My story

I absolutely love my profession.

When I was in undergraduate school, I learned that my cousin had autism, and I honestly didn’t know much about it. One summer, I decided to shadow his speech-language pathologist to learn various therapeutic strategies and work with him daily and advance my cousin’s speech goals in his natural environment. At the time, my cousin was three years old and largely nonverbal. I was determined to help him make progress.

A few weeks into my stay, my persistence, creativity, and passion to help paid off, and my cousin said his first word! Together with his family, we were overwhelmed with joy and excitement. His parents were forever grateful for the progress we made, and that day became a defining trajectory for my future. Looking back on it, that experience was one of the most rewarding moments in my life.

Upon returning to undergrad, I quickly declared my studies in Communication Science & Disorders and never looked back. I still wake up excited to go to work to help others reach their full potential and enhance their overall quality of life. I am now wanting to help more children in my own community—one child at a time—and treat them as if they were my own family member.

At the end of the day, a child’s progress and success is my joy.