Year 2 Report
Written by: Sylvia Ramorasata and Suzanna Lee
What, we’re approaching graduation already?!
This is the general feeling among the Year 2 UofT Speech-Language Pathology class this spring. Coming back from our second placement, it has been a shock to find ourselves suddenly in our first of “lasts”: the last academic unit of grad school.
Since meeting and getting to know each other a year and a half ago, we have seen tremendous growth in ourselves and in our peers. Many have discovered a passion for a certain area of Speech-Language Pathology that surprised them, whereas others have had multiple disparate areas/populations speak to them and now face the (sometimes daunting) task of choosing where to start their career. It will be very interesting to see where each of our classmates ends up a few years down the road.
Curious about how our peers envision their speechie future, we asked the dreaded interview question: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Here were some responses:
“Bringing the knowledge gained in coursework into practice and exploring a new part of Canada!”
“Enjoying working with the population I work with and feeling confident managing my own caseload”
“5 years ago, all I wanted was to be in grad school. In 5 years from now, I hope to be happy with my job and life, to be content with my workplace and have joy”
“Potentially being a clinical educator to continue on the development of future clinicians”
“In 5 years, I envision myself being in a managerial position. Also, I don’t want to be limited to one setting. I want to work in multiple settings to keep me excited and keep my skills sharp!”
As the first “post-pandemic” cohort, we have been lucky enough to experience in-person placements and courses for the most part. We have also had the additional benefit of many wonderful guest speakers and interprofessional experiences in a virtual or hybrid format that would not previously have been possible or even considered as an option. We look forward to entering the profession at a time where we can help the Canadian healthcare system recover and become strengthened by lessons from the pandemic.
Having now had multiple experiences with amazing clinical sites and clinical educators, and developed a strong foundation of skills and knowledge with the guidance of the wonderful UofT instructors, we are so excited to finally become SLPs!
See you out there :)
Class of 2024