Audiology Personal Statement

Being the oldest of three children, I always strive to set a great example for my younger siblings to follow. Additionally, I had incredibly high expectations set by my parents after older relatives failed to pursue college once they graduated high school. Growing up as a Mexican-American female, most people doubted I would ever amount to anything. Fortunately, I always had a great interest in my academic studies. Prior to audiology, I believed my future profession would consist of being a pediatrician. Once I graduated high school, I attained a patient care assistant occupation in the Houston Methodist hospital. To my surprise, most of the physicians rarely spent any time with their patients. Nevertheless, I took numerous pre-medical courses
Additionally, I rarely enjoyed any of my courses. Instead of finding them interesting, I found them arduous and tedious. It was at that moment where I decided it would be best to look into another profession. While looking at the major catalog, I stumbled upon audiology. After reading a brief description of what the profession consists of, I fell in love with the idea of being able to interact with my patients. Prior to my introductory course, I viewed a scene where an audiologist was making fine adjustments for a patient trying out cochlear implants for the first time. Once the audiologist completed his work, the patient was in complete awe, as he was finally able to hear sound and listen to his loved one’s voices. It was at that moment that I knew that audiology was a field I wanted to pursue. For the remainder of my undergraduate career, I never lost interest in any of my courses. I was always looking forward towards the next lesson. Despite being brought up in a university that mainly focuses on speech-language pathology, I always remained fascinated with
Eager to learn more about the field, I took various notes of the audiologist’s presentation. Dr. Sanchez included a very informative presentation regarding the main causes for hearing loss and how the auditory system works. Dr. Sanchez tried to engage with the students by telling them Spanish jokes. To his dismay, I was the only student from a group of eight students that understood his jokes. Suddenly, I realized how it is incredibly imperative for more bilingual individuals to become clinicians. A large population of Spanish speaking individuals suffer from hearing loss, and are unable to seek help because they cannot understand what their audiologist is telling them. After Dr. Sanchez finished his presentation, I asked him if he would allow me to observe him in his private practice during the summer. To my surprise, he immediately allowed me to observe him. Prior to arriving at his private practice, I barely knew anything pertaining to audiology. The only type of hearing aid I was familiar with was the behind-the-ear model. At first, I was intimidated that I would look like I did not care for the profession. Nevertheless, Dr. Sanchez and his technician allowed me to observe them for the first couple of weeks. After four weeks or so, I was permitted to repair minor defects on hearing aids. It is incredible to know that a