{"id":520,"date":"2025-11-13T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/?p=520"},"modified":"2025-11-13T08:00:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:00:19","slug":"one-is-good-two-is-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/features\/one-is-good-two-is-better\/","title":{"rendered":"One is Good. Two is Better"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MICHAEL ANN WILEMON TALLY, \u201909,\u201911, AND LAURA LEIGH WILEMON NABORS, \u201912,\u201914 ARE
TWO PEAS IN A POD\u2014DOUBLE THE DRIVE, DOUBLE THE HEART, DOUBLE THE IMPACT.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

With only two years between them, the sisters have walked nearly identical paths. Each graduated from Oak Hill Academy in West Point, before earning bachelor\u2019s and a master\u2019s degree in speech-language pathology from Mississippi University for Women. Today, both work as speech-language pathologists in an elementary school setting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graduating with her undergraduate degree in just three years, Tally paved the way for the Wilemon sisters. While she first planned to pursue physical therapy, she soon discovered the field required helping patients work through painful recoveries. The reality shifted both her heart and her career goals. She would explore different universities but ultimately stayed relatively close to home and chose to pursue her degrees at The W, drawn by the community and personal attention offered at 1100 College Street. A few years later, Tally would make the same decision again for graduate school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI ultimately decided on The W for graduate school. Because it was smaller, I knew the professors and we had relationships from my time spent with them during my undergraduate classes,\u201d said Tally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quickly noting that she was not naming a favorite, but Tally admits she was particularly drawn to to Joy Townsend, assistant professor emerita of Speech-Language Pathology. \u201cWhen you\u2019re first getting into those [speech-language pathology] classes and you\u2019re learning, she was always patient to answer questions and so kind, really easy to talk to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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D\u00c9J\u00c0 VU <\/strong>
When Nabors arrived in Columbus, she and Tally were reunited under the same roof while sharing an apartment. Tally was entering graduate school while Nabors pursued her undergraduate degree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI got to see her go through grad school before I did\u2014the dedication, the late nights, the balance of clinical work and classes,\u201d she said. \u201cIt prepared me in ways I didn\u2019t even realize.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nabors remembers abundantly searching to find her path in life, as most college students do. Her original goal was to simply get a degree. She gained some interest and familiarity in speechpathology by watching her sister pursue her degrees and ultimately decided to do the same. What she didn\u2019t expect to find was a passion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had to do so many hours of observation. And honestly, it is the best thing that students can do,\u201d described Nabors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She remembers watching a young boy, visibly frustrated, struggling to communicate his needs. Then, through the patience and skill of the speech-language pathologist in the room, something shifted. The child\u2019s face lit up as he finally expressed himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn that moment, I knew this was the work I wanted to do,\u201d she said. \u201cSome kids are incredibly intelligent, but they can\u2019t communicate what they want. That\u2019s heartbreaking.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as Tally, Nabors would explore her graduate school options and choose to return to The W.<\/p>\n\n\n

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DOUBLE THE FUN
<\/strong>Nabors described graduate school as intense and invaluable. She clearly understood the demand of the program, thanks to her stellar academic role model sister. She knew rigorous course work, late nights, long clinical hours and a life of academic discipline was ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recalling one of her early moments in graduate school, she looked around the class and said to herself, \u201cI know what\u2019s coming,\u201d remembering all the nights and weekends when she would go have fun while her sister stayed home to study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Nabors and Tally valued the ability to pursue their advanced degree in speech-language pathology at the same university in which they received their undergraduate degree, noting that all programs are extremely competitive with limited options available in the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrad school prepares you not only in the clinic, but with real-world experience\u2014seeing kids, working in medical settings\u2014teaches you the most,\u201d Nabors said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The structure of a full year of in person university experience followed by a year of clinical rotations prepares all students for real-world practice. For the sisters, the experience provided insights, direction and confidence in their future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tally entered graduate school certain she would work on the medical side of speech-language pathology. Her clinical rotation would change that. Tally said, \u201cI went into grad school thinking I\u2019d work with the elderly. One school rotation later, I realized kids were where my heart was. The joy you see in children when they realize the progress they\u2019ve made\u2014that\u2019s why I do this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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BETTER TOGETHER<\/strong>
Today, both Nabors and Tally are continuing to feed the passions that were discovered while at The W. Tally serves as the speech-language pathologist at East Union Attendance Center in Blue Springs, seeing students ranging from primarily pre-k through sixth grade. Most of her students experience developmental delays or are working to improve their articulation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A most recent success story of hers involved a student who had substitution errors. Think switching a W for an R sound. Tally credits the student with being very determined and motivated. By the end of the year, the student had reached all his goals. The results were confidence in the classroom and confidence among peers. Plus, better grades and one happy mother. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nabors began a new position this fall with Bright Hope Therapy working within the West Point Consolidated School District. After working in several settings and spending time as a mother, Nabors returned to the educational setting because she also enjoys the pediatric population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe main issues faced in schools are articulation and language,\u201d explained Nabors. \u201cArticulation is basically teaching students to say the correct sound. To me, it’s pretty concrete and structured.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love teaching them these sounds. And when they figure it out, they get excited. Their families usually get super excited.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While they may not live under the same roof anymore, they haven\u2019t stopped influencing each other. Their family bond has grown into a professional bond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s neat to share this passion with my sister,\u201d Tally said. \u201cWe bounce ideas off each other when we get stuck on a case. Sometimes she\u2019ll call me and say, \u2018What would you do about this?\u2019 We learn from each other constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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SEEING DOUBLE<\/strong>
While Nabors and Tally never physically sat in the same classroom that doesn\u2019t mean it didn\u2019t cause some confusion. Nabors remembers sitting in an undergraduate classroom when the professor called upon her, but used the name Michael Ann. She answered without skipping a beat, leaving the classroom puzzled. She then had to stop class and explain. It all ended with a good laugh and would not be the last time it happened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the impact the sisters have had on each other\u2019s lives may be immeasurable, what is certain is that their time at The W filled them with knowledge, passion and confidence. Each day, they boldly and successfully change lives, helping the next generation overcome daily obstacles. Twice the dedication now means twice the smiles, twice the victories\u2014 for students and their families alike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With only two years between them, the sisters have walked nearly identical paths. Each graduated from Oak Hill Academy in West Point, before earning bachelor\u2019s and a master\u2019s degree in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":521,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[12],"class_list":["post-520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-fall-2025"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":530,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520\/revisions\/530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}