78 Photo Essay: Halie Savage, Speech Language Pathologist, Hyche Center

Words by Suzie Walton | Image by Blakeney Clouse 

Halie Savage considers herself a natural caregiver with a heart to serve people. She believes this love for people and caring for those in need really developed at age 13, when she began helping her grandmother take care of her grandfather and great-grandmother. Both of these individuals in her inner circle suffered from Alzheimer’s and were eventually bedridden.

“For about five years, I helped my grandmother every weekend take care of them,” she smiles. “And I found such joy in that.” 

Halie believed nursing was her calling and pursued that path after graduating from Fayette High School and Bevill State Community College. 

However, during a clinical observation at Mississippi University for Women (MUW), she accepted the fact that nursing was not for her. “I was shadowing during clinicals and something was missing. It just didn’t feel right, like nursing was not what God was calling me to do,” she explains. 

While volunteering for a leadership program working with kids at an on-campus daycare, a friend suggested Halie observe a speech pathologist. “My life and my major changed that day,” she laughs. “I didn’t even know speech pathology was a thing. But when I observed the therapist help the patient to find his voice and communicate, I knew I wanted to be a part of that blessing—helping others.”

As a speech language pathologist at the Hyche Center in Jasper, Halie works in a pediatric setting. “I work with children ranging in age from one year to 17 years, treating various disorders with speech,” she says. 

She explains that of the various options available, she chose pediatric because of her love for children and the reward of seeing them excel and find their voice.

“One of the most precious times was when I had been working with an autistic child for a while trying to bridge the gap between nonverbal and verbal communication,” she remembers. “We had tried so many strategies, but it wasn’t until I suggested the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device that we had a breakthrough. The excitement on his face touched my heart—he had finally found his voice.” 

At MUW Halie found her calling and is now using that gift at the Hyche Center to help children find their voice. 78