Fair Haven Union High School graduate Kylie Eagan, Class of 2015, has built an impressive career in the field of audiology while staying close to her Vermont roots.
After graduation, Kylie attended the University of Vermont from 2015 through the fall semester of 2018, majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Linguistics. While studying, she discovered her passion for audiology, choosing that career path over speech-language pathology after realizing she preferred working with patients in the audiology field. Determined to reach her goal, Kylie took the GRE and applied to graduate school, ultimately attending Syracuse University. She spent three years there before completing her externship year at Piedmont Ear Nose and Throat in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In May 2023, she proudly graduated with her Doctorate in Audiology (AuD).
Today, Kylie is back in Vermont, working at the University of Vermont Health Center–Porter Medical Center in Middlebury. For the past two years, she has dedicated her days to testing patients of all ages and fitting them with hearing aids. She loves her work and plans to remain in this role for the foreseeable future.
Kylie credits some of her high school teachers with shaping her path to success. She recalls that Ms. Christensen, her math teacher, pushed her to persevere in a subject that never came easily to her. Through patience and encouragement, Ms. Christensen helped Kylie succeed in AP Calculus, earning her three college math credits before she even left high school. Kylie also remembers Mr. Ruby, who taught her the importance of outlining and organizing large amounts of information—a skill that proved invaluable during her demanding graduate studies.
While at FHUHS, Kylie was also a dedicated athlete, playing basketball all four years. That drive and determination carried through to her academic and professional life. She describes herself as someone who has always been determined, though not always patient. Reflecting on her journey, Kylie says she has learned that the best things in life often require both hard work and time. “Even if something does not come quickly or on the timeline you expect it, keep plugging away little by little,” she advises—wisdom she still reminds herself of often.
Outside of her professional accomplishments, Kylie is building a life rooted in family and community. She and her fiancé recently bought land on her family’s farm in Castleton, where they plan to build a home in the coming year. They share their lives with a two-year-old black lab named Ivy and are excited to welcome their first child, a baby boy, this October.
When asked what advice she would give to today’s Slate Valley students, Kylie encourages them to remember that it is okay to take a different path. She recalls the challenges of graduate school, when many of her peers were already starting careers, buying homes, and raising families. Though she sometimes felt “behind,” she stayed the course. Now, with a doctorate and a career she loves, Kylie is grateful she trusted her own journey.