About Me
Research
In 2021, I started working as a Research Assistant for Dr. Anne Perrotti working on projects focusing on the prevalence of language disorders in youth justice populations, how SLP intervention can help lower this prevalence, and how other countries are working on bridging this gap by utilizing SLP expertise. We have developed this research with the criminal justice and computer science departments at Old Dominion University to help create an expansive point of view. I have presented our teacher through a student poster at the Speech-Language-Hearing Association of Virginia Conference in March of 2023 and as a 1-hour seminar at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in Boston in November of 2023. Our paper has been recently published by the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology titled Reimagining From Abroad: Speech-Language Pathologists as Interprofessional Partners Supporting Justice-Involved Youth in America. This amazing research opportunity has also allowed me to participate as a researcher in staff focus groups at the Norfolk Detention Center and continue working with this population.
Tutoring
In the Spring of 2022, I worked as a remote Ignite Fellow for Teach for America. I tutored bilingual 7th-grade students in math and supported their studies for Texas state testing. I worked with 3 students at varying levels. Teach for America focuses on underserved and underfunded areas and schools. Working in Ignite allowed me to develop confidence when working with middle school students. Before this, I had worked for over 7 years in tutoring; however, I had never worked with the middle school population in this kind of environment and so intimately. I developed leadership skills, the ability to create a specific and concise lesson plan, created a relationship with the school staff and administration, and personalized my lesson plans to my students and their interests.
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As mentioned previously, I have worked as a tutor for many years both independently and through a learning center called Kumon. There, I graded papers and tutored students individually and in small groups in math and reading. The levels were greatly varied spanning from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade. Unfortunately, my time at Kumon ended due to COVID-19 in March of 2020.
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Teaching ESL
Outside of work opportunities, I have worked as a conversation partner for two international students in partnership with the English Learning Center at Old Dominion. I aided my partners in developing their English language in any way they needed including their studying for IELTS, conversation practice, speaking practice, and verb use. This opportunity showed me and exposed me to different native language speakers that I have never interacted with. As a child of Spanish speakers having grown up in the Tidewater area, I have been exposed to many cultures and languages such as Spanish, Tagalog, Russian, Italian, and others, but never Arabic or Mandarin. Being able to work with my partners while aiding them in their English learning and being a friend has completely changed the direction I want to take my career. I would love to work as a bilingual SLP working on preventing the misdiagnosis of ESL students with language disorders or supporting them in any way necessary.
School Involvement
I am also a member of Perry’s Honors College, a McNair Scholar, and the LeADERS Program at Old Dominion University. I am also a member of the national NSSLHA (National Student Speech Language Hearing Association). I will be graduating with a major in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, a minor in Special Education, and a Teaching English as a Second Language Certificate. In the future, I hope to study for a Ph.D. after I complete my master's and attain my SLP licensure. I am not sure what route I plan on taking for my PhD, but I love research and think it is very important, especially in the SLP field. I think more emphasis needs to be placed on how first languages influence English learning and creating training for SLPs to help them identify these discrepancies when working with bilingual populations. I would also love to continue the research I have been working on these past two years as well through interdisciplinary research.