What inspired you to pursue speech-language pathology? 

My mom is an SLP, so I have been aware of the field for as long as I can remember. I really enjoyed tagging along with her on “Take Your Kids to Work Day” when I was in Grade 9, but I didn’t actually consider it as a career option for myself until I started studying Linguistics as an undergraduate. 

I had always been fascinated by language, and I also enjoyed being able to teach and help people, so I realized pretty quickly that it would be a good career fit for me. It helped, of course, that I was able to ask my mom anything and everything I wanted to know about the field. I felt like I had a solid understanding of what it meant to be a Speech-Language Pathologist even before I was directly involved in the field. 

Tell us about the factors that had the most impact on your success, regarding volunteer and paid positions as well as classroom experiences.

Speech-Language Pathology programs are looking for well-rounded applicants, so I tried to balance academic, research, volunteer, and work experience during my time as an undergraduate.

In terms of academic experience, I wanted to distinguish myself as an applicant beyond prerequisite courses. I took LING 812 with Dr. Ashley Farris-Trimble in my last semester, and knowing what to expect from graduate-level courses increased my confidence as I applied to Master’s programs. 

I was also successful in submitting my work for the Becker Essay Prize (now known as the Becker Undergraduate Award) in 2024 and the FASS Dean’s Undergraduate Fellowship in 2024–2025, which were both unique accomplishments that I could add to my CV.

I held two research assistant positions as an undergraduate: one with the Phonological Processing Lab and another with Dr. John Alderete. These experiences exposed me to different aspects of the research process. I applied to schools that emphasized the importance of research, so I believe that my background as a research assistant was integral to my successful application. Also, I genuinely enjoyed having the opportunity to design and run studies, collect and annotate data, and work on papers and presentations. This made the prospect of applying to graduate programs much less daunting, as I knew that I would enjoy any research-related aspects of the program I attended. 

I also had the opportunity to volunteer as a communication facilitator with the City of Coquitlam’s stroke recovery group and to work as a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant at a pediatric clinic. It was very helpful to experience working with both adults and children, as I got a sense of what age group I might want to work with in the future. I feel that being able to identify an age group and setting of interest in my letter of intent made it clear that I had thought a lot about the field and the kinds of contributions I wanted to make to it.

Finally, I reached out to several different Speech-Language Pathologists working in my setting of interest and was able to job-shadow them. I had the chance to ask these professionals my questions and to get answers from a number of different perspectives, which broadened my understanding of the field.

Please explain your approach to the letter of intent.

My top priority for my letter of intent was to show that I was a well-rounded applicant. Rather than focus on one area of my application, I made sure to dedicate enough space to touch on all of the different experiences that had set me up for success in a graduate program.

It can feel tricky to fit all of the important information in while respecting the word limit. I would encourage those working on their letter of intent to consider what information is already conveyed by other parts of their application. For example, you will need to submit a transcript, so you likely don’t need to spend too much time talking about specific courses or your grades in your letter. Similarly, a CV will list all of your work experience, so you don’t need to discuss every position you have held if not all of them are relevant to the field. Choose what you think is most important, or what you think requires more explanation than your application already provides, and expand upon that.

Additionally, a common piece of advice I had heard about the letter of intent was to treat it as a letter or a story rather than a list of accomplishments. Keeping this in mind, I started my letter with an anecdote about why the field was important to me and how I first encountered it. If you can touch on your experiences while being able to explain your personal investment in the field, I think that can be a really impactful part of your application. 

If you could give one piece of advice to yourself as a first-year student, what would it be?

I think the most important thing is: you have time to figure it out! I was planning to double major in English and Communication when I started at SFU, with the goal of becoming a secondary school English teacher. 

By the end of my second year, my plans had totally changed. For a while, this made me nervous, as I thought I had set myself back by switching to a different major and career path. However, I’d like to assure my past self, and anyone else in the same position, that this is a totally normal part of the process! 

I think it's important to take courses in whatever different areas interest you, look into what careers you can pursue with a major in those areas, and really consider what is the best fit for you. You don’t need to have it all figured out as a first-year, and those varied experiences will probably help you out in whatever field you end up in. 

Is there anything else that you would like to share?

It’s normal to feel stressed or overwhelmed about the process of applying to grad school. I think the biggest thing you can do to set yourself up for success is to plan ahead. Once you’ve decided that the field of Speech-Language Pathology is what you want to pursue, don’t feel like you have to wait until the last year of your undergraduate degree to work on your application. 

Early on, research different graduate programs and make a list of their prerequisite courses, then look at SFU’s course calendar and plan your semesters around the courses you need to take (some courses are only offered once a year, so it’s really important to know when they are offered!). 

Reach out to labs who are doing interesting and relevant research and try to get involved. Seek out volunteer and work opportunities that can teach you new things. Make connections with faculty and professionals well in advance who will be able to speak to your experience and character in reference letters. 

Most importantly, don’t hold yourself back! Some of the most valuable experiences that I had as an undergraduate were ones that I almost didn’t pursue because I was afraid of being rejected or failing. Of course, it’s very gratifying to succeed in your pursuits, but I also learned a lot from the ones that didn’t pan out as I was expecting. As cliché as it sounds, you’ll only regret the things you kept yourself from trying.