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I see my maximum professional contribution in years to come working in the inner city, especially with disadvantaged children from at risk homes. For these children, life is difficult enough without a speech impediment that makes it difficult for them to communicate - also resulting in their being bullied in many cases. I will be serving in a hospital, school, or private clinic, but always seeking out and putting priority attention on those who most need my help. Earning the Master’s Degree in Speech/Language Pathology will provide me with the preparation that I need to excel as an SLP therapist, developing long term relationships with special needs children and their families, children that suffer from ADHD, autism, or another disorder that results in communication difficulties.

Seven thousand, two hundred sixty-two miles I traveled as an 18-year-old international student from Kuwait to pursue a career in speech-language pathology in the United States of America. A young Arab woman from a traditional home in Kuwait, since my arrival, I have learned to celebrate diversity with great relish.

Kuwait that is small in size and big in its values, I always utilized opportunities to help people. The desire to help others was one of the reasons that led me to choosing this major, to build a career supporting people to better their lives, especially children. From a young age, I have loved children’s existence in my life and around me. I enjoy playing, interacting, and taking care of them. I feel like the entire world is smiling when I am with them. They love me because I am playful and give them their share in the conversation to express their opinions and ideas. Because I like children and I want to help others, I wanted to become a doctor, perhaps a pediatrician, to help people heal and get better. But, I did not see this field to be fit for me for two reasons. One of the reasons being that a doctor is serious and two doctors are not very flexible. It is fascinating that doctors heal people, but what comes after is left to whom? From my perspective, doctors treat people until they are medically stable, and their treatment is fixed more than sustained. For example, a doctor could treat a child’s adenoids surgically, but this alone will not rehabilitate the child’s speaking abilities. I see SLP as a bridge between medical etiologies and rehabilitation services and that is what makes this field so uniquely exciting and so special.

In 1990, Kuwait was invaded by the Iraqi Army. Over a night, they invaded the entire country. They burned many oil fields and houses. It was said that the people who will be impacted are those of the future generation. Twenty-seven years later, there are more and more children and adults being diagnosed for genetic and neurological disorders such as Down Syndrome. This tragedy impacted the development of my country and thus today there are many adults and children who need SLP services but unfortunately because of the shortage in professionals that are eligible to provide these services, those adults and children do not receive adequate attention. The awareness of these services is growing as much as the need to receive services is growing. In Kuwait, people used to believe that a child/adult who stutters is born like that and that there is nothing they can do to help the child/adult. But after graduating and coming back to Kuwait and working in a rehabilitation clinic, I have seen families in and outside of the clinic taking about stuttering and how it is a condition that can be treated through rehabilitation services.

One of the best sides of this profession, is it makes a positive impact on the life of a person with communication disorder. From the past and until this moment, I have the desire to change someone’s life to the better and observe the happiness and comfort results. Loving life led me to want to become a doctor at first, but I found myself better in a different role making similar impact: providing speech-language therapies where I give birth to a positive change that lighten the life of an individual to have a better quality of life.

As more people are being educated about the speech and language disorders and therapy services, more and more people are being referred to speech-language therapy clinics. In Kuwait, and because of the lack of trained and qualified speech-language professionals, eligible speech-language therapy services are limited. Working in Kuwait as a pediatric speech-language pathology assistant gave me an insight in the needs of my community. The population we serve at the clinic is so diverse. We lack standardized resources that are tested on an Arabic speaking but diverse background populations. Because of the lack of standardized testing, no diagnoses can be official. Observing the need of my community further encouraged me to pursue a graduate degree in speech-language pathology. I choose to complete my studies in the United States for many reasons. One of them being that US has a diverse populations: refugees, immigrants, and others. Therefore, I would benefit from getting externships where I can interact with diverse populations.

It is like a ripple effect where the positive change in the life of someone continuous to spread to an enormous result of improving the life of the community of that individual. 

Due to the shortage of services in speech-language pathology in Kuwait, information about the field is hard to come by.  As I researched and studied more about communication disorders and the impact on people’s lives, my interest and passion continued to bloom. I grew up believing that I will find my greatest success by helping others; thus this area of speech-language pathology will help me thrive with passion and compassion.

I dedicated my time to expand my horizon of knowledge by utilizing a variety of opportunities beyond academia to gain relevant experiences in the field of speech-language pathology. To highlight a few, I actively volunteered with the school’s National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association (NSSLHA) chapter. Through this experience, I have worked with school-aged children with Autism as well as adults with Parkinson’s disease. I have encountered situations where I tailored my communication to meet the individual’s level of communication. For instance, when working with a child with autism who is hard of hearing, I used my proficiency in American Sign Language to communicate with him. Applying this skill with the learned knowledge about total communication provided a supportive environment for the child to communicate. Also, I worked as a research assistant during my undergraduate studies which allowed me to work one-on-one with infants that are at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This opportunity strengthened my clinical skills in recognizing potential signs of ASD. It also strengthened my research abilities specifically in research process and data collection. I currently work as a pediatric speech-language pathology assistant at Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC) which is supporting my readiness for the clinical practicum in graduate school. Being able to lead supervised sessions from A to Z gave me an insight of the regular routine of a clinician, built up my confidence in treating certain deficits such as deficits in pragmatic skills and improved my understanding of different disorders such as Williams Syndrome. I learned how to adapt the session materials, communicate and interact in a culturally appropriate way. I learned how to collaborate with other professionals (e.g., physiotherapist and psychologist) to provide effective therapy in a joined session.  This skill is helpful for graduate school because it will prepare me to work effectively with clients from different cultures and ethnicity backgrounds as well as other health care provides (i.e., physicians, doctors) during my externships. Therefore, these opportunities equipped me with the necessary skills to become a dedicated practitioner, reflective scholar and responsible citizen. They helped to be an exceptionally motivated student for graduate work.

I enjoy playing basketball, swimming, running, and dancing. My hobbies and interest in being active is helpful during graduate school, because they will help me deliver therapy that consist of activities that are active. I like

Because of the experiences that I had, I have continued to develop my interest in working with the pediatric population, treating children with neurological and genetic disorders, especially children on the Autism Spectrum. After completing my master’s, I would like to work with children in a medical setting and seek opportunities to deliver international speech-language services to children in under developing countries. Following that, I plan to attain a clinical doctorate degree to expand my clinical expertise in developing diverse therapy approaches that accommodate children’s needs globally

I hope my services to be fruitful for the people I serve as I expect them to be for me. Ultimately, my hope is to lead the development of speech-language pathology and related services within the Kuwaiti community. I started on this journey with the simple desire to help children with communication disorder. That desire, however, has now become my life’s passion. Very passionate and a hard worker, I dedicate the vast majority of my time to professional and self-development. I see the full embrace of ethnic, national, and linguistic diversity to be a central, integral aspect of our profession, SLP. Completing your program will prepare me for making my maximum contribution to SLP services in Kuwait, making help available for children and adults in a variety of settings. Kuwait has great need in this area since there is shortage of well trained professional in SLP. I want to think of myself as an Advocate for SLP services in Kuwait and I hope to at some point help to create a Kuwaiti association for SLPS research. I am especially concerned with the need to create more effective Standardized tests, in Kuwait and, in fact, throughout the Middle East.

The youngest child in my family growing up in Kuwait, I am also a trailblazer, the only child in my family, for example, to go to a private kindergarten, The Pakistani School, where I was introduced to British English for the first time; and children from all over the world speaking multiple languages. I was the first female in my family to receive a fully funded tuition scholarship to pursue a higher education degree abroad. Six years later, I graduated with an Honor’s Degree, earning my BS in Speech-Language Pathology.

I have volunteered to serve people, and especially children, in Omaha’s community, throughout the course of my undergraduate education. I have been a highly active volunteered with one of our SLP clubs to raise funds for children/adults and to organize and support events. I have done research as well as some clinical work and I have learned from these experiences to open up to people and to understand the challenges they face. I have learned to be flexible and considerate. I came to realize that working one-on-one with children is where my principle interest and passion lie; this is the area in which I keenly look forward to giving the balance of my professional life, working with children in a medical setting, a hospital or a rehabilitation center.

I hope to eventually earn a clinical doctorate degree focused on my research in Kuwait, all geared towards advocacy with the goal of making SLP service more accessible in Kuwait.

I thank you for considering my application.

I always hoped to be able to make direct and beneficial differences to the lives of others. I came to speech therapy because of problems suffered by a young relation, Elias. Because of his difficulties in obtaining an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment, I became aware of a shortage of speech therapy expertise in my country of Saudi Arabia. I decided to become part of the solution to the problem by acquiring a qualification and experience in the field. I have never regretted my decision. My goal is to become an expert practitioner, to undertake research and, ultimately, to share my passion by teaching.

I have accrued clinical and research experience over the last two years, in my home country. It is an indication of my potential that I was also offered the opportunity to teach at such an early stage. My training has been supplemented by attendance at various symposia and conventions. I met XXXX, lecturer at Queen’s College, NY, on the flight to the ASHA 2015 convention, a long conversation ended with her telling me that it was clear to her that I had made the right choice in life, this provided an enormous boost to my confidence.

The most important lesson learned in my clinical exposure has been that it takes a special type of person to treat speech disorders that; empathy, exceptional levels of patience and determination, and first class communication skills are vital.  I would not apply if I were not convinced that I possess these characteristics. I have a solid academic record and have received various honors and awards in my academic career including first place in the Second Research Forum in my undergraduate program.  I have also undertaken significant volunteer work and have acquired some experience of leadership for example by being elected class leader and acting as a representative on my student council.

I am excited to be engaged in a field in which significant and constant advances in techniques and tools are made and it my hope to assist in future progress. I am particularly interested in research in the areas of: cochlear implant patients, auditory verbal therapy, bilingualism, Arabic language milestones and pediatric swallowing.

I know that cultural awareness and sensitivity is vital in this field. I enjoy learning about other cultures and sharing information about my own. I have lived in the UK and travelled in Europe, the US and beyond. My native language is Arabic and I am fluent in English and have basic fluency in French. I seek to be a well-rounded person and pursue a number of hobbies and pastimes to this end.

I am drawn to your program because of the high graduate school ranking, the very high rate of successful student outcomes, the opportunities to undertake both clinical and research work, the prestigious faculty and the first rate facilities.

In a short career I have acquired clinical, research and teaching experience. I believe that this provides a firm foundation for success in the program.

I could not be happier to have found my calling already at 22 years old, my lifetime inspiration and focus. For the past several months I have been completing an internship at XXXX Montessori School with students with developmental challenges - in the first grade – almost all have some form of speech impediment. I am especially humbled by and enthralled with children on the autism spectrum and hope to have the profound privilege of dedicating myself to lifetime of research in SLP with respect to autistic children. I am driven to communicate with them and help them to better communicate with their families. This drive has led me to work hard at learning and improving my American Sign Language as well as my Spanish.

For more than 20 years, I have helped applicants from all over the world to get accepted to Master's Degree Programs in Speech Language Pathology and Communication Disorders.

My conviction that my calling lies in Speech Language Pathology is grounded in the fundamental experience of coming to the USA at the age of 10 years old and having my classmates poke fun at me because I did not speak English well. This experience was quite traumatic and now, as I look back on it, it serves as a constant inspiration for me to strive ever harder to reach my goal of doing all that I can to help children with communication difficulties to learn how to communicate better. Now, in addition to my native languages of Mandarin and Cantonese, I have not only mastered English but I am also fluent in Japanese. I seek to bring my language skills and great passion for helping children to the study of SLP in multilingual and multicultural contexts.

Born in Brownsville and raised mostly in Harlingen Texas, I am a young Latina who is completely bilingual and bicultural. Since graduating from XXXX University in May of 2013 with a Bachelors in Communication Disorders and a minor in Psychology, I have been working professionally in the area of Speech Pathology, mostly with children. I hope to distinguish myself in the future as a scientific investigator as well as a practitioner with a focus on the comparison of bilingual vs. monolingual children with respect to speech challenges.

I have a cousin who was diagnosed as autistic when he was four years old and it is an awareness of the distress that he and his family suffer that first prompted me to consider a career in communication therapy. This application is made after very careful consideration as it is very clear to me that it takes a special type of person to treat speech disorders with success; that empathy, determination and enormous patience are the basis for successful outcomes together with the technical knowledge and skills that I now seek to acquire. I believe that I possess the necessary personal qualities and enthusiasm together the academic potential not only to succeed, but to excel in the program and in my career beyond it.

I see speech as the foundation of communication and being able to communicate with confidence as the cornerstone of what defines us as human beings. This is why I have fallen very much in love with the study of communication disorders and I hope to be accepted into your distinguished program so that I have the privilege of giving my all to this field for the next 4 or 5 decades. I am a hard worker and a good—but not exceptional—student so far. The fact that my grades are higher in my Communication Disorder classes than other classes reflects my dedication to this area of study and the passion that I have for helping some of the most vulnerable and needy members of our community.

You will undoubtedly have applicants to your program with better grades and higher GRE scores than mine. Nevertheless, I humbly ask for acceptance based on my great passion for speech therapy and the fact that I already have professional experience in this area working as a speech assistant for Epic Health Services.

Most applicants who decide to pursue Speech-Language Pathology do so because they are interested in working with people. The wide scope of practice for a speech-language pathologist allows therapists to work with people in any age range, from infancy to geriatrics. They are also attracted to the career because it serves to improve the quality of life for those with whom you work as well as their family members and friends. In this field, you provide an invaluable contribution, helping others by enhancing their communication abilities.

I would be happy to provide you with a highly eloquent Statement that portrays you as someone with enormous potential to contribute to the advance of the field of speech pathology over the long term. After you fill out my Online Interview Form, I will ask you some specific questions by email if I need any further information. Please also send your resume/CV and or rough draft if you have one.

I have worked in an educational setting for 6 years now, surrounded by teachers, social workers, psychologist, behavior specialists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists (SLP). While they have all served as role models each in their own way, it has been towards the SLPs that I have gravitated. The school at which I am currently employed pays tuition expenses for those employees who wish to further their education, thus facilitating my capacity to excel in your program since I will at least not be worrying about how to pay the tuition. I love special education and will be happy forever simply being with my little ones and doing everything that I can to empower them to deal with the lives that await them as adults. Speech-Language Pathology is the field to which I am most attracted because of the vast opportunity that is presented for having a fundamental role in helping children to master the most critical aspect of their lives: communication.

I very much look forward as a young Indian woman who was born in America to contributing to the diversity of your graduate program at XXXX in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Still only 21 yet dedicated to lifelong learning, I keenly look forward to many decades of devoting myself wholeheartedly to the study of communications disorders. I am currently taking the pre-requisite courses at XXXX University to receive a certificate in Speech Language Pathology and this will be completed this coming December, 2013. I feel strongly that, in addition to my current studies, the academic foundation that I have as a result of earning my BA in Family and Child Sciences from XXXX State University in April of 2012, will enable me to excel in your program, especially in the investigation of family issues in SLP.

An individual pursuing speech pathology must have a true interest and investment in the field.  Graduate school is not easy, is exhausting and stressful.  If one does not have a true passion for the field, completing this degree will be incredibly difficult. It is critically important that one have a sincere interest in helping people with various speech, language, cognitive-communication, fluency, voice, and/or swallowing disorders. Those considering going into the field should also be flexible, patient, persistent, and tolerant. This is because all of these characteristics are needed in order to be successful at performing evaluations and conducting therapy.

On the golf team in college and high school, I am focused and determined, always trying to listen to the ball and feel where it is going. I am patient, never striking harder than I have to, trying to coax the ball and move it softly. Completing my BS in Exercise Science was a natural choice and I feel that Exercise Science provided me with a highly useful foundation upon which to build as a health care professional. I have been working almost since my graduation at a Rehabilitation Hospital with patients that have a broad variety of debilitating conditions including but not limited to Stroke, Brain Injury, Parkinson's, Spinal Cord, Huntington's, and MS. Fr the past two years, interacting and supporting many different professionals, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, etc., it has been the Speech Therapist that has most grabbed my attention and earned my respect. Thus, I am now applying for a Master’s Program in Speech Language Pathology through CDCAS so that I may give my professional life to the cause of helping people with physical afflictions to communicate verbally at the highest level that is within their reach. 

Born in the USA to parents from Colombia, and raised in both Williamsburg, MA and Bogotá, Colombia, I think of myself as a White/Hispanic Latina and I am especially proud of the substantial portion of my DNA that is Native-American. Since I went to school in the USA and Colombia, alternatively, this helped me to become fully bicultural as well as bilingual and this is an important part of my professional identity, serving to define my professional goals and aspirations. My greatest strength as an applicant to a Master’s Program in Speech Language Pathology is my ability with language: a native speaker/writer of Spanish and English, I am also conversational in American Sign Language, Italian, and French. I take great delight in serving currently as a multilingual SLPA in a multilingual elementary school. There is never a dull moment.

Females dominate the world of Speech and Language Pathology. And yet, men are represented online to a large degree.

Erica Lester, M.S., CCC-SLP

Erica Lester is the owner and clinical director of speech language pathology programs at Talk Time, Speech Language Therapy and has a passion for helping others. Her enthusiasm for working with young children as a Speech-Language Pathologist serves as the foundation of Talk Time’s core values and standards.

Lester’s determination and steadfast desire to change the delivery of speech-language therapy into a delightful experience for children and their parents has been proven to be successful and is the goal for every child’s treatment program.

She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Indiana University-Bloomington and a Master of Science degree in Speech Language Pathology from Seton Hall University.

Lester has extensive experience in various areas of the speech, language and hearing disorders/mechanisms including Apraxia, Articulation, Attention Deficit, Auditory Processing, Augmentative Communication, Developmental Delays, Neurogenic Disorders, and Sensory, Social and Behavioral Deficiencies.

Her special interests include treating children with disabilities, autism and autistic like behaviors as well as working with children that have language and learning disabilities, expressive and receptive language delays, articulation concerns, auditory processing issues, phonological disorders and limited social skills.

Lester’s proven clinical experience is a result from working in private schools, public schools, early intervention and private practice settings.

In addition, she has taught as an adjunct professor for the Department of Speech Language Pathology at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ. Lester developed and instructed an introductory course to communication disorders for prospective speech pathology graduate students where she formulated and integrated curriculum as well as mentored and advised undergraduate learners.

She is proud of the dedicated and highly qualified speech-language pathologists who work for her. She enjoys teaching and collaborating with them along with learning from them.

Jill Tate, MS CCC-SLP

Jill Tate received her Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders from the University of Oregon in 2001, and completed her Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Emerson College, Boston in 2003.

Tate returned to Portland for her Clinical Fellowship Year (CFY) at Child Development Rehabilitation Center (CDRC) and has worked in a variety of clinic environments to date. Jill was introduced to speech and language disorders at the age of 7 when she participated in her brother’s speech therapy sessions with Dr. Robert (Bob) Buckendorf.

This experience sparked a desire within her to help children communicate. Tate is passionate about connecting with and engaging each child in a manner that supports their individual needs.

She has expertise working with children who have speech disorders including phonological and articulation disorders (especially remediation of R), childhood apraxia of speech, dysarthria, fluency/stuttering and craniofacial disorders.

Tate also enjoys working with the pediatric population in areas including early language development. In 2013, she became an independent consultant for Complete Speech and more recently joined their advisory board.

The Smart Palate is a therapy tool that Tate proudly uses and shares with others. Tate is the owner of Jill Tate Speech Therapy and currently provides speech and language services in NE Portland and Lake Oswego.

Shelagh Davies

Shelagh Davies has a Master of Science degree in Speech and Audiological Sciences from the University of British Columbia, an Honors BA in English and Drama from Queen’s University at Kingston, and two diplomas in Speech Arts, from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto and the Mount Royal Conservatory in Calgary, Alberta.

Davies is also certified to administer the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment Program – a speech/voice treatment program specifically designed for people with Parkinson ’s disease.

For the past 25 years, Davies has been in private practice, specializing in the care of the voice. She has lectured nationally and internationally, including seminars and workshops in locations as diverse as Singapore and Crete, and is also a frequent presenter in schools, universities, colleges and voice training programs throughout British Columbia.

Davies is Clinical Associate Professor and clinical researcher in the School of Speech and Audiological Sciences at the University of British Columbia. She provides speech and voice training to transsexual women through the Transgender Health Information Program of British Columbia.

Prior to establishing her own practice, Davies worked in hospitals with people who had suffered strokes, neurological disorders, brain injury and throat cancer. Davies developed the speech-language services program at Lions Gate Hospital and Burnaby General Hospital, and has worked in a number of other acute care, rehabilitation and long-term care settings.