Voices of UMF: Marianne Hartford

Marianne Hartford earned her bachelor degree from UMF in 1997 before continuing her education at Syracuse University. Today, she works as a Speech Pathologist as the founder and director of her own private practice, “Great Things Speech & Executive Function,” in Ipswich, Massachusetts. 

In reflecting on her journey to where she is now, Marianne praises the opportunities she took advantage of saying “I credit UMF in giving me a very solid, well-rounded foundation in speech and language skills and development, assessment, and writing meaningful, measurable goals for my students.” She even recalls specific lessons from classes with Don Weatherbee, Richard Holmes, Alan Flint (from Freshman English!). 

Her UMF experience extended beyond the classroom and Farmington campus when she studied abroad in Oxford. Speaking of this transformative semester abroad, she says “it left its mark on me in ways that go far beyond speech therapy. I learned so much about myself, who I am, who I am not, and what brings me joy.”

She encourages prospective and current students to do the same, urging them to “try ALL THE THINGS!  Sometimes figuring out what you don’t like is as important as figuring out what you love.”

Marianne continues to embody the UMF spirit through her continued dedication to her community. She has worked with Autistic students in public schools where she “develop[ed] specialized programming and collaborative curriculum for middle school students to learn academic and communication skills in real-life contexts.” And today, her practice specializes in “working with students and their families to teach very important (but often overlooked) executive function skills” as well as supporting students through their college application process, reminding them “You need to find the place that’s JUST RIGHT for you.”

She recounts: 

“For me, that was UMF.  100%. […] I remember touring UMF as a senior in high school. It was winter and the entire campus literally sparkled with fresh snow. I was completely drawn to the size of the campus (not too big, not too small) and the speech professor whom I met that day, Don Weatherbee, who would eventually become my advisor. I remember walking around on the tour, and being able to picture myself, very clearly, in that community.”