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Muchinka Peele ’22 hails from the south-central African nation of Zambia. But it took extensive study and initiative, and a Ph.D. from Texas Woman’s, to pioneer her nation’s first speech-language therapy program.

Peele, whose prior experience is in physical therapy, began her quest to bring speech-therapy training to Zambia 10 years ago. She and 17 other Zambians studied remotely with Texas Woman’s professors for two years to learn the techniques of speech-language pathology. Peele made the journey to ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÏÂÔØ’s Denton campus to pursue her Ph.D. in 2019.

She urged senior Zambian government officials to establish the nation’s first speech-language therapy bachelor’s program. As an indication of her success in helping those in need, Levy Mwanawasa Medical University (LMMU), in Zambia’s national capital, Lusaka, now offers a bachelor’s degree in speech and language therapy.

“Muchinka has been courageous in helping Zambians better understand speech and language disorders, and ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÏÂÔØ has been instrumental in the creation of the program at LMMU,” says Communication Sciences Chair and Professor Cynthia Gill-Sams.

Peele earned her Ph.D. in special education with an emphasis in communication sciences to gain the necessary skills to help those with speech-language disorders in hospitals, clinics and classrooms.

“I plan to return home this year to reopen my speech-therapy clinic, teach courses at LMMU and begin the initial phase of a new school for children with disabilities in Lusaka,” says Peele.

Although excited to return to Zambia, she calls ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÏÂÔØ her second home. Says Peele, “²ÝÝ®´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÏÂÔØ’s become my family. I’m grateful for the ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÏÂÔØ professors who invested years of work and were dedicated to making speech-language therapy training possible in Zambia.”