As a Haitian American woman born and raised in New York City, I could not feel more at home and alive in the city I love, especially the diversity. To be a Black woman from an immigrant community living in NYC these days can be thrilling. One senses history flashing before one´s eyes at the sight of murals on huge avenues stretching an entire block saying, ¨Black Lives Matter¨. The diversity in NYC is remarkable and, thankfully, appreciated. For a long time, populations of color in the city have been growing, and communication among and by people of color has never been more critical than today. Thus, I feel called and privileged to have set my sights on a career as a Speech and Language Therapist so that no one is left behind. I want to become an SLP to spend my life empowering children, especially those little ones of color, from homes of scarce resources who have many of the odds stacked against them.
Becoming an SLP would mean that I could directly affect children’s lives in the most positive ways. I have always been passionate about working with children and keenly look forward to decades to provide direct service to students through treatment accompanied by culturally responsive support for families. I plan to continue engaging in diversity awareness activities related to our field. I appreciate how the NYC public school system comprises various races, religions, and cultures. Nevertheless, our school system is the largest and most segregated public school system in the country, raising fair representation issues. I want to advocate creating more culturally responsible cultures in educational and community health initiatives. I have extensive experience working with students in a non-traditional school setting and have put a lot of effort into cultivating relationships of trust with students and their families. As an after-school director, I have worked with students, families, teachers, SLPs, OTs, guidance counselors, social workers, and other notable people who support our most vulnerable students. Serving as part of a comprehensive team, I’ve been able to spearhead a new, dynamic, family-centered approach to family engagement implemented across multiple sites, focusing on early intervention and early childhood communication; the SLPs inspire me.
I hope to devote my professional life to early intervention diagnosis and treatment and early childhood therapy; giving students the tools to express and advocate for themselves is our aim, working as a team to enhance their experience in school and life. I strongly desire to help young elementary students because I know their experiences during the first couple of school strongly impact their love of learning. My ideal position would be to support the 3K and UPK programs within the DOE as a continued early intervention specialist. I am providing family-centered support for children with speech disorders up to 8, which I see as the most critical age group, and hope to continue serving. I’ve run after-school and camp programs for elementary-aged students for a long time, and I’ve seen students drift by without the proper support.
I have dealt with families who are not responsive to their child's need for additional support as recommended by the school. It troubles me how a lack of support so often hinders a student’s development and subsequent success in school. I find nothing as exciting as the prospect of spending my professional life providing family-centered treatment as an SLP.
Thank you for considering my application.
SLP Speech and Language Therapist Personal Purpose
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