The Name

Picture of Circle K International Volunteers at Large Scale Service Project 2011, Virginia Beach
Personal Album. Picture Captured on: June 20, 2011

Shelley Du.
Currently in my second year of studies at the University of Alberta. I chose to study Human Ecology; majoring in Family Ecology and minoring in Aging. After I complete my undergraduate studies in Human Ecology, I plan to pursue my masters in Speech Pathology and Audiology and become a Speech-Language Pathologist. Now, sounds like a great plan eh?! But I've only recently discovered what I'm passionate about. In my free time, I enjoy volunteering (as you can see from the picture above). Through volunteering, I found out that I love working with people, and being able to help them definitely gives me a sense of accomplishment. If only I knew which field I'd like to go into. I have always wanted to work in a clinical environment where I can assess clients one-on-one to help them restore and improve their ability. Through talking to many friends and colleagues, I found that Speech-Language is definitely the way to go. I will be given the opportunity to work with people ranging in age from infants to adults to help them improve their ability to communicate or swallow properly.

Taking a Communication Theory and Practise class will definitely help me along the way of my studies. Communication plays a huge role in my field of study because I mainly deal with people. But let's face it! Even if I wasn't in this field, I would still have to communicate with people, whether it'd be my co-workers, colleagues, friends, family, or whomever it may be. Since communication is playing such a big role in my life, I might as well make the best out of it and learn all the tips and strategies in becoming an effective communicator!

In my undergraduate studies, I will be focusing on the well-being of others, mainly the aging population. I will be learning how to identify and develop strategies to enhance the well-being of their family and community life and understanding how their families and communities function in the interpersonal, social, economic, and political environment. This will involve a great deal of communication skills that revolve around interviewing and counselling people. It will also involve a great deal of research, where I'll be looking at the many challenges and issues that the aging population faces today. My program also includes a 200 hour practicum placement where I will be getting some hands-on experience. I will need to professionally communicate with my co-workers and maybe clients (depending on where I'm placed) and establish connections in the field. As a side note, I found out that Deanna, a classmate of mine in ALES 204, is in the same field as me. Hopefully, as we continue our studies, we'll be able to meet one day and share our thoughts about the field!

Now in Speech and Language Pathology, I will need to counsel my clients and their families in regards to their disorders, then provide a constructive treatment plan to help them recover. In order to do this, I will need to clearly present myself (think before I speak), so that I don't scare my patients or their families with their situation, and effectively write a report that is clear and easy to understand so that my patients can use it to recover. I will also be working with my other health care professionals and multidisciplinary teams to assess and treat my clients, so knowing how to efficiently communicate with them would make things alot easier. At times, I will also get the opportunity to participate in research and public education activities, this will involve alot of online communication, and relaying information between other researchers and professionals.  To learn more about what Speech-Language pathologists do, check out CASLPA (Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists).

That's all for now! Until next time, Ciao!