By Erin Jester
Jaclyn Colopietro, a third-year Doctor of Audiology student in the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, has been selected for a highly competitive externship with the U.S. Navy.
The Navy’s audiology externship program is very selective, accepting only two applicants each year. The yearlong externship is the first part of Colopietro’s eight-year commitment to serving in the military.
Prior to UF, Colopietro worked as a speech-language pathologist for almost a decade. She first worked in school settings in her hometown, Baltimore, then in skilled nursing facilities, then began traveling for work during the COVID-19 pandemic and completed contracts in Alaska and Hawaii.
“I did almost everything I could with speech pathology that I wanted to, but I had this itch that I couldn’t scratch,” she said.
Colopietro comes from a military family — her father was a Navy aviator — and felt called to serve, she said. She wanted to join the Navy specifically, but the branch doesn’t hire speech therapists, so she decided to make the jump to audiology and applied to UF.
Once accepted, she said her mentors Hollea Ryan, Ph.D., Au.D., a clinical associate professor in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and audiology program director; and Shinichi Someya, Ph.D., an associate professor with dual appointments in the audiology program and the College of Medicine’s Department of Physiology and Aging; made sure her internships and research were setting her up to achieve her goal.
“Jaclyn is a great representative of the student-clinician we strive to cultivate in the Au.D. program,” Ryan said. “Her hard work and dedication are evident in all she does.”
Colopietro will head to Norfolk, Virginia, in May. During the externship she will work with a clinical supervisor who will make sure Colopietro is proficient in every aspect of audiology, including pediatric audiology, vestibular disorders, hearing tests and hearing aids. From there she will attend officer development school, then be stationed at a naval base that could be as close as Jacksonville or as far away as Japan.
Hearing conservation is a top priority in naval audiology, she said, which means she will spend a lot of time educating sailors about preventative measures.
“Hearing protection is not sexy,” Colopietro said. “But once we lose our hearing, we can never get it back. Hearing aids can do a lot, but they don’t restore normal hearing.”
She will also have the opportunity to keep conducting research. The pressure Navy pilots experience in flight can cause middle- and inner-ear dysfunction, which military researchers study closely to stay at the forefront of prevention and treatment.
Colopietro said she’s excited to expand her skill set and contribute to a greater good.
“I wanted to help,” she said. “My main goal is to use my talent and my time to help as many people as possible. I’m very passionate about military families, so to be a clinician and help the community I grew up in is really important to me.”