"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I can hear one of my grandmother's much-loved quotes ringing in my head. Apprehension consumed me when I entered college as an undecided major. Unexpectedly everything changed a few weeks into my first semester. My grandmother had a stroke that eventually affected her ability to speak and she desperately needed a speech therapist. This is what initially sparked my interest in this field. I was determined to work with the geriatric population because of the experience and attachment I endured with my grandmother. However, the irrefutable fact that this is my passion became evident when I began working as a teacher assistant at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech. At Clarke I currently teach a self-contained class of four-year-olds who are deaf and hard of hearing. who are learning to listen and speak. I assist under the direction of the class teacher in planning, preparing and executing lessons in a listening and spoken language approach. I have the opportunity to record, transcribe and analyze language samples on a daily basis. Furthermore, I facilitate the child's communication in the classroom and ensure the transfer of activities between the class and individual speech therapy sessions. Each week I contribute to and participate in meetings with the education team to discuss each child's progress using the Cottage Acquisition Scales of Speech, Language and Listening (CASSLLS). I currently have a deaf child in my class who recently received a unilateral implant. This child had no language but showed progress in pre-verbal behaviors. Within a few months of my lesson we began to see a range of semantic intentions across two word combinations. The simple sentence…in the center of the paper…evaluates majoring in this field once I earn my ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence. As a ________ student, I will strive to become the best speech-language pathologist I can be. My passion for speech therapy will help me exceed the program's expectations. Being a teaching assistant at Clarke has not only strengthened my passion for working in a speech and hearing center, but has also given me the knowledge and hands-on experience I need to succeed in graduate school. The experiences I have had at work and at the university level have strengthened my dedication to this field of study. Therefore, I will be an incredible resource to _________'s diverse student body. I look forward to learning about different research, diagnostic evaluations, and treatment methods for people with speech and language disorders in your accredited program.