Example Statement of Intent

Miscommunication is inherently human; the behavior of language being constantly in flux echoes the perpetually fluid nature of human identity.  That is to say, while hollow maxims are pretty, I have found in my life that the realities of miscommunication and being misunderstood are far messier and consequential than can be captured eloquently in turns-of-phrases.  Our existence as human beings is unfailingly dynamic, as is the nature of language: always changing, growing, and there is something to learn at every opportunity.  Our existence as social creatures dictates the necessity of pragmatic and variable communication, and yet even while miscommunication has proven detrimental to societies time and again, on a grand scale we do not allot the time nor resources to improving communication skills holistically, nor speech skills clinically.  As the daughter of two immigrants, and the sister of a stroke patient, I have a singular perspective to be offered on both the struggle of being misunderstood, and the intense striving to be clearly heard at all while being trapped by neuro-linguistic roadblocks.  Furthermore through my professional career as an educator, I have honed my own intrapersonal tools and intensified my drive to directly assist people; this combination of personal motivation and professional experience is the arsenal with which I am directing myself to speech pathology.

On both my father’s and mother’s side, I am part of the first generation of my family to be born in the United States.  Neither of my parents’ first languages were English (rather, Danish and Tagalog), and this was a key factor in many day-to-day struggles I observed as a child.  From a young age, I endeavored to understand language as a concept in an attempt to explain and teach my own parents exactly what to say and how to say it effectively.  I was lightyears from exploring and studying the complexities of linguistics, but this was a jumping off point for my curiosity and drive centering around communication and miscommunication.  The University of Florida provided a formal education in linguistics.  This schooling built a strong foundation of understanding on the neuro- and psycho-linguistic principles that drive human communication, which later I applied in my role as an educator.  It was through working in education that I began to fully understand my parents’ communicative trials; the intricacies and nuances of language are vast, and relearning these rules and guidelines for a new language as an adult proves to be an arduous journey.  Said journey is one for which I hope to be an adept guide as a speech pathologist, aiding people on a fundamental level in their own trials to develop intelligibility.

Taking my own idiolect as a case study on language, the most similar comparisons to make would be between mine and my siblings’ individual ways of speaking.  The three Pedersen siblings (myself included) have always followed extremely similar, and winding, pathways in conversation.  This led to the ability and  tendency for us to have rapid and complicated exchanges, stringing together obscure references and invented slang, and to the outside observer our dialogue was largely incomprehensible.  This is all to say that if there were another person whose inner monologue and train of thought I could most accurately understand, it would be either of my siblings.  In 2018, at the age of 33, my sister Nichol suffered a severe stroke and this directly impaired her cognitive ability - both her motor functions and language skills suffered.  In the following months as we siblings continued to convene, Nichol was never able to “keep pace” with us in the same style of rapid-fire conversation which was our custom.  As her eyes would dart from me to our brother, it was clear to see her longing to participate with us again, to share in that communicative bubble we’d built around ourselves, but at each turn she was impeded by her own neural roadblocks.  This deep level of understanding of her frustration is a driving factor in my own goal to work in speech pathology.  To be trapped behind one’s brain, and to be monumentally hindered by aphasia and other speech disorders, is a struggle for which everyone affected should be provided ample assistance.

Applying my undergraduate education in linguistics, I worked as an educator in both English language and literature for several years.  There exists a gap between the care that can be provided to students and the care that is provided - this is true in innumerable fields, but is keenly observable in medical and educational environments.  The gap is formed from any number of variables, including but not limited to a prioritization of profit, access to technology, and availability of appropriately trained and educated personnel.  In the coming years, through [XXX] University, I look to take direct action in bridging such gaps in care.  In a clinical position, I intend to aid patients as effectively as possible in their goal to be heard and understood.  Educating oneself is a fundamental step that can be taken towards improving one’s external world, and through the esteemed [XXX] Speech Pathology program that is precisely my intention.

I thoroughly understand that I am a lifelong learner, and I plan to immerse myself in the thriving educational environment fostered at [XXX] University. Your campus is beautiful, your faculty is welcoming, and as much knowledge is given to me is as much effort as I will provide back into improving this establishment. I look forward to a mutually advantageous relationship in which both myself and the University will benefit and grow.  As language and people are in states of constant evolution - improving, changing, becoming new entities entirely - so should one’s education.  As humans, we are starving for knowledge, thirsting for advancement, and gasping for the breath of improvement.  I approach the next steps in my life with that yearning for growth at the center of all decisions.  Beyond pretty platitudes, I address the faculty and staff at [XXX] University directly: improving our shared external world through improved communications is an ideal aspiration for which to strive.  This is something we can and will do together in a forthright manner through your master’s program in speech pathology.