Being the first in my family to have been born in America has always instilled much pride in me. Growing up, I always took note of my parents Russian-influenced accents. Even as a young child my mother would always ask me to correct her if she was to make any mistakes while speaking English. This is what inspired me to venture into the world of speech language pathology as a college student.
When I first began at Brooklyn College I was very confused with what I wanted to major in. For any student this is literally a life changing decision, so I knew that I had to make a wise choice. I needed to pick something that I loved and that I would enjoy doing every day for the rest of my life. I first started with a broad major of pre-med. After my first semester being extremely unsuccessful I grew very disheartened by the situation I put myself into. Needless to say my transition from high school to college was not a smooth one. At the end of my first semester, a friend of mine approached me and told me about the Speech Pathology program. I researched the program some more and it clicked, this is exactly what I would love to do. Helping people with accent reductions would just be a small part of what I could do as a speech pathologist and the thought of this motivated me. During the next semester I worked very hard to undo what my poor grades from the semester prior had done to my GPA in order to be accepted into the Speech Pathology Program. After getting accepted, each class continued to show me how much I enjoyed learning about different speech disorders and the multiple techniques there are to help a patient correct them.
In May of 2011 I started to volunteer at Coney Island Hospital's Communication Disorders Department. It was there that I first got hands on experience that furthered my eagerness for this ever-evolving field. I assist a speech pathologist with dysphagia evaluations and therapy of many patients that have suffered strokes and traumatic brain injuries. It is difficult to explain the joy I felt when one patient in particular, who had been diagnosed with Apraxia, realized that when he slowed down his speech it was marvelously clear and understandable. Watching the wonders that goal oriented therapy does to help patients is the most amazing feeling in the world.
In the face of adversity I proved to my family and myself that I could do anything that I put my mind to. I believe that my dedication to this field would benefit the Speech Language Pathology Masters Program at Brooklyn College. I pride myself in being a hard working student and ask that you grant me entry to the graduate program so that I can use my hard work and dedication to change lives as a speech-language pathologist.
When I first began at Brooklyn College I was very confused with what I wanted to major in. For any student this is literally a life changing decision, so I knew that I had to make a wise choice. I needed to pick something that I loved and that I would enjoy doing every day for the rest of my life. I first started with a broad major of pre-med. After my first semester being extremely unsuccessful I grew very disheartened by the situation I put myself into. Needless to say my transition from high school to college was not a smooth one. At the end of my first semester, a friend of mine approached me and told me about the Speech Pathology program. I researched the program some more and it clicked, this is exactly what I would love to do. Helping people with accent reductions would just be a small part of what I could do as a speech pathologist and the thought of this motivated me. During the next semester I worked very hard to undo what my poor grades from the semester prior had done to my GPA in order to be accepted into the Speech Pathology Program. After getting accepted, each class continued to show me how much I enjoyed learning about different speech disorders and the multiple techniques there are to help a patient correct them.
In May of 2011 I started to volunteer at Coney Island Hospital's Communication Disorders Department. It was there that I first got hands on experience that furthered my eagerness for this ever-evolving field. I assist a speech pathologist with dysphagia evaluations and therapy of many patients that have suffered strokes and traumatic brain injuries. It is difficult to explain the joy I felt when one patient in particular, who had been diagnosed with Apraxia, realized that when he slowed down his speech it was marvelously clear and understandable. Watching the wonders that goal oriented therapy does to help patients is the most amazing feeling in the world.
In the face of adversity I proved to my family and myself that I could do anything that I put my mind to. I believe that my dedication to this field would benefit the Speech Language Pathology Masters Program at Brooklyn College. I pride myself in being a hard working student and ask that you grant me entry to the graduate program so that I can use my hard work and dedication to change lives as a speech-language pathologist.
