I began to get interested in speech-language pathology when I was a kid. I remember a friend of mine, April, had to go see an SLP when we were in second grade. She lateralized all of her /s/ sounds. The SLP would come into the room and ask for April. I remember the little room that she conducted therapy in. It was the room right beside our classroom. Everytime I went out into the hall or when we lined up for lunch and recess, I remember looking into that room and wondering what went on in there. I wanted to know! All I knew was that she helped April correct her /s/. Over time, I just got used to walking by that little room and I would occasionally look inside if someone was in there. I remember that whatever went on in that room always seemed to be like a big secret. Don't ask me why. I think it's just because no one talked about it. As I got older, I moved to a different building and I didn't know anyone that went to therapy anymore.

My first year at Marshall was a disaster. I was homesick and I seemed to consantly be sick. I remember getting the flu so bad that I almost couldn't even walk. My mom had to come and pick me up that week and take me home. Aside from bad luck, I started off majoring in Physical Therapy Assitance. I'll have to say that it was too intense. It just always seemed like I was competing with everyone. I know that my classes now are intense but I wasn't prepared for it my freshman year. People in those classes meant business. I remember that there was this one girl who was so smart, she had a 4.0 and she didn't get into the program because she evidently didn't do well on the essay and interview. I thought,"Man, if she can't get in, I'm definitely not getting in." Anyway, as I was getting closer to the end of my freshman year, my grades were terrible and I decided I needed a change.

I remember when Jada Hersman changed her major. I don't know if anyone knows her. I lived a couple rooms down from her in the dorms. I asked her what she changed it to and she told me Speech-Language Pathology. I instantly thought of second grade and April going into the mystery room. By then, I had gained a little more knowledge as to what an SLP was and I decided instantly that this was my ticket. Soon after that I went to see Mrs. McComas! I remember her telling me that I was going to have to take some classes over to get a better GPA. I figured that was going to be tough but I knew that I could do better work than what I had been doing. I decided to buckle down and get busy. Well, here I am.

After being in the CD classes and gaining more knowledge as to what all goes into speech therapy, I love it. There is so much information but it is interesting. I love people in general but kids are my favorite. I can't get over how they say the cutest things. I'm excited to work with kids so I can just talk and play with them. I want to do one of two things, either work with kids or work with people who have neurogenic disorders. That class this past Spring also sparked my interest.

Kara