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When asked by professionals, friends, family, and random acquaintances about my career choice, I am proud to proclaim speech-language pathology as my profession. The question that is often raised is "How did you get involved with speech-language pathology?" My answer is usually in the form of a rhetorical question: "Why not be involved in a fulfilling career that allows one to help children and adults with their communication, swallowing, feeding, neurological disorders, voice needs and concerns?" In the following paragraphs, I share my inspirations, the people who have influenced me most, and what this career means to me.
Inspiration and Influence
My individual experience with stuttering and the dynamic speech pathologist who serviced me during my early childhood years—Arnell Brady in Chicago, Illinois—influenced me to become a speech-language pathologist (SLP). I was intrigued to study the disorder, as I personally endured this particular struggle. I found myself during my preteen years and in high school reading books about stuttering and communication disorders. Those same books turned out to be textbooks I would later study in my undergraduate curriculum. The techniques I learned with Mr. Brady and the research I collected in those books certainly helped me during my preteen years to communicate with my peers and teachers. Mr. Brady influenced me to become not only an SLP but also an SLP who is willing to go far and beyond for the success of my clients. I am emotionally charged when I think of the tools that were given to me and those that are still being given to me from Mr. Brady. Not just tools to control my disfluencies but tools that help create an upstanding, determined, successful, and, most important, a giving African American man.
What the Career Means to Me
The career affords me an opportunity to become a complete human being. Complete is used to describe a life that involves giving, volunteer work, and, for me, assisting with something that can be described as the fundamental aspect of the world: communication. Also, being able to support my future family, be a father to my future children, and nourish my entrepreneurial spirit. Networking with other professionals in health care and education also grants a sense of completion. The true essence of success is to give back what God has allowed one to receive. The field has given me a chance to become successful.
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