 Sometimes it's a student who wants to go in our field and he or she stutters they you know are not sure that they can do it you know because you think well I stutter how can I help other people who stutter and so that very thing you know happened I'm guessing maybe five or six years ago practically where you're standing there was a young woman who was a first-year student and her advisor was next door and he came in with her and said this is Naomi she's one of my advisees she stutters and she thinks she's gonna leave UVM and get into a different field because she feels like her stuttering is gonna like not make her do what she wants to do so she and I you know basically spent four years together because she was a freshman when she graduated she you know like was much more fluent she was very confident she graduate she did an honors thesis she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and is now doing her PhD at absolutely the best graduate school in our field and she you know and I have stayed in touch and she wrote a wonderful letter of support for the Kitter Award for me saying that you know I helped her be able to do what she wanted with her life which is to touch other people who stutter. I'm Barry Guitar I'm a professor of communication science and disorders and I came to UVM back in 1976.