Introduce Yourself

[argslp]

This is a great forum with a strong sense of community. It dawned on me today that although we seem to be developing e-friendships, I don't even know some of your first names. This thread will allow us to get to know one another beyond our mutual passion for speech-language pathology.

 

My name is Amanda and I am twenty-one years old. I was born and raised in Central New Jersey. For the first two years of my collegiate career, I attended Montclair State University as an English major with the intention of applying to the teacher education program. After my sophomore year, I transferred to the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey to major in communication disorders and minor in holistic health. When I am not in class, I enjoy working as a substitute teacher. My hobbies include sports, history, alternative/indie music, and traveling. My favorite teams are the New Jersey Devils, the New York Mets, and the New York Giants. My favorite destinations are Newport, Rhode Island and the Outer Banks, North Carolina. One fun fact about me is that my cousin Rene Gagnon was one of the Iwo Jima flag raisers during WWII.

 

I hope to have the opportunity to meet some of you in the future! If you have any lingering questions, feel free to ask!

 

[jesstrom]

Nice topic, Amanda! Funny, I was thinking the other day how I really felt comfort in talking with you guys on the forum, yet didn't know too much about anyone besides their passion.

 

Ok, I'll go next!

 

My first name is Jess. I am 21 years old. I am a senior at Rutgers University, majoring in Linguistics and Psychology, minoring in Cognitive Science. I have been passionate about speech pathology since the beginning of high school, but decided to attend Rutgers (which does not have a speech program) because I heard great things about the academics, and it is also a great research university. I have been a server at an Italian restaurant for almost 6 years now. In my free time, I volunteer at a nursing home and spend time with my boyfriend, who I have been with for almost 6 years (ahh!). My career goals could go in one of two ways. Either I graduate school with my master's and would work with autistic children, or I continue on to receive a doctorate in the field so that I could become a professor (and maybe the small speech graduate programs would be able to expand and allow for more graduate students being able to pursure the in-demand career). 

 

Can't wait to hear about everyone else!

[jesstrom]

This is a great forum with a strong sense of community. It dawned on me today that although we seem to be developing e-friendships, I don't even know some of your first names. This thread will allow us to get to know one another beyond our mutual passion for speech-language pathology.

 

My name is Amanda and I am twenty-one years old. I was born and raised in Central New Jersey. For the first two years of my collegiate career, I attended Montclair State University as an English major with the intention of applying to the teacher education program. After my sophomore year, I transferred to the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey to major in communication disorders and minor in holistic health. When I am not in class, I enjoy working as a substitute teacher. My hobbies include sports, history, alternative/indie music, and traveling. My favorite teams are the New Jersey Devils, the New York Mets, and the New York Giants. My favorite destinations are Newport, Rhode Island and the Outer Banks, North Carolina. One fun fact about me is that my cousin Rene Gagnon was one of the Iwo Jima flag raisers during WWII.

 

I hope to have the opportunity to meet some of you in the future! If you have any lingering questions, feel free to ask!

 

 

Also, here's a silly comment: When I see your username, I say it in my head "ARGGG SLP" ... like a pirate. No matter how much I try to tell myself it is just your initials... it still happens. And now you know.

[argslp]

Also, here's a silly comment: When I see your username, I say it in my head "ARGGG SLP" ... like a pirate. No matter how much I try to tell myself it is just your initials... it still happens. And now you know.

 

Hahaha I always have the same thought when I spell out my initials. If I add in my Confirmation name my initials would be ARMG, but being a pirate sounds much cooler than being an arm 

[jesstrom]

Hahaha I always have the same thought when I spell out my initials. If I add in my Confirmation name my initials would be ARMG, but being a pirate sounds much cooler than being an arm 

 

Haha! So I'm curious ... what is your top choice school?

[deci:belle]

@argslp - nice choice in sports teams !! & @jesstrom - 6 years?!   omg wow thats lovely. Now if I can just find a man!

 

My name is Mari. I'm 21 years old. From Queens, NY. I just graduated from The Ohio State University in December in Speech and Hearing Sciences with a minor in Human Development and Family Sciences. I'm on the Audiology track, but I like to chat it up with the SLP people on here, who are way more lively! I have a hearing loss which got me into this amazing field, and my goal is just to give back. So cliche but so true! Main interests include: Aural Rehab, FM systems, working with the elderly population.  Outside interests include: Boxing (boxed for my school, and two years strong now), Exercising everyday with my grandparents (They're 75 & 81 and they can lift almost as much as I can!), eating good food, trying new types of Tequila,  and binge watching Netflix. Fun fact: I can pop my eye ball out of my eye socket. 

[emikate51]

Hi! I'm Emilee, just turned 21 last week. I'm a senior at University of Illinois, majoring in Speech Path with a minor in Sociology. I took a full load of classes every semester so I was able to graduate in 3 years. I've worked at the campus daycare all throughout college and volunteer tutor at some local schools. I'm getting married June 7th and have been trying to manage school, work, grad school apps, and the wedding. All I can focus on is getting to move into the house we bought after graduating in May! I only applied to 3 schools (since we can't move because of fiance's job), waitlisted at 2 and rejected from 1. I'll probably just end up working wherever I can for a little while and have a kid then decide if I want to try and go back to school. Just trying to stay optimistic now and get my mind off of it all! 

[argslp]

Haha! So I'm curious ... what is your top choice school?

 

I'll PM you! I don't want to jinx myself by revealing it publicly, just in case any admissions committee members happen to see it 

 

 

@argslp - nice choice in sports teams !!

 

 

Thanks! Glad to see someone else on here has similar taste in sports 

[jesstrom]

 

@argslp - nice choice in sports teams !! & @jesstrom - 6 years?!   omg wow thats lovely. Now if I can just find a man!

 

My name is Mari. I'm 21 years old. From Queens, NY. I just graduated from The Ohio State University in December in Speech and Hearing Sciences with a minor in Human Development and Family Sciences. I'm on the Audiology track, but I like to chat it up with the SLP people on here, who are way more lively! I have a hearing loss which got me into this amazing field, and my goal is just to give back. So cliche but so true! Main interests include: Aural Rehab, FM systems, working with the elderly population.  Outside interests include: Boxing (boxed for my school, and two years strong now), Exercising everyday with my grandparents (They're 75 & 81 and they can lift almost as much as I can!), eating good food, trying new types of Tequila,  and binge watching Netflix. Fun fact: I can pop my eye ball out of my eye socket. 

 

 

Yes 6 long years! And we agreed if I was accepted into a graduate program that we would move in together ... so I'm happy to say that is happening this summer  

 

Anyway, I salute you for wanting to give back! That's great, and from the looks of your acceptance list you have a good choice of programs! Congratulations!

[karita]

Pop your... eye ball out of its socket?! Say what now?!

[autismadvocate]

Absolutely brilliant thread idea. I have had the same thought, feeling so close with this community but not knowing much about the people themselves. Some people may not be able to contribute yet, if they're trying to stay anonymous, but with school decisions coming in more and more people should be able to post here.

 

Here's my bit. My name is Creigh. I'm a girl, if you were wondering (I feel I should say that because Creigh's a rather gender neutral name, or even a masculine sounding name, particularly if you think it's pronounced Craig - if anyone's wondering, my family pronounces it "Kree", or should I say /kri/, lol). I'll be honest, when most people describe me (those my age, at least), the first adjective they tend to come up with is 'weird'. That's probably because I choose to bypass many of the social norms that aren't useful. Hence, I think little of running around the park playing pretend with a five year old (he's autistic and I'm trying to engage him on his terms and encourage him to communicate), regularly interrupt and call out people who use the r-word, and am pretty resistant to peer pressure. I am also incredibly rational and think the scientific method was the best concept ever thought of.

 

My interests mostly, unsuprisingly, focus on autism advocacy. As most of you have read by now, my sister's autistic, which served as my gateway into the advocacy world. Other intersts are basically the state of the world, foreign languages, and - well, is helping other people an interest? if so it's one of mine. And I think the world would be a better place if we were all kinder to each other.

 

Fun fact: While I don't quite have a photographic memory I come close, which was a serious asset in anatomy and physiology.

 

Also, happy birthday, Emilee!

[deci:belle]

@karita - yeah. I found out when I was about five, if you take your finger and put it in the crease of your eyes and push forward... it happens. I guess because I have big eyes. Not sure. But please don't try it! haha 

 

@autismadvocate - "regularly interrupt and call out people who use the r-word" YES! Thank you. I do this all the time and people call me the PC police. Don't care! It grinds my gears like no other. So unnecessary. 

[erdestromp]

Hi! I'm Emma, I'm 22, and I'll be graduating from Western Washington in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Russian Language and Eurasian Studies. I also triple and long jump for Western's track team and work part time at a local hotel so my schedule is CRAZY! In the free time I do find, I like to be active, hike, do crossfit, swim, bike, really anything as I'm pretty energetic. I also like my buddies Hulu and Netflix. We hang out on occasion for hours at a time. My interests are in neurogenics, mainly aphasia and stroke recovery but pretty much geriatrics in general. I've volunteered at an assisted living community as well as with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, so I get my doses of all ages. I've applied to 8 schools this cycle, rejected from 1 and waitlisted for 2 so far. I am keeping my fingers crossed and wishing the best to everyone!

 

Also, argslp, my confirmation name starts with M too!

[karita]

My name's Kara.. I'm 26! I majored in Spanish and International Studies with a minor in History. I have been taking pre-reqs full time since August. I am married and have two girls, who are 3 and a half and 1 and a half. In other words... I am sleep deprived. My job outside of school is loving my girls unconditionally, even when they make me want to punch myself in the face.   We call our little kidlets "Scandinasians" because I'm Korean and my husband is Norwegian/Swedish. I love photography, volleyball, reading, traveling, euchre, wine, dark chocolate, and WWII history. arg, your fun fact is absolutely AMAZING! I am likely going to be relocating with the whole family for school, and I am beyond excited. I will miss the beach enormously, but MI winters.... well, we are breaking up.

[arthritiskid]

Hey friends!

My name is Karissa and I am 23 years old. I graduated with my bachelors in psychology last spring from Malone university in canton, ohio. Currently, I'm doing my prerequisite classes through Utah State. I am a full time nanny to a three and two year old and I absolutely love it! I am also a lifeguard at the local ymca a couple nights a week. I applied to a lot of schools outside of Ohio because I am ready to get out of it I'm a netflix addict, just finished up the Lost serious and loved it. I'm also a big greys anatomy fan! I've been a nanny/babysitter since I was about 11 years old and it's been wonderful. I've gotten to take care of so many wonderful children. My best friends live all over the country, which is good for traveling but stinks when I just want to hang out with one of them! I'm really interested in traumatic brain injury recovery. An interesting fact about me is that I've had rheumatoid arthritis since I was nine years old.

Good to hear all about y'all!

[Papaya91]

Hey My name's Ben, I'm 23, and I also went to Western Washington (like erdestromp; I don't think we ever met, though). I graduated in June 2012 with a major in CSD and a minor in Japanese. Similar to emikate above - I took way too many classes, and also graduated in 3 years. Then I took some time off to pursue another interest of mine, to save up money, and to soak up the sun in San Diego! I wanted to be totally refreshed going into grad school. I'm hoping to become an SLP in a medical setting. Stroke and TBI rehab, and voice disorders all really interest me. In my free time, I enjoy playing the harp (that's the interest I was pursuing), swimming, hanging out with my cat Oliver, and watching pretty much any show on the CW. I'm job hunting right now, since I moved back to Seattle from San Diego, but my most recent job was at Starbucks. I also play harp as background music at parties and such, but not often. Hopefully something comes my way soon! Nice to meet you all.

[combustiblecake]

Hi everyone!

 

My name is Gabriela and I'm a junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Originally, I did half of my high school in Puerto Rico, where I'm from and the other half I finished it in Illinois. I visit there twice a year and I'm blessed with friends and family who love me and support me. My native language is Spanish (with a caribbean accent) but in recent years (starting during the 90s), the island (because of its relationship with the US) received a lot of media in English - so my friends and I in elementary school had to learn to enjoy our favorite cartoons in English and associate what was being said with what we understood was the plot of the show (English classes there don't get good until you reach high school). I was diagnosed as a child with pervasive disorder and had language problems from the start - but over the years with treatment I did better and excelled most of my school years. To be honest, I'm a geek. I love videogames, boardgames and comic books still to this age. Soccer is the only sport I love so much to watch/play. I have tons of favorite shows too - thanks to Netflix. I also studied French and studied abroad in southern France for a summer and remember receiving texts from my host parents saying "coucou" and learning a lot of idioms from them and my host brothers (who also liked comic books, heck yeah! ). We also used to watch soccer together and to bother my host dad I would root for Uruguay when he wanted France to win. I also studied Portuguese and during my time here had a close bond with the Brazilian community (April I'm going to a Capoeira and Futebol event :D ) and lastly, Italian - but only know basics and my best friend and her boyfriend (who is from Italy) are the only ones I can practice with. 

 

I'm a sort of teacher's aide at an afterschool program in Spanish and have tons of volunteer experience (Spanish/Portuguese reading time, English ConvoPartner, Spanish Facilitator for College students, two research labs and a third one underway, Best Buddies, translator, always looking for more). And when I graduate I'm applying for a program to teach English in France - I want to get in Montpeiller because Paris is expensive

Edited March 11, 2014 by waitwhichgaby

[sarahsahara]

My name's Sarah. I'm from New Mexico but I did my first year of undergrad at University of Oregon where I was an architecture major. Unfortunately, it didn't work out so I moved back to New Mexico and started at UNM. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on autism, which was actually a lot of fun to do! I graduated early with my bachelor's in psychology and minored in French. After I graduated, I worked in the public schools as a behavior therapist with behaviorally and emotionally disturbed children but it was a challenging job on so many levels, so I decided to go back to school and study speech-language pathology. I've been a violinist since I was six. I have quite a few violins just kinda lying around my apartment. I recently discovered the show 'Scandal' and I may have a developed a small addiciton to it. I also have a cat named Sushi who enjoys spending all her free time in my bathtub-when there's water in it.

[flnjslp]

I love this thread!

 

My name is Ellen. I'm 21 years old. I'm a senior at the University of South Florida, majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Sociology and in Undergraduate Research. I'm also graduating in three years. I work as a research assistant during the school year. During breaks and the summer I juggle three jobs: cook at a bar, respite care provider, and childcare worker. I'm very interested in autism, developmental disabilities, selective mutism, and literacy. I hope to work in the school system, hopefully in middle or high school. I've been engaged since last March and am getting married on May 17th, 2 weeks after graduation. Managing applying to grad school, graduating from undergrad, and planning our wedding has been very stressful but I found out yesterday that I was accepted to my first school so I'm very happy right now!

 

 

Hi! I'm Emilee, just turned 21 last week. I'm a senior at University of Illinois, majoring in Speech Path with a minor in Sociology. I took a full load of classes every semester so I was able to graduate in 3 years. I've worked at the campus daycare all throughout college and volunteer tutor at some local schools. I'm getting married June 7th and have been trying to manage school, work, grad school apps, and the wedding. All I can focus on is getting to move into the house we bought after graduating in May! I only applied to 3 schools (since we can't move because of fiance's job), waitlisted at 2 and rejected from 1. I'll probably just end up working wherever I can for a little while and have a kid then decide if I want to try and go back to school. Just trying to stay optimistic now and get my mind off of it all! 

 

We're very similar!

[autismadvocate]

So many of you guys are interested in autism and/or on the spectrum, it makes me so excited!!!!! Those who are interested, please PM me with any questions. The real world speech path arena kind of worries me, because there are just a lot of things that theory doesn't cover, so I'm glad there are more of us going out into it. For instance, I was emailing with a doctoral speech path student who thought children on the spectrum couldn't play pretend/do symbolic play. (False.) And one of the little boy I care for's therapists is expressly interested with autism and credited it with getting her into the world of therapy...yet does the worst job I've seen of anyone working with him. My only thought is that maybe in grad school that you don't get to learn about the autistic perspective? Because that is actually super critical if you're trying to help people on the spectrum. That's the only thing I can think of that would explain the sort of things I'm seeing. But I digress...

 

Gaby is it weird if I think it's cool that you're PDD-NOS (what I assume you're referring to when you said pervasive disorder)? Lots of my friends are and we tend to bond quite quickly...autism does run in families and I may not quite be on the spectrum myself, but that's only by the slightest of margins (to put it this way, I'm the least typical supposed neurotypical you'll ever meet). I knew there had to be more people on the spectrum on this forum!

[sayjo]

I don't feel comfortable sharing too many personal details on the internet, but I just wanted to pop in and say that it's fun hearing more about all of you...and WOW, I feel like an old, married hag!  You're all so young!  A preview of things to come in grad school, I suppose.

[twinguy7]

Hello,

My name is mike and like Sayjo, I am an old married Hag. I am 31 years old and have been married to my smart, beautiful and loving wife for almost 3 1/2 years now. Can you believe that when she started dating me I was not in school, had no job and did not even know what a SLP was!? I credit my wife and her loving example as the reason I have a Bachelors degree today. It was 6 months after we started dating that I got back into school and did not stop for 3 years straight until I got my bachelors degree in Communication Disorders in May, 2013. ( my wife has a bachelors in Biology and finishes her 2nd bachelors in Nursing in August).

Before learning of the SLP profession I had many experiences that prepared me for the profession. After high school I served a 2 year mission for my church(LDS) in Brazil(Goiania to be exact) where I learned Portuguese by total immersion. (Então, eu e a Gaby podemos falar em português e ninguém poderão saber o que estamos dizendo . Brincadeira! Esse seria mal!) Once I returned home to southern Califonia I was able to pick up Spanish by talking with friends and co-workers since the languages are very similar. I was originally going to be an elementary school teacher because I love kids(I have 30+ nieces and nephews). I eventually learned of a SLP and realized how it fit me even better since it had somewhat to do with languages and still involved working with kids.

Since graduating in May I have been fortunate enough to pick up a part time job in Nuerotherapy, working with kids, teens and adults with ADD, ADHD, Autism, Anxiety Disorder,etc and also a part time job as a SLP(credential waiver) for charter schools in the Los Angeles area.

Just want to add that all of you are great and and are great examples to me and to others with your love and support of each other. I appreciate all of the support and advice! . I know we will all grow from this crazy application season experience and go on to be great SLP's or whatever other course we may follow in our lives. Good luck to all of you! .

Edited March 11, 2014 by twinguy7

[caterpillar]

I don't feel comfortable sharing too many personal details on the internet, but I just wanted to pop in and say that it's fun hearing more about all of you...and WOW, I feel like an old, married hag!  You're all so young!  A preview of things to come in grad school, I suppose.

 

My husband turns 33 on Friday! I'm also pretty surprised by how young most everyone is here.  

[rollinat]

I still think you're young, Mike! I am a non-traditional student, i.e old! I have 2 teenage daughters. Many years ago, my bachelor's was in French and German, and I taught French for a number of years, as well as teaching English in France and Austria. I'm Scottish, and my family and I moved to the US nearly 5 years ago. I love living here but miss family and friends - going back for a visit next week though so I'm very excited! At the moment I think I would like to work with adults, but early intervention also interests me, especially children born with hearing loss. I'm excited to get started with grad school, especially as I deferred a year due to illness.

Interesting to hear all your stories - keep them coming!

[Sammehh]

Hi everyone! I'm Sam. I'm 21 and currently a student at Towson University. I'm originally from a tiny town in northern New Hampshire. I started out as a psychology major and switched to speech-language pathology early on in my first semester. I've been able to participate in an independent study where my group is preparing to present research at the Pennsylvania state convention in April, and I got to sit in on the graduate level fluency class here - which I LOVED! My main interests in the field are fluency, early intervention, and literacy. One of my favorite parts of college has been being involved with music at my school - I've been in the marching band, pep band and concert band. I've made the greatest friends and had so many good times with it. Nothing is quite like performing in front of thousands of people. I also like to run, crochet, and ski. My favorite sports team is definitely the Red Sox, and I also love the Baltimore Ravens. All of you seem so interesting, and I'm glad we've been experiencing this ride together!

 

Fun fact: I love exclamation points.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Sammehh