When Ally Valde was a high school student beginning to make plans for college, she knew exactly where she wanted to go.

“I applied to only one school, which was Iowa,” she says. “It had everything I was interested in.”

Many who feel such certainty have familiarity with the University of Iowa from growing up in the Midwest; however, Valde had no association with Iowa. While at McNair High School in Jersey City, New Jersey—a diverse community in which she’d lived all her life—Valde started searching for undergraduate and graduate programs in her two areas of interest, special education and speech pathology.

“I decided to look up schools that had good programs in both of those,” she says. “When Iowa came up, I was like, ‘What?!’” she says.

But rather than being put off by the idea of going to a university so far from home, Valde found it appealing.

“My community had 300,000 people, and I needed a break from city life,” says Valde, who is pursuing a certificate in disability studies in addition to her speech and hearing science major. “Iowa is like the perfect option for me, because it allowed me to have the Big Ten school but a small-town feel.

“Right away when I got here, I felt like I knew people. Growing up in a big city, you don’t know everyone. You don’t really talk to the people who work at stores, restaurants, things like that. Here, I’ve noticed things, like that the staff at Heyn’s Ice Cream know my order. Something about that feels amazing.”

Valde’s confidence in choosing and applying to Iowa was bolstered by two factors: the encouraging environment of her high school and her early spark of interest in speech pathology, which came when she saw a friend who was embarrassed about her stutter improve and gain confidence with help from their school speech pathologist.

“I remember noticing how she helped my friend,” Valde says of the speech therapist. “I’ve just always wanted to be someone who helps other people.”

In her first year at Iowa, Valde worked retail to help pay for college. But then she learned about Iowa REACH, a transition program for students with intellectual, cognitive, and learning disabilities, and got hired as a mentor—a role that confirmed and deepened her initial career interest.

“Working for UI REACH has made me learn that I want to work in this area for the rest of my life, in terms of speech and hearing,” she says.

Now a lead mentor with UI REACH, which stands for Realizing Educational and Career Hopes, Valde helps supervise goal-setting between students and mentors and assists her boss in the hiring process for lead mentor and mentor positions.

“It has given me a very well-rounded experience in leadership and has taught me so many life skills,” she says.

Valde’s adviser, Jerald Moon, professor of communication sciences and disorders, noted her interest and enthusiasm in her work with students in UI REACH, and encouraged her to approach a faculty member about the idea of engaging in independent study.

“Whenever I’ve wanted to look for something or a new opportunity, whether it be the faculty in my department or the staff in the College of Education, they’ve gladly helped me find it right away,” Valde says. “I don’t think I’d have gotten this kind of experience anywhere other than Iowa.”

Valde began working on a project centered on individuals with a condition called Angelman syndrome, a type of chromosomal disorder that affects the nervous system, under the guidance of Krista Davidson, clinical associate professor at the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center. Valde then went on to conduct a second independent study under Davidson, this time on the use of augmentative and alternative communication with clients who have a neurological disorder, childhood apraxia of speech.

“Ally is earnest in her approach to learning and is always appreciative of my efforts to teach and guide her,” Davidson says. “She clearly wants to be an advocate for individuals with disabilities.”

In addition to the support she has received academically and through her on-campus job, Valde, a first-generation Filipino American, says her college experience has been enriched by the Asian Pacific American Cultural Center (APACC). Valde says she would advise prospective students to get involved right away.

“When I first came to Iowa, I didn’t interact with the APACC at first, which is too bad because now I love this place,” she says. “It has become my home away from home.

“If you identify with a cultural house, make it a goal to visit it at least once during your first year, because you don’t know the impact that cultural health has,” she continues. “It’s a very welcoming environment and supportive community where they support everyone’s growth. It has allowed me to meet people who are from a similar background, and I’m so glad to be exposed to it.”

The center recently chartered the Filipino Student Organization, in which Valde hopes to become involved. She is also setting her sights on graduate programs, including at Iowa.

“Working with and for others is the perfect career path for Ally,” says Moon. “She is outgoing, caring, and full of enthusiasm. I have no doubt that she will positively impact the lives of those she works with.”