Family from eastern Pennsylvania on the University that said ‘yes’

hen Nancy Zimmerman’s daughter Kaylee was searching for colleges, she had a very clear and specific view of what she wanted to study. Despite living in Langhorne, north of Philadelphia near the New Jersey border, the Zimmerman’s found an ideal match on the other side of Pennsylvania.

A longtime musician, Kaylee wanted to study music therapy and pursue a doctorate in occupational therapy. The Zimmermans desired a school like SRU that would give Kaylee the support and opportunities she would need to reach her goals.

“I spoke to other schools about what she wanted to do, and they all said that it wouldn’t be possible because of the way the programs were structured and because music therapy is so specialized,” Nancy explained. “I finally contacted SRU, and they said that she absolutely could.”

At many schools, occupational therapy programs operate as “3+3” programs in which students spend three years studying occupational therapy as undergraduate students before going on to spend three years in doctoral programs. While these programs do accelerate students’ progress, they aren’t always the best path for students with interests as specific and specialized as Kaylee’s.

“The approach was to do a traditional four years of undergrad in music therapy and then the three-year doctorate in occupational therapy. The school had physical therapists do this, but Kaylee was the first music therapist,” Nancy said.

The Zimmermans are a State System of Higher Education family: Kaylee’s brother recently graduated from PennWest California, and both Nancy and her husband attended state universities.

“We looked at a few private schools, too, but the state schools offer so much financially and in terms of overall experience,” Nancy said.

While the Zimmermans knew the merits of state schools, their first visit to the town of Slippery Rock for a tour of the University helped seal the deal.

“We call it a ‘Hallmark’ town,” Nancy said, praising the small town for its friendly citizens, unique shops and restaurants and well-kept main street. “We visited campus in the summer, and they put a presentation on, and the head of her music therapy program [Vern Miller] came and talked specifically with her. He didn’t have to, but he did.

After that first visit, Kaylee, a French horn player, was put in touch with French horn players on campus and even had a French horn lesson conducted via Zoom with a faculty member. Then, when Kaylee went in for her audition for the music therapy program, she got the opportunity to sit in on classes and to meet other music therapy students who showed her around campus and had lunch with her.

“Everyone went out of their way for her,” Nancy said. “After we got home, she was like, ‘That’s it. It’s Slippery Rock. I don’t need to look anywhere else.’”

Kaylee’s advisers in music therapy and occupational therapy also worked together to ensure that she was poised to approach issues from both disciplinary perspectives to make her a consummate expert in both fields.

While the Zimmermans live on the other side of the state, they knew that SRU was the place for Kaylee when they experienced the University’s commitment to going the extra mile to help students meet their personal career goals. The Zimmermans had the confidence to say ‘yes’ to SRU because SRU first said ‘yes’ to Kaylee’s goals.