create a larynx model and it was awesome," she said. "It was like back in elementary school where you got to put your model together and then present it to the class and that was super fun and interactive."

She also pointed to two classes, Introduction to Sign Language and Phonetics, as highlights of her time in the program so far.

In Introduction to Sign Language, she learned American Sign Language (ASL), as well as how to communicate using ASL. She and her classmates were able to put their new knowledge to practice at the nearby Logan Elementary School to work with students there, and they created La Salle's ASL Club, acting as a resource for Explorers interested in learning or improving their skills.

Phonetics, which looks at the sounds involved with speech, was more intimidating for the class as a whole, she said, as on the first day it felt like they were looking at a completely different language.

"Actually going through the whole class and being able to read it and understand it at the end was super exciting," McClain said.

With hopes of joining the military as a speech-language pathologist (SLP), working with those currently serving and veterans who are seeking rehabilitation for conditions such as psychogenic stuttering, an onset of stuttering tied to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), McClain feels like her classes and education are preparing her to achieve her goals.

Like many of the choices she's made in life, McClain's career aspirations are tied to personal experience.

"My grandfather was in the military for 20 years and he instilled in me my whole life to serve," she said. "And growing up, looking into all the benefits and the resources-and I would love to travel-I just think it would be a really good fit for me."

McClain's time at La Salle is not just about academics though, on top of her classes and playing on the lacrosse team, she's also involved with several groups and activities on campus.

She works with La Salle's Admissions Office, and while a past anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury slightly delayed her training to become an Admissions Campus Explorer (ACE), she's currently a member of the Student Team for Admissions and Recruitment (STAR), a role in which she helps out with campus engagement, event planning, and office work.

Her athletic endeavors don't stop with lacrosse; she's also involved with recreational sports as a member of the rec football team and the spike ball team.

Finally, she has a central role in La Salle's Christian Fellowship, where she acts as one of the three group leaders and is a representative for Christian Ministry, a newer nondenominational faith group on campus, and a part of Fellowship for Student Athletes.

With such a packed schedule, there's one thing that helps McClain stay on top of things: teamwork. In everything she's a part of, all of the students involved play their part and pick up the slack when needed, constantly supporting their peers.

This attitude speaks to the sense of community that she first noticed when she visited campus.

"My favorite thing about being an Explorer, honestly, is celebrating fellow Explorers," she said. "It's super fun to have that kind of community."

-Naomi Thomas