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SLP

Helloooo again,

Woah, the last time I blogged must have been sometime in the Spring of 2012! Well, I am Lee Drahl, a SENIOR Speech-language Pathology major and I welcome you to the ride! Loads have happened since Spring 2012! By loads, I mean an absurd amount of changes, new experiences, new decisions, new options, and a new school year!

Since the Spring, I have officially changed year status to SENIOR!! It does not feel right, like, college flew by and swept me up in the whirlwind! Now that I’m 22, I still feel like that 19 year old freshman girl who came to Fontbonne even though a lot of changes have occurred.

In May, I travelled and studied abroad in Berlin, Germany and surrounding areas with a Fontbonne group! We had one head professor, Prof. Gilleo, another Professor accompanying as a “chaperone/husband of a student” (two spouses), and eight students. A few students were traditional students and a few were older non-traditional students. We all had this great opportunity to study abroad in Germany for one month! For me, that was long enough, in hindsight I would have enjoyed a longer visit but at the time, I was ready for home! [Side note: I went home for a little less than a week between school letting out and flying out of St.L the next week]. From the beginning of the Spring semester to flying out for Germany, I had only been home for a combined two weeks. That might not seem like a short amount of time, but I am from Texas, and I do not get to go home every weekend like some students do who live in St. Louis or the surrounding areas or states. (But the upside is my parents cant make any unexpected visits! My sister went to school seven hours away from home and my parents still made unexpected visits!)

We visited many cities within Germany and a few of us traveled onto Prague for a weekend. Over the course of a month, we learned a few phrases in German, learned about ancient German history (composers/musicians/religions/royalty/wars galore!), the German people, and the German Government (The Reichstag was definitely the coolest government building both outside and inside–we ventured onto the glass dome on roof). It is important to look beyond World War I and II and see what all Germany was before and what all they are afterwards! It is pretty incredible!

After a blissful month abroad, I came back home (Texas) and began planning the summer of doom. Which contained registering/studying/taking the GRE (wooo Grad School), registering/taking a summer school class, and mentally preparing for my last summer of Undergrad! So technically, I had been in school for the past seven (7) months!! I didnt like that so I focused on the task at hand!

School started real quickly after that, and now its a myriad of class, studying, clinic (SLP student clinician, right here!!) and tests!! It has never hit so hard this fast! Looking back, I guess I would say I have changed a great deal from that 19 year old freshman girl, even though the Galleria Mall Security think that I look seventeen (17, really? I havent looked 17 since I was 14! I act mature for my age, or so people tell me). Unfortunately, this semester I will probably be writing about the tests I have survived and how I managed to stay sane through out it! But, lucky for you, I will probably develop tricks and quips along the way!

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Hi out there,

It’s been kind of a crazy week in the graduate SLP program. But then again, so what else is new? With spring break right around the corner, my to-do list has grown to (literally) two pages in length. Bleh. But it’s so worth it! I don’t want to do a lick of work for the entire week, so I’m in overdrive trying to get ahead. I’ll be spending a good part of the week at home in Maine, but I’m making it a point to back in the Lou in time for a concert that following weekend. There is an awesome venue on the Loop that I’ve been meaning to check out. It just so happens that one of my favorite bands will be playing there over spring break! I can’t wait. Every now and again I have to remember to embrace the city and really take advantage of my surroundings. I get lost in the shuffle of my responsibilities, so even seven months into being a St. Louisan, I am always finding new and exciting things to do. It helps that I have a friend who works for the River Front Times, the local paper that specifically highlights events going on in St. Louis. She just filled me in on Ironfork, which is a chef competition and restaurant showcase. Considering my “wish-list” on Urban Spoon is about twenty or so restaurants long, this will be a great way to get out there and try some samples! Man oh man, I sure do love eating my way through St. Louis :) It’s a GREAT city for foodies!

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I strongly believe that having a college education will allow you to reach dreams and set goals that you would never be able to reach otherwise. My goal is to become a speech-language pathologist, and without a college degree, that would not be possible. My education is also important to me because it will allow me to be able to provide for my family better in the future and to help my children see that continuing your education equals success.

I want to be a role model for my younger siblings and for everyone who is striving to better themselves. A college degree is not just a piece of paper, but it is a lifestyle that you have to work for, but it reaps great success!

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First off, let me say that my major is the main reason I chose Fontbonne Universty. I am majoring in speech-language pathology, and I know that Fontbonne has one of the best programs around! But, you may ask, how did you decide on majoring in speech-language pathology? Well, first of all, my brother is currently nine years old, and he has been taking speech services since he was three. This year, he will graduate from the speech program! Yay! At three years old, he was barely intelligible, which made him a very aggressive and aggravated child since he could never get others to understand him. As he progressed through his speech program, he improved so much that today, no one would ever guess that he needed services. His demeanor is much more relaxed, and he does not get frustrated when communicating to others. This inspired me to make a difference in other people’s lives who also have language disorders. Second, my mom’s best friend is a speech-language pathologist and an alumni of Fontbonne University. She taught me about everything that goes into being a speech-language pathologist, and this really sealed the deal for me. In the future, I hope to be working in a hospital or nursing home setting, preferably with traumatic brain injury patients.

I am not going to sit here and tell you that I didn’t have my doubts about my major though. After taking a difficult class, I often feel like giving up on the major. But in my heart, I know that it is the perfect fit for me. What I am trying to say is that a class will only be temporary, whereas a career can last a lifetime. If the career is something that you really want to do, do not give up because of the difficulty. Keep pushing through and you will succeed! Good luck to all!

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Thoughts for the Week

by Meredith February 13, 2012

Hello all–Happy Friday! The good thing about being in a challenging, fast-paced program is that the weeks fly by! This weekend is going to be particularly awesome in my household come Sunday evening—it’s the Oscars! My roommate and I are both movie buffs so we’re scrambling to watch all of the Best Pic nominees before [...]

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