The following is an excerpt from my speech delivered during the Honors & Awards Banquet on Thursday, March 31, 2022 while accepting the 2022 Samuel F. Lybarger Industry Award from the American Academy of Audiology.
I have had some time to reflect on my career and a million different dots needed to connect for me to stand before you at the podium this evening as this year’s recipient of the Samuel F. Lybarger Industry Award. It’s impossible to list every “dot” but there are three that played a significant supporting role in empowering me to give back to the profession of audiology in an apparently meaningful way. Interestingly, all three “dots” involve the initials “B.K.”.
When I started the graduate program at Cleveland State University, pursing a master’s degree in Audiology, there was a newly hired assistant professor in Dr. Bharti Katbamna. She was the first (and only) person who pulled me aside one day and said, “You should seriously consider pursuing a Ph.D.” That quick comment reframed my mindset over the course of a weekend and changed the trajectory of professional opportunities for which I am so grateful.
So, I decided to purse a Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati where the universe gifted me with the second B.K. in my mentor Dr. Robert (Bob) Keith. From day one, Dr. Keith taught me to give back to the profession of audiology without expecting anything in return because “that’s what you do”. While collaborating on several HIV/AIDS research projects, he instilled my desire to educate and advocate. I remain indebted to Bob for the many lessons he taught me that made me a better audiologist and better researcher.
Finally, the third “B.K.’ is not one person but a small group of individuals I will refer to as the “band of Kemps”. Nearly 20 years ago, through an interesting sequence of event, Bob Kemp and Margy Kemp invited me to join the Oaktree Products family. They apparently saw something special in me and I most certainly saw something in them which was the commitment to give back to the profession of audiology without expecting much in return. For nearly two decades, Bob and Margy not only provided me with the flexibility, but with the resources and support to give back to the profession of audiology beyond my responsibilities to the company. And while both Bob and Margy are now retired, that commitment lives on through their sons Michael and David Kemp who are now driving the Oaktree Products bus and I hope to be along for the ride for as long as they’ll have me.
