Staff spotlight: Linda Marnich

Meet Linda Marnich, a longtime staff member in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

What is your title/role?

I am the clinic secretary in the Robert F. Pierce Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic in the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders. I work over on “Chester Island” (Chester Park).

When did you start working at UMD?

February 1995 (26 years ago).

Why did you choose to work at UMD?

I am a UMD alumna and enjoy working in the academic community. I am at my best when I’m with people of all ages. Working in the speech and hearing clinic, I get the best of both worlds—working with the students and having contact with our wonderful clients who range from birth to geriatric.

What do you like most about your job?

I am one of those fortunate people who can say they love their job! I feel like I have seen every aspect of the department. Not only do I work here, my son was in the speech therapy program several years ago and I have a daughter who was in the CSD undergraduate and graduate programs. I am able to offer real life advice for incoming students and their families on what the program entails from every aspect. I also feel that the CEHSP family is the best college at the University and I am fortunate enough to work here!   

I feel like I make a difference! An incoming graduate student and her parents came to visit the department before she started the program. After the first week of classes and clinic, the student went home to be with family. Once she got home she told her mom, "Mom, I just can't go back there. I am just so overwhelmed."

Mom sat her down and said, "Rachel, remember when we toured the CSD Department and we met that clinic secretary, Linda? Go back to school. Seek her out. She'll take care of you." Rachel told me this story the day she graduated from the UMD CSD graduate program. I still am in contact with many students and even those from 25 years ago, I can call them by name when I see them.

Do you have advice for students?

Make your college years memorable. Meet new friends, join study groups, be involved. If a student is new to Duluth, I highly recommend driving “up the shore,” volunteering for Grandma’s Marathon, and visiting the best cheap burger joint in the area, the Anchor Bar in Superior!

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love spending time with my family and friends, camping, traveling, and walking the shores of Lake Superior. At the start of COVID-19, my husband and I began trying to visit all 75 Minnesota State Parks and get stamps in our passport (you can purchase a “passport club kit”).  So far, we have visited 30 beautiful Minnesota State Parks.