Barbara Bernhardt (née Handford)
Why did you choose your program at UBC and what did you enjoy most about it?
In my undergrad I was interested in languages and took as many as I could fit into the timetable. German was my favourite because of the courses offered at the time (late 1960s). I particularly enjoyed the courses of Dr. Michael Batts and Frau Fürstenwald, I think her name was, but all the courses were interesting in terms of the literature and language. I even did one year of the Master’s program in German but decided that I needed a more hands-on career in something therapeutic (it was difficult to get jobs in German departments at universities back then), hence switching to Audiology and Speech Sciences for my MSc, not the least because one of the German instructors said in class that if you don’t have a social conscience by about age 20, you might never have one (taking off from something Heinrich Heine wrote). I thought I better get one!
What were some of your most meaningful experiences at UBC?
Learning that having a social conscience is a good thing! Also, the fact that the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) provided summer funding to study German through the Goethe-Institut (Kochel-am-See) and other places (Kiel). I was able to take advantage of those fantastic summer programs twice, which very much enhanced my German learning and knowledge of other countries. The seminars in Mittelhochdeutsch, the Romantics and the Baroque period taught by Frau Fürstenwald were also inspiring. Being a grammar freak, all the courses on the language itself were much appreciated and I still would like more!
What choices did you make at UBC that contributed to your career success / journey?
Having the undergraduate degree in German paid off in 2004 during my 30-year tenure as a professor in Speech-Language Pathology. A graduate student in speech-language pathology came to UBC for the final year of her Master’s in Germany (Würzburg) and I subsequently became a committee member for her PhD in Köln. She was a catalyst for an international crosslinguistic project in children’s speech development (typical, atypical) in 17 languages which my husband (Joe Stemberger, Emeritus, Linguistics) and I are still coordinating 5-6 years after retiring. So, German came back to my life 34 years after I finished one year of that MA in German. Very nice circle of life!
What was your first job after graduation and what other jobs did you have before your current position?
- Speech-language pathologist and researcher assistant at Stanford’s Childhood Aphasia Institute, after my MSc
- Several other speech-language pathology jobs in BC in health, education, and private practice, primarily with children (occasional German-speaking children)
- Professor in School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, 1990-2017
Is your current career path as you originally intended? What challenges did you face in launching your career?
I had no intention of becoming a professor in speech-language pathology. I thought I would be a UN interpreter when I was 19, but then after going to Europe, I realized that everyone there was better suited for such jobs, because they spoke at least 3 languages each, one of them being English (which most spoke well). Later, I thought I would end up a German prof, but then found out those jobs were hard to find. So finally, I decided to do something socially oriented, i.e., speech-language pathology, since the careers’ office brochure said if I liked language and didn’t care about money, I would like speech therapy. That has been true! Although the money wasn’t bad. I had no idea that I would end up back at UBC for a doctorate and a job as a professor or that later I would end up doing research on German children’s speech development.
What do you like about your current job and what do you find challenging? How does it relate to your degree?
As a Professor Emerita, I can still do research and write the papers that I didn’t finish when I got paid to do that kind of work! Work-life balance is challenging, though, as it always can be for professor-types—I need to take more time to play! The German part of the crosslinguistic study in children’s speech development directly relates to the courses in the German department on the language itself, primarily concerning phonology and morphology.
From your experience, what has been the value of having an Arts degree?
I appreciate my Arts degree because I wanted to specialize in language-learning and was able to do that. The exposure to the literature in the various languages was a bonus that has stayed with me all these years, since I still read literature in all the languages that I learned as an undergraduate, plus do research in children’s speech/language development in those languages. When travelling for research, it has been a bonus to be able to speak the languages learned in the 1960s! The final project of my career would not have been possible without that undergraduate training. Vielen Dank!
What advice would you give to students and alumni interested in breaking into your industry?
If you would like to be an audiologist or speech-language pathologist because you already have a social conscience and want to spend your career doing something very satisfying, you need undergraduate preparation in speech sciences and linguistics (several prerequisites) and First Class Grades, plus volunteer experience to get into a Master’s program in the field. Knowing modern languages is very helpful (whichever they are) because we live in a multilingual environment and not all of your clients are going to speak English as a first language.
What advice would you give your graduating self?
Be open to opportunities. You never know where life may lead you. Keep reading in the languages you have been learning and keep travelling so you can practice the languages in real contexts! And when you retire, maybe consider taking another course from CENES, because that too has changed a lot in 50 years! And your German skills will have dropped considerably since 1969!
Barbara Bernhardt (née Handford)
Why did you choose your program at UBC and what did you enjoy most about it?
In my undergrad I was interested in languages and took as many as I could fit into the timetable. German was my favourite because of the courses offered at the time (late 1960s). I particularly enjoyed the courses of Dr. Michael Batts and Frau Fürstenwald, I think her name was, but all the courses were interesting in terms of the literature and language. I even did one year of the Master’s program in German but decided that I needed a more hands-on career in something therapeutic (it was difficult to get jobs in German departments at universities back then), hence switching to Audiology and Speech Sciences for my MSc, not the least because one of the German instructors said in class that if you don’t have a social conscience by about age 20, you might never have one (taking off from something Heinrich Heine wrote). I thought I better get one!
What were some of your most meaningful experiences at UBC?
Learning that having a social conscience is a good thing! Also, the fact that the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) provided summer funding to study German through the Goethe-Institut (Kochel-am-See) and other places (Kiel). I was able to take advantage of those fantastic summer programs twice, which very much enhanced my German learning and knowledge of other countries. The seminars in Mittelhochdeutsch, the Romantics and the Baroque period taught by Frau Fürstenwald were also inspiring. Being a grammar freak, all the courses on the language itself were much appreciated and I still would like more!
What choices did you make at UBC that contributed to your career success / journey?
Having the undergraduate degree in German paid off in 2004 during my 30-year tenure as a professor in Speech-Language Pathology. A graduate student in speech-language pathology came to UBC for the final year of her Master’s in Germany (Würzburg) and I subsequently became a committee member for her PhD in Köln. She was a catalyst for an international crosslinguistic project in children’s speech development (typical, atypical) in 17 languages which my husband (Joe Stemberger, Emeritus, Linguistics) and I are still coordinating 5-6 years after retiring. So, German came back to my life 34 years after I finished one year of that MA in German. Very nice circle of life!
What was your first job after graduation and what other jobs did you have before your current position?
- Speech-language pathologist and researcher assistant at Stanford’s Childhood Aphasia Institute, after my MSc
- Several other speech-language pathology jobs in BC in health, education, and private practice, primarily with children (occasional German-speaking children)
- Professor in School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, 1990-2017
Is your current career path as you originally intended? What challenges did you face in launching your career?
I had no intention of becoming a professor in speech-language pathology. I thought I would be a UN interpreter when I was 19, but then after going to Europe, I realized that everyone there was better suited for such jobs, because they spoke at least 3 languages each, one of them being English (which most spoke well). Later, I thought I would end up a German prof, but then found out those jobs were hard to find. So finally, I decided to do something socially oriented, i.e., speech-language pathology, since the careers’ office brochure said if I liked language and didn’t care about money, I would like speech therapy. That has been true! Although the money wasn’t bad. I had no idea that I would end up back at UBC for a doctorate and a job as a professor or that later I would end up doing research on German children’s speech development.
What do you like about your current job and what do you find challenging? How does it relate to your degree?
As a Professor Emerita, I can still do research and write the papers that I didn’t finish when I got paid to do that kind of work! Work-life balance is challenging, though, as it always can be for professor-types—I need to take more time to play! The German part of the crosslinguistic study in children’s speech development directly relates to the courses in the German department on the language itself, primarily concerning phonology and morphology.
From your experience, what has been the value of having an Arts degree?
I appreciate my Arts degree because I wanted to specialize in language-learning and was able to do that. The exposure to the literature in the various languages was a bonus that has stayed with me all these years, since I still read literature in all the languages that I learned as an undergraduate, plus do research in children’s speech/language development in those languages. When travelling for research, it has been a bonus to be able to speak the languages learned in the 1960s! The final project of my career would not have been possible without that undergraduate training. Vielen Dank!
What advice would you give to students and alumni interested in breaking into your industry?
If you would like to be an audiologist or speech-language pathologist because you already have a social conscience and want to spend your career doing something very satisfying, you need undergraduate preparation in speech sciences and linguistics (several prerequisites) and First Class Grades, plus volunteer experience to get into a Master’s program in the field. Knowing modern languages is very helpful (whichever they are) because we live in a multilingual environment and not all of your clients are going to speak English as a first language.
What advice would you give your graduating self?
Be open to opportunities. You never know where life may lead you. Keep reading in the languages you have been learning and keep travelling so you can practice the languages in real contexts! And when you retire, maybe consider taking another course from CENES, because that too has changed a lot in 50 years! And your German skills will have dropped considerably since 1969!
