Juliana Mitchell is in the final stages of completing her Bachelor of Arts. She is on track to receive her degree in the fall of 2020 with a linguistics major, a psychology minor, and a certificate of speech sciences. She has been accepted into the UBC Master of Science program in Speech-Language Pathology for Fall 2020.

What is the story behind your decision to pursue Linguistics?

I was pretty sure going into my first semester at SFU that I wanted to be an SLP. When I researched the prerequisites, I realized that most people who had successfully entered the field had either a Major or Minor in Linguistics. I didn’t know a lot about Linguistics when I enrolled in LING 100 with Anne Rimrott but pretty quickly, I was hooked. Anne was so passionate about Linguistics and it was contagious. I loved the combination of arts and sciences and how it directly related to my intended future career.

What attracted you to the SLP field?

After high school I took a gap year and participated in a humanitarian trip overseas in Germany and South Africa. In both of these countries I was a part of a media team that made short documentaries to tell the stories of people living there. In Germany I was particularly impacted by the stories of the Syrian refugees we interviewed. I loved being able to give people a voice and the ability to tell their story. This is what really sparked my passion for helping others communicate effectively.

When I began at SFU I started on the trajectory to becoming an SLP, taking courses like LING 290 Speech Sciences gave me a glimpse into what disorders an SLP can treat. The more I learned about the career the more excited I was. I love the idea of having a career where I can work in a variety of settings such as hospitals, schools, NICU, and acute care. The option of opening my own private practice also really excites me. Becoming an SLP is also so attractive because the scope of practice is so diverse. When talking to many different SLPs about their jobs, each one of them would brag and say they had the best job in the world – that’s pretty much what sold me.

How did you build a strong SLP application?

I think grades are an important aspect of a strong SLP application, however, it’s also important to show you have diverse experiences in the field. I tried to volunteer in a variety of setting with SLPs who treated different disorders. I volunteered in multiple SLP-related settings, including a health unit, a stroke recovery club, a language development classroom and a kindergarten classroom.  I also volunteered in the Phonological Processing lab as a Research Assistant. I sought out employment opportunities that were relevant to the field. For example, I worked as a senior Behavioural Interventionist with children with autism and childhood apraxia of speech. This job gave me hands on experience working with children with speech/language disorders as well as collaborating with a multi-disciplinary team including an SLP on a regular basis.

In terms of writing the application start as soon as possible! Being able to set yourself apart from hundreds of other applicants in under 500 words is not an easy task. I sought advice from SLPs I knew and current SLP students to help me choose which experiences to highlight in my letter of intent. I talked about my SLP-related experience, but I also highlighted life experiences that spoke to my character. I think my letter went through at least 9 revisions.

INFLUENTIAL COURSES

• LING 350: First Language Acquisition

• LING 415: Neurolinguistics