Amanda Mammana Interview with the NSA

Amanda Mammana, a person who stutters, inspired the world when her audition for the 17th season of America's Got Talent went viral last month. Disclosing up front to the judges and studio audience that she had a stutter, she proceeded to talk about her experience and performed an original song. To say the four judges were impressed was an understatement: Amanda received four resounding yes's from the panel and advanced to the next round, shining a bright light on positive representation for people who stutter worldwide!
We were able to get an exclusive interview with Amanda, whose candid and relatable demeanor continued into our discussion. In this interview, Christian and Amanda discussed her experience with stuttering, how the audition process worked, stuttering in the media, along with her passionate advice for stuttering youth out there struggling to find their voice.
We thank Amanda for her bravery and ambition, and for showcasing the talent inherent to our community.

[@janrocksch3381]

I am a female with a chronic stutter and I am so very proud of you. And your singing voice will go far. I can't imagine the freedom you must feel when singing.

[@timmackesey8488]

Thank you Amanda for your talent and your courage. Great interview Christian. Thanks to the NSA for lining this up.

[@larryseals7568]

I’m so proud of you! You have a beautiful voice and story to tell. I stuttered as a young lad and took speech classes from grades 2-12. After I started in our community college, Walter State, I drove to ETSU twice a week to take speech therapy. I then worked for 6.5 years as a Firefighter and then returned to further my education at the University of Tennessee. I choose the hardest career ever for me, a degree in education. I knew I had to be successful with my stutter in order to teach school. I once more took speech therapy twice a week and worked with graduate students to help them understand more about stuttering one on one. We all learned from each other. This is now the beginning of my forty-second year of teaching middle school Technology Education classes. Please continue being the wonderful person you are! May God bless!

[@grantbradshaw7907]

I absolutely love this beautiful young lady And love her amazing singing voice

[@ronikadebrosse8971]

Love her I just voted for her tonight

[@michaellloyd7461]

She was amazing. Hope an PRAY she goes far in her career. God bless 🙏

[@monagulapa3022]

Brave young lady.

[@roberthaley3236]

God bless you Amanda. Your courage is so profound.

[@benjaminolatunde6783]

Ur voice is powerful