Personal Statement for the Past

Personal Statement

For the past five years I have had a strong interest in Communications Sciences and Disorders. It began when I met a small boy named David who lived next door to me. I watched his speech therapist work with him and became fascinated. I talked to her afterwards, and it was then that I knew this was the career for me. Her responses were so insightful, and I could see in her eye the joy she felt.

Ever since that day, I have pursued speech pathology as a career. Before college, I had the opportunity to observe speech therapists at my mother's day care. The effect this had on me was to strengthen my resolve to pursue speech therapy. I was especially taken by the care these therapists took to help the children, and was moved by the profound impact that they had on their lives. It occurred to me that it was this ability to help people in such a simple yet powerful way was the reason speech therapy attracted me so much.

Once I entered college, I was fortunate enough to have taken classes with some truly exceptional professors. The knowledge and passion that they gave me reinforced how wonderful this calling is. Towards the end of the program, that point was driven home to me. We, the SLP students, had the opportunity to observe speech pathologists at work. We watched them work with their clients, and wrote logs about what we saw. I studied the way that they were able to devote such acute attention to all sorts of patients. They worked with stroke victims, stutterers and laryngectomy patients. The work that they did was phenomenal. I knew then that this was the perfect choice for me. Nothing would make me prouder than to be one of them, and be able to reach people in this way, and improve their lives on a daily basis.

My career path solidified in front of me, I have maintained this focus since the end of my studies. I believe that the more I am exposed to this career, the better I will become. To that end, I still watch the speech pathologists at the daycare. Their work was the inspiration for me to seriously pursue this career path and it continues to inspire me. I study their techniques, their frustrations and their successes, knowing that one day I will be right there with them.

I am also currently working with the developmentally disabled for an organization called Ohel/Bais Ezra, and have done so for the past four years. To me, this is the most rewarding type of challenge imaginable. I derive an enormous sense of joy and satisfaction from helping others overcome difficulties.

Now, my goal is to continue my studies in Speech Language Pathology. This is the next step in my career development, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue building my body of knowledge in this area. Everything I have done, in the five years since I first the speech therapist working with my neighbor David, has led me to this point, and I could not be more excited about the chance to take the next step in the Speech Language Pathology program.