Thinking Beyond Borders: University of Memphis alumna shares her international SLP experience
by: Lacey Halley
University of Memphis alumni experiences show that career pathways in Speech-Language Pathology can offer far more flexibility, mobility, and global opportunity than students often realize. Dr. Maggie-Lee Huckabee, a University of Memphis PhD alumna based in New Zealand spoke to us recently about her career path. She encourages students and future CFs to think expansively about what a career in speech-language pathology can look like, and where it can take them.
Let Curiosity Shape Your Path
Dr. Huckabee began her professional life as a clinician, working for many years in acute care and rehabilitation. She loved clinical work and valued what her patients could teach her. She treated a patient whose recovery from bilateral brainstem surgery raised questions that clinical practice alone could not answer. Rather than ignoring those questions, she chose to pursue a PhD. Her advice to students: pay attention to the questions that stay with you, especially those that come from patient experiences. Those questions can point you toward new roles in research, teaching, innovation, or leadership.
International Opportunities Often Emerge—You Don’t Have to Plan Them
Dr. Huckabee credits a mentor with encouraging her to consider international training. While developing her PhD research, she contacted Professor Lüder Deecke in Vienna for advice on studying the Bereitschaftspotential, an EEG marker of cortical motor planning. His recommendation was simple: move to Vienna and study there.
“I never even considered a life abroad,” she shared.
What began as a research inquiry quickly became a life-changing opportunity. Rather than following a long-term plan to work internationally, Dr. Huckabee followed trusted mentorship and strong scientific alignment. Her experience reflects an important lesson for students: international opportunities often emerge through relationships and research connections, not careful long-range strategy. Being open to guidance and willing to take thoughtful risks can open doors you did not even know were there.
Training Abroad Expanded Both Clinical and Research Perspective
After completing her coursework at the University of Memphis, Dr. Huckabee moved to Austria to complete the research portion of her PhD at the University Hospital of Vienna. Her work focused on the cortical control of swallowing, specifically investigating the Bereitschaftspotential (readiness potential), an EEG-measured signal of motor planning in the supplementary motor area first identified by Professor Lüder Deecke.
Living and training abroad broadened her perspective, not only scientifically, but clinically and personally. Following the completion of her PhD, she learned of a faculty opportunity in Christchurch, New Zealand. Having grown up in a military family and already taken the bold step of relocating to Vienna for research training, she embraced the opportunity with a “Why not?” mindset, initially planning to stay just one year. She accepted the position at the University of Canterbury, packed her bags along with her well-traveled German Shepherds — and moved to what she describes as “the far side of the world.”
She has remained there since January 1, 2000, building a distinguished academic and clinical research career. Learn more about Dr. Huckabee here.
Staying Connected in a Global Profession
One concern students often raise is whether working internationally means losing professional connections at home. Dr. Huckabee’s experience suggests the opposite.
Her professional network is now global, with collaborators across Europe, Australasia, and beyond. She points out that advances in technology have made international collaboration easier and more accessible than ever, whether working abroad physically or engaging globally through research, teaching, and telecommunication.
Speech-language pathology is both a local and global profession, and professional communities extend far beyond national borders.
A Message for University of Memphis Students
Dr. Huckabee’s closing message to students is not about following a specific path, but about mindset: “Go! Be brave! Don’t let life constrain you.”
She encourages students to be grateful that our profession offers meaningful work, intellectual challenge, and diverse career options, but reminds them that it is up to each individual to recognize and pursue those opportunities. Her journey from Memphis to Vienna to New Zealand illustrates that careers in speech-language pathology do not have to follow a single trajectory. For students and CFs willing to stay curious, seek mentorship, and embrace uncertainty, the profession can open doors around the world.
