Venice native Kaela Coye grew up with a stutter. After years of speech therapy focused on “fixing” the problem, her life changed when she started therapy focused on self-acceptance. Now a second-year Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) graduate student at the University of South Florida, Coye hopes to extend that same compassionate, life-changing care to the next generation.
She is completing her education debt-free thanks to the financial support of seniors living at Village On The Isle in Venice.
“Stuttering is highly misunderstood, and people don’t understand the impact it has on a child when you tell them there is something wrong with them that they need to fix,” said Coye. “I’ve met countless people who stutter who speak about how negative and frustrating
their speech therapy experience was. Making sure other people don’t have to experience that is what drives me.”
Coye, who is actively involved in the National Stuttering Association, hopes to change how new speech-language pathologists learn about stuttering and how they treat people who stutter.
“Stuttering is a neurophysiological difference in the way I talk,” said Coye. “There is no magic fix or specific intervention that will make me not stutter. Thankfully, the outlook on stuttering in the field is starting to change and care is focusing more on a holistic approach and less on trying to 'fix' it and more on acceptance and reducing avoiding stuttering.”
As a low-income, first-generation graduate student, Coye is one of the latest recipients of the VOTI Educational Grants program, a resident-funded scholarship designed to support and encourage the education of VOTI employees and their dependent children.
The program is open to full-time, part-time, salaried, seasonal and PRN employees who are seeking to earn an undergraduate or graduate-level degree or professional or trade certificate from an accredited school. Employees are eligible after 6-12 months of continuous service and can receive up to $7,000 per year for approved courses. Dependent children of VOTI employees are also eligible for up to $4,000 per calendar year. Applicants can apply for financial support every semester.
“Our residents are incredibly proud to offer our employees the financial means to further their education and follow their dreams,” said Doug Feller, CEO of VOTI. “For people like Kaela, who hope to make an impact on future generations, this support has a ripple effect in our community that residents are excited to be a part of.”
All money for the grants program is collected through resident donations. Coye started working as a server at VOTI in 2019 while attending Venice High School.
“The second they hear you’re going to school, they say, ‘you should apply for the grant’ – it’s amazing,” said Coye. “Paying my tuition was always a worry for me, so to be able to go to school debt-free – I don’t think they understand how grateful I am.”
The VOTI Educational Grant has provided Coye $3,900 per semester, which covers tuition and books. The fall semester will be the third time she’s received the grant, bringing her financial support from the community to $11,700 in two years.
In total, the community has provided $35,000 in scholarships in 2026. In 2025, the program awarded 33 grants totaling more than $80,000. Coye is one of 287 employees to receive grant money from the community since the educational grant program was founded in 1987 and the first grant was awarded in 1990.
“My education is because of them,” she added. “I wouldn’t be able to do this without their support and in today’s world to be coming out of my second college degree debt-free is unheard of. They are changing not only my life, but the lives of children who stutter in the future.”
Coye will begin her second year in the USF SLP graduate program this fall. She continues to work at VOTI as a seasonal employee while home on school breaks.
To learn more about working at Village On The Isle, visit villageontheisle.com/careers.
Submitted by Kasey Brennan
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Venice student grateful for debt-free path to speech career
