Emilia Berry Gains Hands-On Therapy Experience During Summer Abroad in Ireland
UA Little Rock student Emilia Berry spent her summer overseas, where she gained invaluable experience that will shape her future career as a speech-language pathologist.
Berry, a junior communication sciences and disorders major from Bryant, interned at ChildVision in Dublin, Ireland, the country’s national education campus for children with sight loss and other sensory impairments and disabilities. From June 28 to July 26, she worked in ChildVision’s equine-assisted therapy unit, where she learned to care for horses and assist in therapy sessions for children with complex disabilities.
“My main job was leading the horse during therapy sessions while the child rode and the therapist worked with them,” Berry said. “Through this, I got to observe many hours of therapy and many different therapeutic strategies. Watching the positive effects that this form of therapy provided to so many different kids brought me so much joy and really confirmed my passion for a career in therapy.”
Berry, who plans to graduate in May 2027 before pursuing a master’s degree in speech-language pathology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, said the experience opened her eyes to new possibilities in her field.
“Even though it wasn’t experience in the specific field of speech-language pathology, this internship helped expose me to and educate me on alternative forms of therapy,” she said. “The information and strategies I learned through this experience will influence my own clinical practice one day and have inspired me to continue researching equine-assisted therapy and other non-traditional forms of therapy in the speech-language pathology field.”
Outside of her internship, Berry enjoyed visiting Dublin’s museums, learning about Ireland’s history, and making new friends from around the world.
“Some of my favorite moments were just sitting and talking with the other American interns and the Irish volunteers,” she said. “We got to talk a lot about the differences between our cultures and countries, and I learned so much from them and made some really great friends.”
Berry also appreciated Ireland’s approach to work-life balance, noting that most shops, even in areas geared toward tourists, often closed by 6 p.m. so people could go home to enjoy time with their family and friends.
“I really respected and appreciated that about their pace of life and would love to bring some of that into my own life,” she said.
After finishing her internship, Berry traveled to Scotland, where she explored Edinburgh and Stirling before returning home. Looking back, she said the experience gave her both professional insight and personal growth.
“Getting to see and experience a child’s growth and success firsthand is something you don’t get to see in the classroom,” Berry said. “Studying abroad was such an amazing experience and really did change who I am for the better.”