When Dawn Dueker arrives at Meridian School each morning, she's already completed a one-hour commute from her home between Carbondale and Carterville. But that long drive hasn't dampened her enthusiasm for the work ahead.

"It sounds corny, but I'm excited about the day," says Dueker, who serves as the speech-language pathologist for the entire Meridian school system. "I look forward to making a difference at the early part of life."

After 20 years working in medical settings, Dueker made a career pivot that brought her to Meridian, where she now works with students from Pre-K through 12th grade. The transition came with a pay cut, but Dueker insists it's been "the best move I could have made."

Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Dueker moved to Southern Illinois during her high school years and eventually earned her master's degree in communication disorders and sciences from SIU Carbondale. For two decades, her work took her into home health care settings, working with patients dealing with various cognitive disorders.

Her experiences are as varied as they are colorful—including a memorable session in a trailer when a snake came up through the floor. She's worked extensively with veterans, particularly stroke patients, helping them regain communication abilities.

This background gave her a solid foundation, but after 20 years, Dueker felt she had "learned just about all there was for my profession in that setting." She began taking continuing education courses to expand her skills, and when the Meridian position opened up, the timing was perfect.

At Meridian, no two days are the same for Dueker. One day each week, she travels to Mounds Head Start to work with their youngest children. The rest of her time is split between Meridian's elementary, middle, and high school students, with special focus on the school's language and communication disorders classroom that primarily serves students with autism.

This specialized classroom has become "the highlight of my day," Dueker says. Some students are verbal, others non-verbal, but all present unique challenges and opportunities.

"I've really challenged myself to grow as a therapist and help grow the community here at Meridian to understand about picture communication," she explains. Several students now use picture communication cards and folders, a relatively new development for the school.

Ask Dueker about her proudest achievement, and she doesn't hesitate. Her face lights up describing a pre-kindergarten student with cerebral palsy who is non-verbal but "extremely smart, very cognitively intact."

Through persistent effort that began in September and culminated just recently, Dueker navigated the state bureaucracy to secure an electronic communication device for the child—a $5,000 investment that required clearing numerous administrative hurdles.

"It was a lot of hoops, a lot of red tape," she recalls. "Everybody here helped, from gen-ed teachers to PT, OT... it was a team effort."

The result? A young child who previously couldn't communicate now has a voice. The device mounts to his wheelchair, allowing him to touch images and generate speech. For his adoptive parents, who gave him "a head start in life," the difference has been profound.

"That's my biggest win," Dueker says, getting emotional. "He has a voice now."

The benefits of improved communication extend beyond individual success stories. In the classroom for students with communication disorders, Dueker has observed that as students gain ways to express themselves—whether through electronic devices, pictures, hand gestures, or verbalizations—their behavioral issues decrease.

"As we can find modes for those kids to communicate, their behaviors are decreasing," she explains. "They don't have to act out physically."

For someone new to the school system, Dueker has quickly found herself embraced by the Meridian community. She appreciates how teachers line the hallways each morning to greet students as they arrive and how administrative staff consistently prioritize student needs.

"Every teacher and administrative person I've worked with here always talks about putting the student first," she says. "And they really actually do that."

"It really is a family environment," she says, echoing a sentiment expressed by many Meridian staff members. "Being someone new, you can feel how everyone's kind of close. But they pulled me in, they welcomed me... I hope to stay here a long time."