Speech Pathologist Admission Essay

It has taken me longer than the average college student to find my passion. Being a junior who took pre-health classes for the past two and a half years at Clarkson, I found the task of switching career paths quite daunting. When I was in high school, I felt a lot of pressure to pursue a career in the medical field. While I did have a genuine interest in the biology of the human body, I did not know a lot about what a medical professional actually does for a living. Along the way, I had increasing doubts and became unhappy with my career choice. But then I realized that my time is not yet over at Clarkson, and I have time to turn this challenge into something positive.

Coming into my college career, I didn’t really know what to do so I took a some science course. In my sophomore year, I had decided to take a Speech, Language Hearing Science class that had

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…….

Over the course of this semester, I have had the opportunity to listen, observe, and learn about the responsibly of a Speech-Language Pathologist. Through this experience I have been able to visualize what a typical day would be like for a professional in the field I wish to continue studying.

Sheridan Obrochta is a first year graduate student in the Master’s of Speech Language Pathology program here at Florida State. I met Sheridan two years ago when we started the CSD major together. However, I am one year younger than her so I chose to graduate a year later. Even though I knew that Sheridan chose to go down the Speech Pathology path while I am choosing Audiology, I thought it would be useful to interview a graduate student nonetheless. There may be similar settings, similar collaborations, and similar obstacles that we as graduate students will experience together.

Katherine Goodwin is a communication science and disorders major who was inspired to become a speech language pathologist after her own experience going through speech therapy. A series of two jaw surgeries led to a complication that left Katherine unable to speak, and she went through subsequent sessions with a speech therapist. This is what inspired Katherine to become a speech therapist herself. She set her heart on a career that would help those in similar positions, and is hoping to work as a school speech language pathologist, and work with elementary age children who may have speech impediments or similar issues. Her experience with speech pathology left a lasting impact on her life and lead her to want to give back and do the same thing

Within my year and half of clinician experience, I constructed a few future goals that I would like to achieve while in graduate school. One goal is to continue growing my knowledge with working with children with language impairments. This goal is one reason that drew me towards The University of North Texas. With the hands on experience from the preschool for children with language impairments, I could work towards my completion of this goal. Another goal of mine is to gain more experience with working with adults. My clinical experience was centered on children; therefore I would like to become better rounded as a clinician by getting the opportunity to work with adults who may have diverse impairments. Lastly, I would enjoy learning new therapy techniques and how to ultimately become the best Speech-Language Pathologist that I can

Growing up I never dreamed of one day becoming an audiologist. In fact, until recent years I knew very little about the field of audiology. During my sophomore year at LSU, I enrolled in an anatomy and physiology course that properly introduced me to the human ear. I became fascinated with the intricate structures of the ear and the science behind audition. The more I learn about the field of audiology, the more captivated I become. The human body is extraordinary and the field of audiology seamlessly blends both science and art. During my last semester of college, I gained firsthand experience with the profession through an undergraduate hearing clinic. This clinical experience provided me with direct exposure to audiologic assessments and

Despite the fact that I know anatomy and physiology is a crucial component in pursuing a career in Speech Pathology, I am not excited about taking this course. Anatomy and Physiology is a course that contains a great deal of information. Knowing how the structure and function of certain respiratory, phonatory, articulatory, resonatory, and nervous systems relate or affect speech is what this course encompasses. The information in this course is essential to know for Speech Pathologists, because in order to fully understand and evaluate a problem that a client might have, a Speech Pathologist needs to know the effects that an underlying anatomical and physiological problem may have on an individual’s speech difficulties or challenges. The fact

In the near future, I envision myself as a speech-language pathologist, working with a manifold of patients. This career entails solving speech and swallowing problems within young clients. There is a large probability that their parents will come to me thinking that their child has a serious defect because information from unverified or satirical websites such as “The Onion”. For example, the fake news site posted a story stating “nearly two-thirds of all human speech transpires under people’s breath”, from the “Center for Applied Linguistics”, which is an actual organization. This could easily lead to confusion to people unaware of satire in media. Furthermore, unverified information may lead to disagreements in diagnoses. As Camila Domonoske’s article about “fake news” states, people are likely to

When considering a career in speech-language pathology, it is important to get input from individuals who have already been in the profession for many years. Upon talking with them, you can learn more about how the field looks in the day-to-day functions and situations. For this assignment, I talked to a speech-language pathologist in the school system and in a private-based practice. They both offered important insight and advice. Throughout my conversations, I have learned more about the direction I am heading and the multiple avenues that are available to me.

This career choice interests those who really enjoy helping others and have a nurturing spirit. It takes a “people person” to accomplish the everyday tasks of a speech language pathologist. The field of speech pathology can interest those looking for a career based on healthcare and medicine. Various classes offered in highschool can spark student’s attention and allow them to fall into therapy research; such as a health occupations class. Similar to speech therapy, “Occupational therapy, a health care profession, aims at enabling people to live life to its fullest. To occupational therapists, a “full” life means engagement in the activities that a person wants and needs to do, no matter what injury, illness, condition, disability, lifestyle,

For as long as I can remember I have devoted my time and energy into becoming a speech pathologist. As I enter my senior year and finalize my decisions to furthermore consider where to pursue my post-secondary education I have come across obstacles to where a new career aspiration in which lead me to new goals.

Sixteen years old is when I learned the importance of resiliency and determination. When it was advised that I take a year off of high school, I responded by registering that fall without hesitation. When I was instructed not to compete in track, I worked twice as hard in physical therapy to regain my strength and when I was informed that a traumatic brain injury would forever hinder me, I physically, emotionally, and vocally declared, “Absolutely not!”

During high school volunteering at Columbus Regional Healthcare System led me to my path into Speech-Language Pathology. Since high school I was accepted into the Speech Pathology program and I apply to the graduate program this semester. Vidant Medical Center would be a wonder service-learning site to gain valuable career experiences. I would have the opportunity to incorporate my knowledge from previous classes with hands on experience with patients and staff members. Vidant Medical Center is a general medical and surgical hospital. Therefore, it serves an assortment of patients from pediatric to geriatric. The hospital offers several activities and services that could correlate with college students’ major or career interest. Some volunteers have the opportunity to work directly with patients or family member, while others assist the staff or administration work. Likewise to my experience with Columbus Regional Healthcare System introducing me to the amazing career of Speech Pathology, it would be an honor to donate my time and effort to make a difference in other individual’s lives.