Jaymie Horak, from San Diego, first heard of the National Stuttering Association in college (2013), was able to brave their first NSA event after over a year (2014), and then another gap to conquer fear and attend a meeting (2015). Jaymie was raised in an environment and involved in spaces that encouraged children, particularly children being raised as girls, to be quiet. This combined with stuttering left this extrovert to appear introverted, shy, and develop social anxiety.

Finding the NSA, particularly the San Diego chapter, felt like a surge of pure luck. Healing came in the form of friendships, communities, laughter, and leadership. Now Jaymie performs public speaking in their job, and looks for any opportunity to have a microphone.