Communication is a significant part of life. Words help us learn about each other and help us share our needs and our wants. I used to struggle communicating because I had a speech delay. Now, it is my goal to become a speech-language pathologist to help those with the same struggles. My life changed for the better because of the services I received. A speech-language pathologist helped me find my words, and I wish to help others do the same. In preschool, I received help for my speech delay from a speech-language pathologist. I also received help at a nonprofit pediatric therapy program. I do not remember much, since it was such a long time ago. One thing I do remember is that it was a difficult time, especially because I also had sensory issues. With the help of a team of people, I overcame these struggles. All the work put in at school, the nonprofit charity, and at home paid off. I stopped receiving these services in kindergarten. If it weren't for the help I received in preschool, I could have continued to struggle. I have been working hard towards reaching my dream of becoming a speech-language pathologist. I challenged myself academically by participating in the running start program at Green River College. In June I graduated from high school and from Green River College with an associate’s degree. During my last quarter at Green River College, I had the opportunity to observe a speech-language pathologist at an elementary school. Through this experience, I could envision myself on this career path and I am even more inspired to work hard toward a degree. I am now on my way to work towards a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders. After that, I plan to obtain a master’s degree in speech language pathology. Those two degrees are necessary for me to reach my dream of becoming a speech language pathologist but is expensive. It was this impact from my community that has helped me succeed now. I am so grateful for my school and the nonprofit pediatric therapy program that helped me. I want to give back to my community by helping people as a speech-language pathologist. This is what I want to do with my life. I want to be there for those who are struggling. I received speech therapy, and I know how frustrating it is not to be able to communicate my thoughts. I would not be where I am today without speech therapy. Becoming a speech-language pathologist will be a full-circle moment. I will be helping others in the same way that someone helped me.

My name is Alyssa Phillips. I have always strived to excel in my education. I always put in my best work. Why? It was never from expectations from my parents or my teachers. This ambition comes from within. It comes from knowing that I can and from learning that struggles do not last. Five-year-old me would be proud of who I have become, because of all the work it took to get here. In preschool, I received help for my speech delay from a speech-language pathologist. I also received help at a nonprofit pediatric therapy program. I do not remember much, since it was such a long time ago. One thing I do remember is that it was a difficult time, especially because I also had sensory issues. With the help of a team of people, I overcame these struggles. All the work put in at school, the nonprofit charity, and at home paid off. I stopped receiving these services in kindergarten. If it weren't for the help I received in preschool, I could have continued to struggle with my words. It was this time of my life that has made me want to study speech-language pathology. I remember the day I first knew that I wanted to become a speech-language pathologist. My mom told me a story that took place when I was in preschool. In this story, she and I were at the store, and we saw my speech-language pathologist. I pointed at her and told my mom, “She helped me find my words.” After that conversation, I started researching how to become a speech-language pathologist. I remember this story every so often, and I think of how grateful I am to have received all that help. To help someone like that would be the most meaningful way for me to give back. I have been working hard to reach my dream of becoming a speech-language pathologist. I do not intend to stop now. Education has always been important to me. I spent the last two years of high school taking a full load of classes at Green River College, as well as one class at my high school, and I had a part-time job. It was tough balancing it all. The proudest moment of my life was walking on stage at graduation, earning an associate degree with highest honors. When I first started classes at Green River College, I would not have imagined that I, being a high schooler, would be able to achieve that. I am now on my way to work towards a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders. After that, I plan to obtain a master’s degree in speech language pathology. Those two degrees are necessary for me to reach my dream of becoming a speech language pathologist but is expensive. To reach my dream, I am going to need a lot of help financially. This scholarship would get me closer to reaching my dream of helping others find their words.

Imagine having trouble communicating in your everyday life. You have all these thoughts and feelings in your head, but you struggle to share them. You see your friends easily saying words that you can never get quite right. That was me thirteen years ago. I am now studying to become a speech-language pathologist. I want to help people with my future career. My life changed for the better because of the services I received. A speech-language pathologist helped me find my words, and I wish to help others do the same. In preschool, I received help for my speech delay from a speech-language pathologist. I also received help at a nonprofit pediatric therapy program. It took countless efforts from many people. My mom would get exercises from the speech-language pathologist to practice at home. I do not remember much, since it was such a long time ago. One thing I do remember is that it was a difficult time. I struggled a lot because I also had sensory issues. With the help of a team of people, I overcame these struggles. All the work put in at school, the nonprofit charity, and at home paid off. I stopped receiving these services in kindergarten. If it weren't for the help I received in preschool, I could have continued to struggle. I first knew that I wanted to become a speech-language pathologist in middle school. I remember the exact day. My mom told me a story that took place when I was in preschool. In this story, she and I were at the store, and we saw my speech-language pathologist at the time. I pointed at her and told my mom, “She helped me find my words.” After that conversation, I ran to my computer and started researching. I was looking at different programs and learning how to become a speech-language pathologist. I remember this story every so often, and I think about how grateful I am to have received all that help. To help someone like that would be the most meaningful way for me to give back. I have been working hard to reach my dream of becoming a speech-language pathologist. I challenged myself through Green River College's Running Start program. In June, I graduated from high school and from Green River College with an associate’s degree. During my last quarter at Green River College, I volunteered at an elementary school. I spent part of my time observing a speech-language pathologist. I learned so much through this experience and I am even more inspired to work hard toward a degree. Currently, I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders. It is my next step toward becoming a speech-language pathologist. After that, I will be working toward a master’s degree. Doing well in these next four years is critical to my goal. It will be challenging, but it is also exciting, and I am determined to do my best. I will soon be taking classes related to my major. This will teach me how to make an impact as a speech-language pathologist. Helping people as a speech-language pathologist is what I want to do with my life. I want to be there for those who are struggling. I received speech therapy, and I know how frustrating it is not to be able to communicate my thoughts. I would not be where I am today without speech therapy. Becoming a speech-language pathologist will be a full-circle moment. I will be helping others in the same way that someone helped me.

Imagine having trouble communicating in your everyday life. You have all these thoughts and feelings in your head, but you struggle to share them. You see your friends easily saying words that you can never get quite right. My name is Alyssa Phillips, and that was me thirteen years ago. I am now studying to become a speech-language pathologist. I want to help people with my future career. My life changed for the better because of the services I received. A speech-language pathologist helped me find my words, and I wish to help others do the same. In preschool, I received help for my speech delay from a speech-language pathologist. I also received help at a nonprofit pediatric therapy program. It took countless efforts from many people. My mom would get exercises from the speech-language pathologist to practice at home. I do not remember much, since it was such a long time ago. One thing I do remember is that it was a difficult time. I struggled a lot because I also had sensory issues. With the help of a team of people, I overcame these struggles. All the work put in at school, the nonprofit charity, and at home paid off. I stopped receiving these services in kindergarten. If it weren't for the help I received in preschool, I could have continued to struggle. I have been working hard to reach my dream of becoming a speech-language pathologist. I challenged myself through Green River College's Running Start program. In June, I graduated from high school and from Green River College with an associate’s degree. During my last quarter at Green River College, I got to volunteer at an elementary school. I have volunteered a lot in these past few years, but this volunteer opportunity was the most meaningful to me. I spent part of my time observing a speech-language pathologist. I learned so much through this experience and could envision myself on this career path. I am even more inspired to work hard toward a degree. Currently, I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders. It is my next step toward becoming a speech-language pathologist. This means two more years of hard work. After that, I will be working toward a master’s degree. Doing well in these next four years is critical to my goal. It will be challenging, but I am determined to do my best. This is an exciting part of my life. I will soon be taking classes related to my major. This will teach me how to make an impact as a speech-language pathologist. Helping people as a speech-language pathologist is what I want to do with my life. I want to be there for those who are struggling. I received speech therapy, and I know how frustrating it is not to be able to communicate my thoughts. I would not be where I am today without speech therapy. Becoming a speech-language pathologist is a full-circle moment. I will be helping others in the same way that someone helped me.

My future career holds a special place in my heart. This is because of the impact it had on me. A person with this career changed my life for the better. I am forever grateful for all the help I have received. I want to make the world a better place and to help others in that same way. The career I am talking about is a speech language pathologist. Kristina, my speech language pathologist, helped me find my words. Many years ago, when I was in preschool, I received help from a speech language pathologist to help with my speech delay. Not only at school, but also at a nonprofit pediatric therapy program. This is where I received help from Kristina. It took a lot of effort from her and my parents to help me. I do not remember much, since it was such a long time ago, but I remember it being difficult. I struggled because in addition to a speech delay, I also had sensory issues and anger issues. This led to me to also struggle socially. With the help of a team of people, I was able to overcome these struggles. It was the beginning of kindergarten when I stopped receiving these services. During this time, I did not realize how much I was struggling. I was not until years later that I finally understood why I needed all that help. I remember the day I realized it. When I was in middle school, my mom told me a story that took place when I was in preschool. She told me that one day we saw Kristina at the store. I had been receiving help from Kristina for a while. I looked at my mom and said, “She helped me find my words.” This is a story I will always treasure. It was that day in middle school when I decided that helping children as a speech language pathologist was what I wanted to do with my life. That is how I want to make an impact. From that day forward, I began doing research. I figured out how I was going to get to that point. I research different universities and degree programs. I challenged myself academically by taking harder coursework. Currently, I am a part of the running start program at Green River College. One of my favorite classes I have gotten to take is introduction to education with field experience, which is one of the classes I am currently taking. This class has given me the opportunity to shadow a speech language pathologist at an elementary school. For a few hours each week, I get to see what exactly the job entails, and I have learned so much. I can see myself in this career path and I am even more inspired to work hard towards a master’s degree in speech language pathology. Helping students as a speech language pathologist is what I want to do with my life. Children are our future. All students deserve the opportunity to be successful. There are so many that just need some additional support and I would like to be there for them. As someone who has received speech language services, I know what it feels like to not be able to communicate effectively. I want to help others find their words, just like how Kristina helped me find mine.

My future career holds a special place in my heart. This is because of the impact it had on me. A person with this career changed my life for the better. I am forever grateful for all the help I have received. I want to make the world a better place and to help others in that same way. The career I am talking about is a speech language pathologist. Kristina, my speech language pathologist, helped me find my words. Many years ago, when I was in preschool, I received help from a speech language pathologist to help with my speech delay. Not only at school, but also at a nonprofit pediatric therapy program. This is where I received help from Kristina. It took a lot of effort from her and my parents to help me. I do not remember much, since it was such a long time ago, but I remember it being difficult. I struggled because in addition to a speech delay, I also had sensory issues and anger issues. This led to me to also struggle socially. With the help of a team of people, I was able to overcome these struggles. It was the beginning of kindergarten when I stopped receiving these services. During this time, I did not realize how much I was struggling. I was not until years later that I finally understood why I needed all that help. I remember the day I realized it. When I was in middle school, my mom told me a story that took place when I was in preschool. She told me that one day we saw Kristina at the store. I had been receiving help from Kristina for a while. I looked at my mom and said, “She helped me find my words.” This is a story I will always treasure. It was that day in middle school when I decided that helping children as a speech language pathologist was what I wanted to do with my life. That is how I want to make an impact. From that day forward, I began doing research. I figured out how I was going to get to that point. I research different universities and degree programs. I challenged myself academically by taking harder coursework. Currently, I am a part of the running start program at Green River College. One of my favorite classes I have gotten to take is introduction to education with field experience, which is one of the classes I am currently taking. This class has given me the opportunity to shadow a speech language pathologist at an elementary school. For a few hours each week, I get to see what exactly the job entails, and I have learned so much. I can see myself in this career path and I am even more inspired to work hard towards a master’s degree in speech language pathology. Helping students as a speech language pathologist is what I want to do with my life. Children are our future. All students deserve the opportunity to be successful. There are so many that just need some additional support and I would like to be there for them. As someone who has received speech language services, I know what it feels like to not be able to communicate effectively. I want to help others find their words, just like how Kristina helped me find mine.