Why I Chose My Major Scholarship Essay
FOCUS: COMMUNICATION SCIENCES & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY
When my younger brother, Leo, was four years old, he could construct intricate block
towers that defied gravity, yet he could not articulate a single clear sentence to tell our
family what he had built. Diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech, Leo lived in a
quiet, frustrating isolation where his brilliant mind was locked behind an uncooperative
motor pathway. That changed the day Ms. Davis, our local speech-language pathologist,
stepped into our lives. Over two years of patient, rhythmic therapy, I watched my brother
find his voice. The transformation was not merely medical; it was profoundly human.
That experience planted the seed for why I chose to major in Communication Sciences
and Disorders.
Choosing a major is often framed as selecting a career path, but for me, it was choosing a
lifelong commitment to human connection. Language is the fundamental lens through
which we understand the world and advocate for ourselves. When someone loses that
tool—whether through a developmental disorder, a stroke, or a traumatic brain injury—
they risk becoming invisible. I did not want to just study science; I wanted to restore
people's agency.
Currently, as a junior majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders, my academic
journey has been both rigorous and deeply rewarding. I have immersed myself in
phonetics, neuroanatomy, and language acquisition, maintaining a 3.9 GPA while
observing clinical sessions at our university’s speech and hearing clinic. However, the
theoretical coursework is only half the battle. Becoming a competent clinician requires
extensive hands-on practice, community outreach, and cultural competency, particularly
in bilingual communities where speech disorders are frequently misdiagnosed or
overlooked.
My professional goal is to become a bilingual speech-language pathologist working in
pediatric rehabilitation and public school systems. Growing up in a bilingual household
