-: So, to be a Speech Language Pathologist,
a certified Speech Language Pathologist,
you have to get your Master's Degree.
So whether you go from undergrad straight to
graduate school, if you are able to
be accepted, awesome.
If you don't get accepted the first time,
I always suggest what can you do to make
yourself stand out to other people
who are also applying.
So, if you're interested in working
with students with autism, well see if you
can get in a classroom and be an instructional aid,
or observe a speech language pathologist
and gain experience that way.
A lot of learning happens on the spot,
in the moment when you're with students
and things like that.
So I always suggest, I always say,
I feel like a broken record.
Go out of your comfort zone.
Ask those questions.
See if you can observe somebody.
See if you can work in a school in some shape or form
and see a speech therapist in action.
Because, if you don't, those opportunities
aren't gonna just come to you.
So I always say go out of your comfort zone,
ask the questions, set yourself apart
from other students.
I think too, I also recommend if they're
still in undergraduate to see if they can
gain experience in research.
Because that is a big part of graduate school.
And if you have a leg up, if you kinda know
the process of doing a research project
and writing a report, then that's going
to set you apart from somebody who hasn't
had that opportunity.
But a lot of it too is, when I was in
grad school, having the opportunity to actually
work with kids and provide therapy.
Just having somebody supervise me and provide
me with feedback I think was also key too.
So I think about Penn State often,
and all the experiences that it has given me.