Chapman University, Personal Statement Example

Communication Sciences and Disorders post-baccalaureate Certificate program

The journey that has resulted in my application to attend Chapman University’s Communication Sciences and Disorders Post-baccalaureate Certificate program has been long, circuitous, and often without a real sense of direction.  Although I received my Undergraduate degree in from USC in Communications, a program I deeply enjoyed because it encouraged my passion for language, creativity, and interpersonal communication, I entered the professional world as an accountant, a position I’ve been at for the last eleven years.  I have been privileged to have countless opportunities in my workplace to apply my passion for communicating with others, often under difficult and stressful circumstances.  However, I have recently come to the realization that I need to work in a field that has a greater impact on individuals in need and the greater community.  I believe that a career in speech/language pathology will allow me to use compassion and professionalism to help people with communication disorders and their families so that they might reach their full communicative potentials.

I have spent much of the last decade resisting my deep urge to return to school and pursue my passions.  I think that this is a common problem for many people:  the older we get, the more responsibilities we accrue and the harder it becomes to let go of the lifestyle to which we’ve become accustomed.  My career in accounting has provided me with a level of financial stability and professional success that has made it difficult to take certain risks–namely, embarking on a new career in a field that is utterly unlike the one that I have spent most of my professional life.  However, the choices that we make as young adults tend to echo over the years, serving as a reminder of the alternatives that may await us should we only have the nerve to leap into the unknown abyss.  The route that I take in my daily commute to work has taken me past a billboard for Chapman University countless times, and has caused me to spend a great deal of time thinking about my professional goals and the ways in which I could fulfil my desire to make a difference in the lives of others.  Recently, I threw caution to the wind and arranged for a tour of your school.  It was heartening to learn that I already possessed many of the academic requirements needed to undertake this massive career change, and even more exciting to discover that the post-baccalaureate certificate program would enable me to continue working as a CPA while studying the courses that I will need to apply to the Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders program.

My desired to become a speech-language pathologist is rooted in my unwavering belief that communication is the key mechanism through which we survive and thrive as individuals.  Although modern technologies have allowed for those with communication difficulties to find alternate ways to express themselves, there can be no substitution for the satisfaction that comes from being able to speak directly to another person and feel as if your opinion has been heard and acknowledged.  I had the opportunity as a student at USC to share several classes with a young woman who had a severe speech impairment.  This was not evident in large group lectures, where she worked hard to remain on the margin of the group to avoid being called upon, but in our smaller seminars it became apparent to all of us that her stutter prevented her from joining in conversations that the rest of us took for granted.  It pained me deeply to see the way that we all ended up talking around her, avoiding including her in discussions not out of cruelty but perhaps out of a wish to avoid embarrassing her, or ourselves, by confronting the awkwardness of her speech difficulties.  The teaching assistant who led our seminars would often interrupt this young woman on the rare occasion that she did try and speak up in class, attempting to ‘fill in the blanks’ when she stuttered over certain words.  This was obviously frustrating for my classmate, who eventually stopped coming to our seminars altogether.  I often found it difficult myself to talk in class, fearing that my answers might be wrong or that I might appear foolish to my teacher and peers.  It struck me that this young woman must have possessed an astounding level of bravery to enter into challenging situations such as our seminars knowing that she would consistently meet difficulties in communicating her thoughts with us.  I don’t know what happened to her, or whether she ever completed her degree, but the experience has remained with me, serving as a reminder that effective communication is crucial for successful interpersonal, professional, and academic relationships.

It is my goal to work in the field of speech-language pathology so that I might help people like that young woman find ways to overcome their communication disorders.  I am especially interested in working with very young children who have hearing and speech issues.  I’ve done a great deal of personal reading about the emotional and intellectual lives of young children, and have learned how pivotal the first few years of life are in stimulating an individual’s ability to learn and interact socially.  I suspect that children who work with speech-language pathologists as soon as they are diagnosed with hearing or speech problems will have a greater level of success than those who delay treatment.  I am excited to have the opportunity to gain the necessary theoretical and practical skills to help children and their families in this crucial area, and I am especially looking forward to the introductory courses on child language development and acquisition.  I am confident that Chapman’s levelling courses will put me in the position to excel as a member of the Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders cohort.

It has been almost fifteen years since I have entered a college classroom as a student, and I  must confess to feelings of apprehension at the prospect.  However, I have come a long way socially, intellectually, and academically since my days as an undergraduate at USC.  For one, I take a lot less for granted than I did during my time as a Communications student; I have experienced a great deal of what life has to offer–both the good and the bad–and I now cherish every moment in the full awareness that not everyone is as fortunate as I am.  I have family who love and support me, a stable job that provides me with the necessities of life, and now the opportunity to improve myself and my career prospects.  It would be very simple to stick with the status quo and keep my life exactly as it is now:  working as a CPA, day in and day out, and commuting past the Chapman University billboard without a second thought to the possibilities that continued education might offer.  I am a strong and compassionate person, and I don’t doubt that I make a difference in the lives of many people, both personally and professionally.  But I also believe that there must be more to life than the daily grind, and I wish to take the necessary steps to put myself in a position to help people with more than their account books and taxes.

In closing, I appreciate the chance to explain a little bit about where my life has taken me and the events and experiences that have led me to apply for the post-baccalaureate certificate program.  I’ve found this process of introspection to be quite rewarding as it has allowed me to spend time thinking about what is important to me and how I would like to live my life.  I don’t want to look back on my professional life, thirty or forty years from now, and realize that all I’ve gotten for my hard work is a gold watch and a retirement fund.  Instead, I would like to pursue a career that will enable me to help children communicate with their parents, friends, and the world around them.  Without the ability to speak and hear, we are isolated from one another–a frightening prospect that inspires me to do everything in my power to assist people in emerging from that kind of isolation.  I hope that Chapman University will give me the academic and clinical skills that will allow me to make a difference in the lives of many people.

I am well-aware that the post-baccalaureate certificate program is a competitive one with a very small cohort of students awarded entry.  Because I don’t have any practical experience in the field, Chapman University would be taking as much of a risk on me as I am taking in embarking on this new phase in my life.  I can assure you that I am fully committed to this program and bring to it a positive and proactive attitude that will reflect positively on both myself and Chapman University.  I have finally found direction in my life, and it surprises and exalts me to realize that it was as simple as driving past a billboard and finally picking up the telephone to make that all-important call to the Chapman University admissions office.