The path to success is not always linear. by Whitley

The path to success is not always linear. by Whitley - April 2019 Scholarship Essay

Last May after being waitlisted from my dream graduate school my luck changed when I became accepted to a graduate program for Speech Language Pathology. My first step to making a decision would be touring the facility to see what this program could offer me in my graduate career. What I found did not meet my expectations as what a graduate facility and graduate clinician placements should be. After touring this establishment, I ultimately had to make the decision to attend this graduate program or attempt to better myself and apply again the following year to other programs.
Deciding what the best choice would be for my future was painstakingly difficult. I felt as if this may be my only chance at a Master’s program but knew that this certain program could not provide me with the needed tools to be the best clinician possible. To reach my decision I spoke with my advisor within my program and with previous graduates of this program as I needed the most educated information the program and opportunities before I could make my decision. Researching and educating myself on possible outcomes of both sides of my decision was crucial in deciding what my future could hold for me.
Ultimately, I chose to defer this offer and better myself for an opportunity for placement in a different graduate program that could give me the clinical and educational opportunites I need to be the most beneficial clinician to my patients. It is my personal opinion that if I should be educating myself as much as I can about as many topics as I can so that my future clients will get the best care possible.
After I decided to take a year to improve my application I decided to accept one of the employment opportunites given to me after upon completion of my Bachelor’s degree. In August of 2018, I began my employment at Autism Service Center in Huntington, WV. I decided early on in my decision-making process that I needed to become employed at an establishment that would allow me to continue practicing in a clinical setting and also further my education to become more qualified for a graduate program.
I currently practice at Autism Services in their Applied Behavior Analysis Clinic and furthered my education to receive a Registered Behavioral Technician Certification. I am amazed at how much I am able to utilize what I learned in my speech therapy experiences and apply them to my behavioral therapy sessions. At the clinic, I work with 3 clients a day who are all drastically different in their behavioral and communicative abilities, which also means their therapy sessions are developed accordingly to meet each client’s needs. My clients vary in age range from toddlers to teenagers which has allowed me the chance to practice implementing therapy sessions for different ages.
This experience continues to push me to be the best clinican possible and to pursue my goals of becoming a Speech Language Pathologist. I continue to aid these children each day knowing that I made the right decision to apply again for Speech Pathology graduate programs this application cycle. The experinces gained at my current employer will benefit me exponentially in a clinical setting a paraprofessional relationship with other clinicians in my future.