Graduate / Speech-language pathology FSU graduate bridge progam essay [3]

Here is my essay for the FSU graduate bridge program! I just wanted a different set of eyes to check it out and tell me how to improve it. :)

I chose academic success and bilingualism.

The question is as follows:
The 21st Century offers diverse opportunities and challenges for an SLP within a global society. Choose one or two areas of interest from the following list and discuss how the field of Speech Language Pathology can be incorporated within your chosen area of interest; what you believe you can contribute, and what you need to learn as a graduate student to prepare for the evolution of the field.

Areas of Interest:
- Technology
- Cultural diversity
o Bilingualism- English language learners
o African American English
- Longevity and aging of America
- Medical and educational supports to newborns and families
- Expanding scope of practice in education
- Augmentative communication
-
- Academic success (written oral communication of literacy across the curriculum)
- Medical advance
o Higher and longer survival rates with disease and trauma
o Cochlear implants

Bursting into my classroom red-faced and flustered, Arturo's excitement about a recent family outing to the beach was barely containable. He gasped for breath as he tried to push the words out, but his persistent stutter stunted his words over the same sticky sounds. The familiar guessing game commenced as we bounced possible words back and forth until finally we found the one that fit perfectly, "Tr-tr-trip! Yes! Yes! Trip!" On a daily basis, the process of deciphering Arturo's stammering was like unlocking a puzzle and the entire class rejoiced with him once we had cracked the code. As the year progressed, Arturo's confidence in his speaking, oral language, and reading gradually increased with the help of our school's speech-language pathologist. I wondered what kind of magic she knew that I didn't. The experience of witnessing Arturo's metamorphosis from a hesitant contributor into a confident and effective communicator suddenly opened my eyes to the influence I could make as a speech-language pathologist. His hard work and determination to overcome his stutter inculcated the qualities of patience and self-belief in his abilities, which permeated the entire class. Enabling someone to be able to communicate not only empowers them to maintain relationships and make new ones but also gives them the liberating human right to express wants, needs, and thoughts. Moments like these remind me of the value in selflessness and, perhaps most importantly, the quality in a life that serves others.

My experience of teaching public school children with disparate degrees of disabilities has presented me with situations such as bilingualism, voice and language disorders, and autism. My urge to know more pushed me to scamper between the school's speech-language pathologist and current ASHA research articles in an attempt to understand more about the disorders I was seeing face-to face. These meaningful collaborations definitely struck a cord and my innate desire to help began to blossom.

With evidence-based practice serving as the essential fabric for the field of speech-language pathology, evidence gained from external research is crucial. I look forward to exploring how the differences in socio-cultural-historical contexts of our ever-changing society will affect the methods in which clinicians anticipate outcomes. Living in South Florida has given me a myriad of opportunities to teach very culturally diverse groups. I am continually fascinated by the speech-language diagnoses of bilingual children that struggle with acquiring success in academic literacy. As a certified clinician, I plan on contributing meaningful research which will shed more light on increasing mastery of written oral communication across the curriculum. As a graduate student, I seek to gain an awareness of the contributions of past speech-language pathologists to allow deeper reflection about the quality and rationales of modern-day services and thus, ways to improve them. Easing the transition of emergent readers will require my knowledge of best practices to implement information collected and ultimately make measurable improvements in a student's academic success. With speech-language pathology services branching out into differing environmental settings with distinct expectations, I bring my creative resourcefulness to multi-task and collaborate while embracing the dynamic presence of this occupation. I truly believe that the University of Florida, with its unparalleled academic, clinical, and research opportunities, will serve as an ideal platform for me to grow both academically and as an individual.