Psychology and communication sciences and disorders major takes multidisciplinary approach as speech-language pathologist to help clients with communication disorders

As a member of the men’s golf team at The College of Wooster, David Roney ’21 served as the team’s anchor and received two North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Athlete of the Week honors his senior year. Roney was just as successful off the green, earning a spot on the NCAC Academic Honor Roll three times and graduating magna cum laude. The psychology and communication sciences & disorders major was Wooster’s first men’s golfer to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, which he used to earn his master’s degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Colorado Boulder. 

A speech-language pathologist at Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers in Parker, Colorado, Roney helps clients with everything from general developmental speech and language delays to traumatic brain injuries. He noted that when people think of a speech therapist, they often picture someone helping a child pronounce difficult words or produce difficult sounds, but in reality, speech therapists work with people of all ages on a range of issues. 

“While that work is important, speech therapy reaches a lot farther than that,” he said. “I do that, but I also work with adults who have had injuries and adolescents who are struggling with social skills.”  

Roney believes his Wooster education helps him connect with his clients on a deeper, more impactful level. “I think about a bigger range of the human experience than I think I would have had I gone somewhere else,” he said. “I think about psychology, philosophy, and all the different disciplines at once. When I work with someone, they’re there to work on specific things, but it’s all embedded into how they experience life, and that’s different for every person. Being able to take all that into account is important. I wouldn’t be a good speech therapist if I didn’t do that.” 

This feature originally appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Wooster magazine.

Photo provided by Roney.

Posted in Alumni, Magazine on March 13, 2025.