Erika Korompai graduated this spring with a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics and psychology and a certificate in the linguistics of speech science. She has been accepted to the UBC Master of Science program in Speech-Language Pathology for Fall 2020.

What is the story behind your decision to pursue Linguistics?

I had originally intended to complete my degree in psychology and criminology. However, in my first year, I took LING 290 as an elective with Dr. Munro and I absolutely loved it! I really enjoyed transcribing speech, understanding the vocal tract and its parts, and discussing the applications of linguistics in various professions. I didn’t know that the study of linguistics could lead to disciplines as different as speech pathology, computing science, and forensic science! That’s what really attracted me to a major in linguistics. Soon after, I changed my focus from criminology to linguistics and never looked back!

What attracted you to the Speech Language Pathology field?

Although I had learned about SLPs in class, I only started to consider it as a possible career for myself when I started volunteering at an adult day centre. During my time at the centre, I met many adults whose speech or language were affected as a result of brain injury, nervous system disorders, or other causes. It was through my experiences working with them that I started to understand how someone can deeply suffer when the foundational need to communicate cannot be met. That’s when I decided that I wanted to become an SLP.

A big aspect of the Speech Language Pathology application seems to be volunteer experience. What kind of volunteer experience did you have? How did this experience relate to your goal?

I volunteered in various labs at SFU, most recently in the Language and Brain Lab, which I found very helpful. Through my work in the labs, I became familiar with methodology and research questions which are relevant to the work of an SLP.

SLPs work with such varied populations that I found that I was able to draw from many experiences that did not seem at first to be directly related to speech pathology. I volunteered with youth at Canucks Autism Network as well as with adults with developmental disabilities and aphasia at an adult day centre. I found that I learned a lot about social communication and language difficulties through these experiences, even if they weren’t led by SLPs. However, I did volunteer under the guidance of an SLP at George Pearson Centre in Vancouver which allowed me to understand the specific responsibilities of an SLP at work.

INFLUENTIAL COURSES

• LING 350: First Language Acquisition

• LING 415: Neurolinguistics

• PSYC 357: Adulthood and Aging

• PSYC 358: Language and Social Interaction

• PSYC 359: Developmental Disabilities