Student Story - Emma Jimenez
Name: Emma Jimenez
Undergraduate Major: BS Speech Language and Hearing Sciences May 2025
Graduate program: MS Speech Language Pathology
Expected Graduation: May 2027
Hometown: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Student Success Unit and Position: THINK TANK Desk Assistant, August 2024 to present
Post-graduation plans: Clinical fellowship for 9 months to a year, with the goal of becoming a Speech Language Pathologist at a hospital or private practice.
Emma Jimenez graduated in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Language and Hearing Sciences. This fall, she started her journey as a Masters student, pursuing a degree in Speech Language Pathology. She is currently a Desk Assistant at THINK TANK.
Skills for the Future
Throughout the year and a half that Emma has worked at THINK TANK, she has developed community with other staff and developed her skills as a communicator and listener. The number one skill Emma has mastered throughout her time at THINK TANK is communication. It is a key strength for someone in a Desk Assistant position, and is even more crucial for Emma who is pursuing a career as a Speech Language Pathologist. Emma emphasized that helping students who visit THINK TANK understand processes and policies has improved her abilities to communicate clearly and effectively with others.
"I need to know how to talk to clients, as well as... their parents, or their spouse. Being able to talk to the parents as a professional, or the staff more professionally - I think that will carry on into my future."
As a graduate student, Emma has also taken on an informal mentorship role, as other Desk Assistants come to her for advice. Emma listens to her peers and provides them advice, and reflected that “just being a person they trust who they can call or come to if they need help - has been really meaningful."
Feels like Home
Knowing U of A was where she was meant to be, came early on for Emma. She visited on a family trip in 8th grade: "I walked into campus and I told my mom, 'Yeah, I’m gonna go to college here…’ It was just the vibe… so cliché, but I fell in love with the campus."
For Emma, the beauty of campus cemented her decision: “The green grass really got me, because in Arizona you don’t see it. And coming from Puerto Rico, it’s all green, so this kind of feels a little bit like home."
This sense of a home carried Emma throughout her undergraduate career. When applying to grad schools, U of A was Emma’s #1 choice. Not only had she built her academic life here, but her connection to her professors was such that she couldn’t imagine starting over. In March 2025, when Emma experienced a huge unexpected loss in her life - her grandfather, who was her favorite person - it was the support from her professors that showed her what genuine care and empathy looked like. It was that which sealed the deal for her staying: "I wasn’t looking to start over. That was ultimately the last thing that solidified my wanting to be here."