I myself. this field incorporates everything i

I first heard the term “ speech pathologist” when my little brotherdeveloped Eosinophilic Esophagitis at a young age. Prior to any treatment, my brotherdealt with multiple problems including swallowing and communication disorders. Once a speech therapy team diagnosed my brother with this disorder and started performingtreatment, we saw an immediate improvement. Fast forward nearly 10 years later, and I find myself preparing to impact somebody’s life as the speech therapyteam impacted my brother’s life.

I originally began college not knowing what exactly I wanted to pursueas a major. I felt really discouraged going into the summer before my Sophomoreyear, so my advisor encouraged me to meet with a career counselor. I sat downwith career services and began identifying things I knew true about myself: Ilove people, I am driven by a desire to fix problems, and I want to make apositive impact on others’ lives. I went home that summer still not knowingexactly what I wanted to do, but kept in mind the list about what fueled mypassions. That summer, I shadowed a number of professionals in differentfields. My mentor, speech pathologist Hannah Reed, allowed me the opportunityto shadow at a hospital, private practice, and a specialized school. After afew days of seeing all the areas a speech pathologist works in, I knew a careeras a speech pathologist fit exactly what I wanted. Speech pathology joined allof my passions into one career, making it the perfect profession for myself.

Thisfield incorporates everything I want in a career, and allows me to use mystrengths to better the lives of my patients.