Some stories begin in classrooms, others on the job. For Susie Schlueter, her’s began in a quiet hospital room, where words were slipping away from someone she loved most. After her father was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Susie witnessed the daily loss of his motor skills and speech, watching the man she loved gradually slip away. And though his battle eventually came to an end, where others might have seen only grief, she felt a calling begin to stir. It was in those quiet, heart-wrenching moments that she first discovered the profound power of communication and the urgent need to protect it. As an undergraduate in ACU Online’s Pre-Master’s Leveling Pathway in Speech-Language Pathology, Susie has embraced her new chapter with conviction and compassion. Looking to become a speech-language pathologist in the medical field, she sees this next chapter as more than just a change in profession, but as a promise to honor her father’s legacy, to serve others and to live out her faith in action.
Blending science with soul, Susie Schlueter is proof that it’s never too late to pursue a calling born from love, lit by faith and powered by the desire to make a difference.
Keeping Family First
Born and raised in Midland, Texas, Susie grew up in a ‘family first’ home. Wherever they needed to go, they went together. Her father worked as a geologist in the oil and gas industry, and Susie remembers seeing how hard her parents worked to keep the family together through good times and bad. Fast forward several years, teenage Susie found herself being told they were moving to New Mexico for her dad’s latest job opportunity – a move she wasn’t necessarily thrilled about. Still, the family moved together and soon, they became the newest residents of Carlsbad, New Mexico.
“It was a huge change for me,” Susie laughs. “Like, as a teenager, looking to find your way and figuring out what sports I liked and who my friends were and all of that was definitely hard. I can honestly say I was not an easy teenager to move by any means.”
Soon enough, Susie graduated from high school and decided she wanted to be a teacher. Graduating from Texas Tech with her degree in early childhood education, she quickly became a teacher in Plano, Texas, where she worked as a kindergarten teacher for over ten years. And though she was enjoying her time working with students, Susie always felt something inside of her telling her it was time to move on. Looking to see what was next, she began taking jobs here and there to make ends meet and figure out what she was meant to do. Taking on roles as a bartender, working in a restaurant and even tutoring, Susie found herself becoming interested in real estate. Loving the fast-paced lifestyle of helping people find their forever homes, she started to see a light at the end of the tunnel – or so she thought.
“Around that same time, my dad got sick,” Susie explains.” He called me and told me, ‘Susan, my hands feel weak.’ He was always active about his health and in good shape and so it was kind of strange that his hands hurt, but being like in his 70s, we thought maybe it was arthritis or something. Pretty soon, he started falling, and that’s when we got more concerned.”
Following up test after test, transferring her dad from facility to facility, Susie started to see her father’s life might drawing to an end. Undergoing heart attacks and now a motor neuron disorder, Susie remembers looking at her dad and thinking about what she was seeing; his lack of movement, slowness of speech and unconscious behavior. All things she never wished on anyone to go through. During this time, Susie recalls spending a lot of time beside her mom and dad. Facing the inevitable effects of ALS, she says she believes she was given the flexibility to be there only by God’s grace.
“I wasn’t working obviously and it was pretty depressing not making any money, but I think God was like ‘Hey, in this season, you’re going to need that extra time’,” Susie says. “And so it’s funny how things all work out like that […] I had a God moment because one day I had this feeling that I couldn’t leave him – I didn’t know why – and literally that was the day he passed. I was the only one with him when he passed away. That was the hardest thing I have ever gone through in my life.”
In a complete loss for words and without even thinking, Susie picked herself up and continued pressing forward. She had just lost her father, but that didn’t mean she was done for. His death meant something to her, and she wanted to see it through.
“The day after he passed away, even going through all that, I felt called to help people,” Susie said. “I woke up the next day, and I was like, I want to help people like my dad. I think I’ve been lost for a very long time. I haven’t known the direction I’m headed in life. I’ve grown apart from God and all this just trying to make it is not working [..] My dad had actually told me at one point like ‘You know you have a degree. If you’re not going to teach, you could do something else.’ And so, I decided I was going into the medical field.”
Back to Square One
During her time meeting with her father’s respiratory specialists, Susie would ask questions about that line of work. How long would it take? Was it meaningful? How did they know they wanted to do it? Thinking back to those conversations, she decided she was going into the medical field, specifically to become a speech and language pathologist. Seeing how her father couldn’t even communicate thirst, hunger or basic needs, she figured this would be the best career move to honor both his legacy and his death.
Looking around from college to college, Susie didn’t want to repeat her in-person college days. She needed something flexible that could give her the extra support she needed. After conducting her own research and seeing how flexible the Pre-Master’s Leveling Pathway in Speech-Language Pathology program was for working adults, she wasted no time in applying to ACU Online. Hitting the ground running, she has chipped away at her courses with plans to complete the pre-leveling requirements by the end of Summer 2025, and then continue onto the master’s program in the fall.
For her, learning multiple subjects related to speech impediments and different population groups has solidified her decision even more. Finishing her last couple of courses, she plans to continue her journey of becoming a speech and language pathologist assistant.
Today, Susie is proud of the work she has conducted thus far. Having gone through traumatic experiences, including the loss of her father and her own health issues, Susie says she is amazed at herself for how far she has come and what she’s been able to accomplish.
“God is good,” said Susie. “Sometimes in life, we can ask ourselves, ‘Why me? What is going on?’ The thing is, God always knows the bigger picture. We may not be able to see it at that moment, but He’s directing us somewhere even through terrible experiences. Of course, I would love to still have my dad here, but even through that, I have witnessed God making something good out of it. I’ve never really received recognition for anything and the fact that I have felt so loved and noticed in this program has been the best decision of my life.”
Do you want to achieve your educational goals like Susan Schlueter? Visit our website or call 855-219-7300 to learn how you can step into a fulfilling, innovative future at ACU Online.
