One of our last Graduate Student Spotlights is Ali! Ali gives great advice about choosing a profession that can be helpful to anyone, but especially the underclassmen here.
I entered JMU unsure of the academic path I would need to take to merge my dual passions of caring and advocating for people. I remember talking with a mentor freshman year, verbalizing my dilemma, ultimately unsure of which major I should pursue. She patiently sat with me, sifted through my thoughts, and steered me towards areas that complemented my passions. She works within a school system, and through her connection I was able to observe the SLP from her district. Through this experience I was able to first envision my passions merge as I discovered the profession of speech-language pathology. Specifically, I witnessed the empathy and feverous advocacy required of this SLP to ensure her student’s communication needs were met both inside and outside the classroom. Since, I have been inspired by the demand for advocates within the realm of communication. People need advocates in any field, but specifically within the realm of speech-language pathology, as its components of speech, language, cognition, and swallowing all intertwine intricately to daily life and vital needs.
If you were like me and were unsure at the beginning where to even start, talk with people who know you and are a couple steps ahead of you in life! This could be older friends, mentors, professors etc. This proved to be really helpful for me! This is also the path I took when trying to decide which grad school to attend. I ultimately chose JMU with confidence that this program would holistically prepare me to advocate for clients no matter which realm of the field I end up in. Something I have learned through this experience is that being unsure of where you want to end up, even within the field of speech-language pathology, leads to so much room for discovery and opportunity! Please reach out if you have any questions!