I am the well-prepared candidate you seek for admission to the graduate program in communication disorders. Throughout my semesters on campus I have been especially impressed by the diversity of clientele seen at Carls Clinic and the variety of clinical placements offered in and around the surrounding communities. The comfortable and encouraging atmosphere set by your faculty and students has made me feel at home over the past 2 years, and has left me wanting to continue my education at Central Michigan University. My clinical preparation thus far has included 30.66 child and adult diagnostic and treatment hours in articulation, voice and resonance, receptive and expressive language, cognitive aspects of communication and fluency disorders. I am also in the process of completing an exhilarating 16 weeks worth of Undergraduate Student Clinician experience.
As I have been a musician my whole life, I have always been attracted to the anatomy and physiology of voice production. After realizing that a major in Rock Star wasn't offered by CMU, I decided that I wanted to pursue a career accountable for helping to support and maintain vocal health. It was my very first communication disorders course, Speech-Language-Hearing Disorders, taught by Dr. Suzanne Woods that solidified my decision to major in communication disorders. Never in my undergraduate experience has an introductory course instilled such a sense pride in a profession. Through this course I realized that just as the profession of Speech-Language Pathology is altruistic in nature, so am I. Selfless concern for the welfare of others has been a virtue in my upbringing. I approach life with a positive working and learning attitude by living the words of Mahatma Gandhi: "Service to others is the rent you pay to live here on Earth." A less than favorable financial upbringing has taught me the importance of education, the value in selflessness and, perhaps most importantly, the quality in a life that serves others.
What sets me apart from my peers is my hunger for learning all there is to learn about the profession of Speech-Language Pathology. Even with a full academic and clinic load, I find myself "hungry for more". I am ambitious in my pursuit of knowledge of all things speech and language related. I realize that my decision to become an SLP was a decision to commit myself to life long learning, and I plan on CMU requires the skills of graduate students assiduous in nature- students willing and eager to devote their time and energy to the pursuit of becoming a skilled care provider. I am eager to become the graduate student who is the first to arrive in the Report Writing Room and the last to leave, all for the sake of attempting to change the lives of those with speech and language disorders. Time already spent in and around the Carls Clinic has prompted me to live a life full of alacrity for the profession of Speech-Language Pathology.
Through my college years, I have also been involved in numerous volunteer activities. As an activist for suicide prevention for the past 5 years, I have attended various high school suicide prevention seminars and provided one-on-one counseling sessions with suicide survivors. This experience, aside personal gain, assisted me early on in my college career to hone my time-management and leadership skills while learning to work efficiently with individuals and teams. I am also an active member, and most recently CMU Chapter President of Golden Key International Honours Society. The focus of this internationally known honors society is literacy. Most recently, CMU Golden Key members have collaborated with the Chippewa River District Library as Early Literacy Volunteers to promote literacy skills in school-aged children through CRDL's Daycare Outreach Program. This volunteer work provides us the opportunity to support literacy skill acquisition in preschool language-immersed daycares throughout Isabella County. Through this leadership role as President, I have discovered my ability to be flexible in activity planning and interpersonal interaction with a variety of individuals and skill levels. Though I thrive on the pressure of meeting deadlines, it has taken time and effort to learn how to balance professional, educational and work-related tasks.
I have been employed throughout my college career with administrative assistance and dietary aide positions. Working 20-30 hours per week while attending college courses full time has been a challenging yet valuable task since my graduation from high school. It has required planning, dedication and hard work, which I consider a small price to pay for investment into my future. Thanks to my diligence and the magnanimity of academic scholarship donors, I have received $1,500 over the course of two years to help me in continuing on the path of becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist.
I have always been interested in how people communicate with each other; whether through speech, listening, or nonverbal cues. My interest in human communication is what aimed me toward a career in communication disorders with a firm knowledge of American Sign Language. As a student with a minor in American Sign Language, I have been exposed to a variety of experiences in a culture other than my own: Deaf culture. As an ASL minor, I have been required to attend at least three Deaf culture activities per semester. I have therefore attended well over 12 Deaf culture activities. Aside from the required curriculum, I was also chosen by the ASL curriculum director to enroll in an ASL Special Topics course: Community Placements with Deaf Children/Adults during the fall 2010 semester. Through this course and my placement at a local Deaf/Hard of Hearing elementary school, I have been given the opportunity to utilize my ASL skills and perform off-campus community service based work with Deaf children and teachers in a school setting.
The CMU Speech-Language Pathology program is my first choice of all programs. I have been privileged enough to come to know and enjoy most of the CDO and ASL faculty. I feel that CMU is the best fit for me and hope that you feel the same. I have really taken a liking to Central Michigan University and the Mount Pleasant area, and would love to continue making it my home for the next two years during my graduate studies.
It is my goal to earn a master's degree in Speech and Language Pathology so that I may go on to become a practicing SLP in a hospital setting. I am excited to begin this step in my educational career. It would be an honor and privilege to be accepted into CMU's fine graduate program. I am eager and excited to hear back from your selection committee. I am sure you will find my application as the well-rounded, creative, and inspired applicant who can be your successful, hard-working, open-minded graduate student and future Chippewa alumnus. Thank you all for your time and consideration required in selecting a qualified group of future Speech-Language Pathologists.
As I have been a musician my whole life, I have always been attracted to the anatomy and physiology of voice production. After realizing that a major in Rock Star wasn't offered by CMU, I decided that I wanted to pursue a career accountable for helping to support and maintain vocal health. It was my very first communication disorders course, Speech-Language-Hearing Disorders, taught by Dr. Suzanne Woods that solidified my decision to major in communication disorders. Never in my undergraduate experience has an introductory course instilled such a sense pride in a profession. Through this course I realized that just as the profession of Speech-Language Pathology is altruistic in nature, so am I. Selfless concern for the welfare of others has been a virtue in my upbringing. I approach life with a positive working and learning attitude by living the words of Mahatma Gandhi: "Service to others is the rent you pay to live here on Earth." A less than favorable financial upbringing has taught me the importance of education, the value in selflessness and, perhaps most importantly, the quality in a life that serves others.
What sets me apart from my peers is my hunger for learning all there is to learn about the profession of Speech-Language Pathology. Even with a full academic and clinic load, I find myself "hungry for more". I am ambitious in my pursuit of knowledge of all things speech and language related. I realize that my decision to become an SLP was a decision to commit myself to life long learning, and I plan on CMU requires the skills of graduate students assiduous in nature- students willing and eager to devote their time and energy to the pursuit of becoming a skilled care provider. I am eager to become the graduate student who is the first to arrive in the Report Writing Room and the last to leave, all for the sake of attempting to change the lives of those with speech and language disorders. Time already spent in and around the Carls Clinic has prompted me to live a life full of alacrity for the profession of Speech-Language Pathology.
Through my college years, I have also been involved in numerous volunteer activities. As an activist for suicide prevention for the past 5 years, I have attended various high school suicide prevention seminars and provided one-on-one counseling sessions with suicide survivors. This experience, aside personal gain, assisted me early on in my college career to hone my time-management and leadership skills while learning to work efficiently with individuals and teams. I am also an active member, and most recently CMU Chapter President of Golden Key International Honours Society. The focus of this internationally known honors society is literacy. Most recently, CMU Golden Key members have collaborated with the Chippewa River District Library as Early Literacy Volunteers to promote literacy skills in school-aged children through CRDL's Daycare Outreach Program. This volunteer work provides us the opportunity to support literacy skill acquisition in preschool language-immersed daycares throughout Isabella County. Through this leadership role as President, I have discovered my ability to be flexible in activity planning and interpersonal interaction with a variety of individuals and skill levels. Though I thrive on the pressure of meeting deadlines, it has taken time and effort to learn how to balance professional, educational and work-related tasks.
I have been employed throughout my college career with administrative assistance and dietary aide positions. Working 20-30 hours per week while attending college courses full time has been a challenging yet valuable task since my graduation from high school. It has required planning, dedication and hard work, which I consider a small price to pay for investment into my future. Thanks to my diligence and the magnanimity of academic scholarship donors, I have received $1,500 over the course of two years to help me in continuing on the path of becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist.
I have always been interested in how people communicate with each other; whether through speech, listening, or nonverbal cues. My interest in human communication is what aimed me toward a career in communication disorders with a firm knowledge of American Sign Language. As a student with a minor in American Sign Language, I have been exposed to a variety of experiences in a culture other than my own: Deaf culture. As an ASL minor, I have been required to attend at least three Deaf culture activities per semester. I have therefore attended well over 12 Deaf culture activities. Aside from the required curriculum, I was also chosen by the ASL curriculum director to enroll in an ASL Special Topics course: Community Placements with Deaf Children/Adults during the fall 2010 semester. Through this course and my placement at a local Deaf/Hard of Hearing elementary school, I have been given the opportunity to utilize my ASL skills and perform off-campus community service based work with Deaf children and teachers in a school setting.
The CMU Speech-Language Pathology program is my first choice of all programs. I have been privileged enough to come to know and enjoy most of the CDO and ASL faculty. I feel that CMU is the best fit for me and hope that you feel the same. I have really taken a liking to Central Michigan University and the Mount Pleasant area, and would love to continue making it my home for the next two years during my graduate studies.
It is my goal to earn a master's degree in Speech and Language Pathology so that I may go on to become a practicing SLP in a hospital setting. I am excited to begin this step in my educational career. It would be an honor and privilege to be accepted into CMU's fine graduate program. I am eager and excited to hear back from your selection committee. I am sure you will find my application as the well-rounded, creative, and inspired applicant who can be your successful, hard-working, open-minded graduate student and future Chippewa alumnus. Thank you all for your time and consideration required in selecting a qualified group of future Speech-Language Pathologists.