My interest in speech language pathology was first piqued when I spent a year abroad in the Middle East, volunteering to teach children English. The process of trying to teach a new language to young children was fascinating to observe and sparked my interest in the processes behind language acquisition and communication. Questions of how language works and what can be done for communication disorders brought me to the field of speech pathology. Upon returning home to North America, I began to notice all the people in my life who could benefit from the services of a speech language pathologist: My grandmother who was diagnosed with a swallowing disorder; An elderly woman I became friends with through further volunteer work who was recovering from a stroke and suffered from aphasia; My nephew who couldn’t pronounce his ‘r’s; a girl with a speech impediment whom I tutored. My experiences further drove my curiosity and led me to a field in which my desire to help and my passion for health science could come together to be of use to my family, friends, and hopefully, the rest of the world. …show more content…
I am all around what one would call a “people person” and my ability to connect to others is one that makes me a unique candidate for this field. Through tutoring and volunteer work, I have had the opportunity to work with many different people, children and adults alike, and have acquired the skills necessary to engage and relate to them. As well, my sensitivity and compassion have been honed through working with children and elderly populations and can be of great use in the speech pathology field as I can be attuned to patients needs and therefore provide better service and work more