Tell us why you became a teacher

My journey to becoming an SLP began with my high school sign language teacher. The awareness he shared related to communication disorders ignited a passion in me for working with this population. I chose to work in the school system knowing the extreme need for SLPs, the nature of the challenges I would experience in the setting, but most of all the rewarding outcomes related to the students’ success.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

In year 8 a set of 4 year old twin boys diagnosed with Autism were placed on my caseload. The end in mind being they begin kindergarten the following year with a handful of skills and strategies to remain integrated in the general education as long as possible. 10 minutes into the very 1st session in their home the nonverbal twin made eye contact with me and said ‘open please’. These were is very 1st words in his 4 years of life and his mother cried as she witnessed the milestone.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would like to invest the $25,000 into furthering my education. My ultimate goal is to obtain a PhD in the field of Speech and Language Pathology with the purpose of researching social parameters of language, teaching future SLPs, and opening a wholistic therapy clinic that outsources to the schools in the area.