August 12, 2026 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu

“Starting over in a new country came with challenges, but it also opened doors I never imagined,” Letizia Tamburini says of moving from the Dominican Republic to Charlotte, North Carolina eight years ago. “Over time, I learned to embrace both parts of my identity, holding onto the culture that shaped me while building a new sense of home in the Carolinas.”

Her multicultural upbringing also sparked a love of languages and the way people connect with one another, leading Tamburini to develop skills in Spanish, English and Italian and study psychology as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In addition to Italian, she minored in gerontology, which led her to spend time in a retirement community through one of her courses.

“I was paired with an older adult, and we had video chats every week simply to talk,” Tamburini says. “Those weekly talks taught me so much about aging, resilience and the value of taking the time to truly listen to someone's life story.”

After that, she began working in the life enrichment department at another retirement community, spending a lot of time with residents in assisted living and memory care. She grew to love the setting – learning about each resident’s unique story and celebrating joys and difficult moments with them. That was also where she first met a speech-language pathologist – a USC alumna, in fact – and realized that a career in the field would combine her passions for language, science, rehabilitation, and helping people communicate in ways that support their independence and quality of life.

When looking at graduate programs, she chose the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders’ (COMD) M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology program because it offered a challenging academic environment and clinical experiences across an array of settings and populations. Tamburini also appreciated that USC welcomed students from various undergraduate backgrounds – allowing them to completed perquisite coursework during the summer before the program began.

During her program, Tamburini developed interests in adult neurorehabilitation as well as augmentative and alternative communication, which employs personalized strategies and tools (e.g., picture boards, speech-generating devices). In addition to clinical placements, she joined the department’s Neurogenic Specialization Group and served as a graduate research assistant in COMD associate professor Lisa Fitton’s Bilingual Reading Difficulty Identification Lab.

“Every setting, diagnosis and patient has challenged me to think differently and has taught me something new, and I enjoy helping identify approaches that best support their everyday lives,” Tamburini says. “Beyond specific diagnoses, I am passionate about bilingualism and providing culturally and linguistically responsive care. I understand how closely language is connected to identity, family and culture, and I hope to help ensure that patients and their families feel understood and supported throughout the rehabilitation process.”

After graduating in August, the MS-Residential Outstanding Student Award winner will complete a clinical fellowship and begin her career. While her primary interests center around adults, she’s happy to work with every population in any setting.

“My graduate training has given me a strong clinical foundation while reminding me that learning doesn't stop at graduation,” Tamburini says. “It has taught me how to think critically, apply evidence-based practice, collaborate with patients and families, and approach each person as an individual rather than a diagnosis.”

“Another lesson that has stayed with me is that aging is a universal experience, even though no two people experience it in the same way,” she adds. “Every individual carries a lifetime of memories, relationships and experiences that deserve to be recognized alongside any diagnosis or treatment plan. To me, patient-centered care is not only about clinical decisions; it is also about recognizing the person in front of you, the life they have lived, and the life they are still living.”

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