Program: MSc, Speech-Language Pathology
Year in Program: 2
I didn’t know much about speech-language pathology (SLP) but was first introduced to it through my aunt who works as an SLP at a local hospital. I was initially drawn to SLP by my love of languages. I grew up speaking French in school, Spanish at home, and English among friends. I did my undergraduate degree at UVic in linguistics, where I was fascinated by this whole branch of study dedicated to the science of speech and language. My love of people also inspired me to pursue SLP. Growing up, I lived in nine different cities in three different countries and I’ve had many opportunities to travel. I learned how speech and language is such an essential part of our everyday lives and can also connect you to different people and places around the world.
I am most looking forward to my clinical externships this fall. They were originally supposed to start in the summer but were postponed due to COVID-19. I can’t wait to finally go out and put to use the new knowledge and skills I’ve learned during the past year and have the opportunity to learn from our clinical educators. This fall I’ll be working in a school district with children from kindergarten to grade five, where I will be helping a variety of kids with speech, motor speech, language, phonological awareness difficulties and stuttering.
During COVID-19, I’ve found it more important to maintain good mental health, which for me has meant training longer and more frequently than I normally would. I enjoy swimming, biking and running, which I’ve thankfully still been able to do during the pandemic. I’ve been able to check off certain training goals off my list, like biking 200 km and running another half marathon. I’ve also been making wellness a priority by making more time for hobbies and spending time with friends and family, whether it’s been virtually or in person from a distance.
When school transitioned to online courses at the end of March, I went to be with my family in Victoria. Victoria (and Vancouver Island) has been a great location to be during COVID-19 because it has so many beautiful beaches, lakes and parks. Some of my favourite physically-distanced social activities have been swimming at the lakes, trail runs and hikes in the parks, and just sitting at the beach with friends and enjoying the nice views. It’s been a great way to be social while also enjoying nature and getting some exercise.