Speech Language Pathology Personal Statement

I am currently a senior nursing student at Samuel Merritt University. I will be graduating and receiving a bachelor’s of nursing science degree in December of this year. After graduation, I hope to pursue a career in pediatric nursing, ideally via the Versant new graduate program at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, California. I find so much joy in caring for children and providing support to their families, and I look forward to being able to make a difference in the lives of my patients throughout my nursing

During my interview with Speech Pathologist, Deborah Kirsch, I learned countless details about the Speech Pathology career field. When we first began talking, I learned that Mrs. Kirsch works out of a company called “Professional Therapy Services”, where she is contracted out to work for “Eunice Smith Nursing Home” which is located in Alton, Illinois. She has been working at this facility for about a year. She is a newly found graduate from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and she graduated in May 2011. Another thing that I learned about Mrs. Kirsch is that she originally did not go to school to become a speech pathologist, this was a career that she found later in life. After she had graduated from SIUE, the first time with a bachelors in Psychiatry, she started working at a nursing home around this area. She came to know a Speech Pathologist that worked there and she quickly found the field very fascinating. She had always been driven to help others, and she witnessed some of the exercises being done with individuals at the nursing home and decided to go back to school to get her masters in Speech Pathology.

The first time I realized I was different was in second grade, when I opened my mouth to answer a question and my peers giggled as I struggled to answer. I pronounced my R's like W's, which threw my whole pronunciation of the English language into a twist. My previously "adorable" lapses in speech were now affecting me negatively. I was different than the rest of my classmates; I had been born with a speech disorder.

While I am learning an abundance of valuable information at Clarke, my background knowledge derived from my undergraduate studies. I double majored in Speech Pathology and Psychology at Brooklyn College because I believe they compliment each other well when it comes to the studies of speech. Different aspects of Psychology including cognitive science, neuroscience, and biology are essential in understanding speech disorders, language processing, production, acquisition, and comprehension. In my second year at Brooklyn College, I observed children at a nearby elementary school for 50 hours. During this time I observed how children at the kindergarten level interacted with each other. I shadowed the teacher in order to learn different teaching strategies that will be beneficial and applicable as a Speech Therapist.

Many people would like to make a difference, not only in their own life, but in others’ lives as well. Deepak Chopra once said, “Everyone has a purpose in life…a unique gift or special talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals.” All of us, at one point in our lives, have to make the difficult decision of the goals we want to work towards. We all have certain goals, standards, and expectations of ourselves. Not everyone will figure out what they want to be right away, and some will know from the very beginning. My plan for my life is helping others through Speech Language

My intensive Speech Language Pathology coursework at California State University- Fresno has provided me with the skills to implement treatment plans, assist during speech and language assessments, and keep formal documentation of client’s progress in speech therapy. These are the necessary skills required to be an effective Speech Language Pathology Assistant and will make me as asset to have in the school speech setting.

The qualities I possess to make me a successful speech language pathologist include compassion, open-mindedness, knowing how to be a team player and how to live out the FISH philosophy which is an approach dealing with workplace issues. Compassion is important to have in order to be patient with my future clients. Throughout my college years, I served on the executive council for my sorority for two years as Vice President of Member Development. While sitting in those meetings, I learned how to be open-minded to others’ opinions on certain topics being discussed. I also had to meet with people who were having a hard time maintaining good membership status. Sitting down and talking to those individuals taught me to be objective about the individual’s circumstance and to be as fair as possible. Not only does a speech language pathologist need to be skilled in speech treatment but also with counseling the parents and loved ones of the client who feel hopeless and helpless. Being empathetic helps create a trusting relationship between the clinician, client and family. Another quality of a great speech pathologist is being able to be a team player. Most cases require the collaboration of the speech pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, schoolteacher, paraprofessional, orthodontist, audiologists, and social services to

I sat in my child development class in a “brick and mortar” classroom setting. What was I doing there? I was extremely interested in what the professor was speaking on and what was being discussed. However, I was beginning to doubt whether I wanted to continue in my current field of study, Speech/Language Pathology. I no longer felt I was being fulfilled. There was something lacking. I talked to a few of my friends who mentioned how much money I would make as a Speech/Language Pathologist. I heard what they were saying, but somehow it just did not matter. I had to find the missing link…….

I am Samantha Peterson, as a child I was taught to be independent in my beliefs and to always follow my heart wherever it led me. I have always been one to go after what I want and never give up until my dreams are fulfilled. I plan to finish my associate degree at AB Tech and transfer to Western Carolina. I plan to graduate from Western Carolina with a master’s degree in speech pathology. Once I complete this phase in my life I hope to pursue my career and start a family of my own. To begin my career, I hope to still be employed at Mission Hospital, but as a speech pathologist rather than a medical assistant. As a speech pathologist I hope to make life changing improvements in people’s everyday lives that I cross paths with. While beginning

With just attaining a bachelor’s degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences, I had dedicated 4 years of my undergrad career to working with young children. During my stay at the University at Buffalo, I took the time to get involved in internships which allowed me to work along a speech pathologist in a bilingual public school in Buffalo. I also went along to work in a child care center, as a teacher assistant. These experiences have increased my passion for working with

My immediate professional goals are to graduate from Truman State University with my Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Disorders, and then attend a graduate program to start my formal education to become an occupational therapist. My long term professional goal is to become a compassionate and knowledgeable OT, always looking to improve and further my working knowledge. My educational background is unique but also beneficial to becoming a well rounded occupational therapist. Knowing the fundamentals of speech and hearing science, I will be able to communicate more effectively with patients, as those who are receiving OT are often receiving speech therapy. It also gives me insight into the scope of practice for SLPs, providing me with the means to bring a well rounded and knowledgeable approach to a

I would like to begin by saying thank you to all of the therapists and technicians from Sunbelt Apopka for making me feel welcomed. Also I thank the therapists for allowing me to volunteer and observe this summer. Out of all the places I could have had my first shadowing experience I am so glad it took place at your facility. This opportunity allowed me to learn more in depth about careers in speech, physical, and occupational therapy. I now know that speech-language pathologists are not limited to treating only speech problems; they are capable of treating patients with swallowing complications as well. As you guys may know, I am still indecisive between pursuing a career in physical or occupational therapy. Volunteering however did help me to better understand their differences and similarities. Both physical and occupational therapy focus on working with patients with their body movements. More specifically, physical therapists provide services in helping patients in restoring functions and improving their physical mobility. While occupational therapists work with patients to improve their ability to perform tasks in their daily living and working environments. Based on my observation, all these rehabilitation professions serve an equal importance in the healing process of a patient.

I completed my undergraduate and graduate studies at Western Michigan University. During this time, I accumulated over 260 clinical hours assessing and providing treatment to preschool and elementary-aged children with speech and language disorders. This has prepared me to be a qualified candidate for this position. At Richland

During the past three years at Montgomery College, I can say that I’ve changed my major about ten times. At first it was from becoming an obstetrician, to midwife, pediatric nurse, social worker, ultrasound technician, school counselor and the list goes on, but I’ll stop here before I bored you. It is now my last semester at Montgomery College and I realized after changing my major so many times, there was one thing that every single one of these careers had in common. Working with mothers to be and infants, I said to myself “this is my passion”. As I was doing my research, I came across the topic of “maternal and child health” and under that topic the university of Maryland at college park was one of the links that was provided. I didn’t

I believe that my academic performance in my Communication Sciences and Disorders curriculum accurately represents my ability to succeed in the field of speech-language pathology. I also feel that my temperament, as well as personality, add to my overall competence as a future graduate student and a aspiring