Grad Stories: Walt Fritz🎓

from ‘hodgepodge’ to academic rigour

I entered the Voice Study Centre’s MA program in late 2020, intending to use the program to enhance my teaching curriculum. Before that time, my manual therapy coursework was an at-times hodgepodge of techniques, anecdotes, and evidence, but it lacked academic rigour. Recognizing this, I was able to tailor my MA program to meet my individual needs. As my needs diverged from those of the VSC’s traditional Vocal Pedagogy degree program, I was offered the opportunity to create a hybrid program, allowing me a bespoke opportunity to pursue my goals.

The VSC’s program, complete with tutors who helped guide my path,

provided the platform for me not only to complete my degree but also to place my teaching content directly at the centre of evidence-based practice.

Additionally, after being more deeply exposed to the academic process, I was able to publish a research article in a respected medical journal. The final piece of my work, a study set up to determine value gained by participants in my workshops, allowed me to reflect on my course content and adjust it to best meet the needs of future learners. 

As I travel, teaching my manual therapy approach to others, I frequently share my experiences with the Voice Study Centre’s MA program, citing the ability to create a program tailored to the individual learner, without requiring the learner to fit into a pre-defined box. As far as what’s next for me, time will tell. Perhaps more research writing, a revision of my existing book, or simply the ability to flex future coursework revisions into what I now know to be plausible directions.