LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Amy Finn was nominated by an anonymous student.

"I have always been a very outgoing and eager student, but having a stutter has made it exhausting to express that side of myself. I entered high school confident I could make my way through any speech or presentation. Boy, was I wrong. In October of my freshman year at Arrowhead High School, I was asked to read a paragraph in front of the class. I stuttered and stammered through it, and once it was over, I never wanted to come to school again," said the student.

"Ever since I can remember, I have seen different speech therapists to help with my stutter. My mom had a stutter when she was younger and passed it down to me. I always felt annoyed having to meet with therapists because I never really felt like I was making any progress. So, when my parents suggested I meet with one of the school's speech therapists, I rolled my eyes and fiercely rejected the offer. But my parents kept pushing me to give it one last shot, so I did," said the student.

"For my first meeting with Mrs. Finn, I had prepared myself and tried to remember all of the annoying little tips and tricks to speaking given to me by previous speech therapists, like 'relax your tongue' or 'take your time.' I was pleasantly surprised at the end of my meeting when I realized she didn't mention any of that. Instead, she asked me about my life and how school was going. She would occasionally look down and scribble in her notebook. It felt different than the other times I met with speech therapists. She treated me like an adult, not some little kid," said the student.

"I kept meeting with Mrs. Finn. My sophomore year of high school was when I got my IEP (individualized education program), allowing me to present alternative speeches or projects. It let me focus on school work and my future instead of worrying about presenting projects. One specific example is when I had Socratic seminars for my American Literature class. At the beginning of the semester, Mrs. Finn helped me not to do them but encouraged me to watch other students participate, which helped me gain confidence. At the end of the semester, I was participating in every Socratic seminar we had," said the student.

"In the second semester of my senior year of high school, I still meet with Mrs. Finn every other week. She helps me with my current problems and has even reached out to the speech department at UW Madison, so I can continue to get the help I need. Mrs. Finn was one of the first teachers to affect my life positively. She gave me something that I will hold onto forever. Because of Mrs. Finn, I can show the outgoing and eager student I have always been," said the student.