By Sonal Garg

My name is Sonal Garg, I am a junior undergraduate Speech-Language Pathology student at Misericordia University. I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania and my parents were originally from Punjab, India. The first time I was exposed to speech therapy was my senior year of high school. My dad being a neurologist introduced me to physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. He was hesitant at first when I informed him I wanted to do speech. He did research and found out that it is a rising profession that can work anywhere and make a stable career. He supported me and hopes that one day we will refer clients to each other.

I chose Misericordia due to its accelerated five-year master’s degree program and the variety of courses that are offered. Another benefit is the professors and students are able ask questions, build a relationship, and not just be another face in the classroom. The day of Diwali, I was able to give three of my professors desserts to celebrate, thanks to the relationship they had built with me over the last three years.

My first year at Misericordia University was challenging due to COVID-19 and majority of my classes being held online. This made it hard to pay attention to speech classes and my core classes. My second year was mostly in-person classes. We were required to have twenty-five observation hours over Christmas break. I observed a variety of settings such as nursing homes, schools, hospitals, and inpatient rehab. Observing those SLP’s solidified that I wanted to be a speech therapist.

At the end of my sophomore year, I decided to do research. I took a particular interest in Misericordia University’s augmentative and alternative communication lab. I am currently involved in research study focusing on individuals diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia. In my third year, I treated my own client. It was rewarding to build a relationship with a client and treat them at the same time. I am excited to begin graduate school next semester to receive multiple clients and learn to administer different assessments. Overall, I could not have chosen a better school to spend my five years in college. Misericordia may be a small school but the faculty and students are big in our hearts. In the future I hope to work in a traumatic brain injury unit and help provide early intervention services. Research has helped me learn that I do enjoy working with the elderly population as well as children.