JACKSON — Twin sisters Ebonee and Ebonea’ Harrison, 28, earned master’s degrees in speech-language pathology and audiology from Jackson State University on Friday, May 1, celebrating sisterhood and a career choice they said honors their late father.
The St. James Parish, Louisiana, natives said their father suffered a traumatic brain injury in a collision with a train before they were born that left him in a weeklong coma, paralyzed on one side and unable to speak. As they neared their 16th birthday, the sisters and their father were struck in a separate crash with a drunk driver that took his life, they said.
The twins said their mother showed home videos and recounted how physical therapy and a speech pathologist helped restore their father’s mobility and voice. “For him to be able to communicate and still be able to express himself, and take care of us, was a big thing. It was an eye-opener for us, and we wanted to come into this field based on that,” they said. “We wanted to come into this career and change lives as well.”
During the JSU program the sisters deepened their interest through clinical placements at Brookdale Senior Living in Clinton, Methodist Rehabilitation and Smart Therapy LLC Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinic, where they worked with patients who were nonverbal, blind, hearing impaired, autistic or living with dementia, stroke and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. They noted speech-language pathologists use tools such as augmentative and alternative communication devices and the Picture Exchange Communication System to assist people who cannot speak. “Everyone’s voice deserves to be heard no matter what, and everyone deserves a chance to communicate,” Ebonea’ said.
Both said clinical work reinforced their desire to serve communities in Mississippi and Louisiana. They said they currently have more than three job offers among a skilled nursing facility, a pediatric clinic and an elementary school. “I love this field, and being here really made me love it even more. It didn’t sway me away,” Ebonea’ said. “I learned a ton at Jackson State University that I don’t think I would have learned anywhere else.”
