Can someone help edit my personal statement for Speech Pathology program?

     Can someone help edit my personal statement for Speech Pathology program?

From a very young age, I have known that I wanted to have a career that involves two things, helping people and working with children. When I was in high school, I was always encouraged by my family and friends to pursue a career in the medical field specifically becoming a doctor. I began college with the idea that I would pursue a career as a pediatrician, which would perfectly fulfill two main components of a career I had envisioned for myself. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I realized I wasn't the best at the intense science courses needed for medical school such chemistry, physics, and biology. I still pushed myself because of the promise and hopes I had given my family and friends, especially my parents.

           As I continued my education at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), I was advised to look into switching my major to Speech-Language Pathology, as well as consider a second major in Child Learning and Development. Speech-Language Pathology and Child Development helped me begin to understand human behaviors, as well as common human disorders and fulfilled the two credentials of my future career. I switched my major and immediately saw an increase in my grades. Whilst taking my child development classes, I also kept taking prerequisite courses for medical school because I did not want to let my parents down. My majors allowed me to take interesting courses such as Phonetics, where I learned to read and write the International Phonetics Alphabet. During that course, I observed many speech therapy sessions, and I realized that I actually waHnted to work with a specific group of people, especially children. The science courses I took at UTD, along with my major related courses, provided me with great research and clinical skills.

           Outside of UTD, I volunteered at the Primary Care Clinic of Plano, which helped me learn how to interact with patients and become comfortable around patients. I also began to understand the importance of primary care clinics and their scarcity in the United States. In addition, I became a member of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA). While being a part of the NSSLHA, I have improved my communication skills, held fundraising walks for different mental illnesses, and attended several events for My Possibilities, which is a non-profit organization that serves adults with disabilities, such as individuals with autism spectrum disorders. I was also a medical scribe for DocAssist at Medical City Dallas, as well as Las Colinas Medical Center, which exposed me to the "behind-the-scenes" of patient analysis and data keeping. While working as a scribe, I started to realize that becoming a physician was not something I actually wanted to do. After applying once and not getting accepted into any medical schools, I got the courage to face my parents and tell them that I did not want to pursue a career as a medical doctor.

           During my final semester of undergraduate education, I did a co-op as an infant teacher at a private school. Upon graduation, I accepted the position of an on staff infant teacher. Working as an infant teacher helped me gain great experience with children. I got to work closely with infants who are taking their first steps into speech. I realized how significantly important speech was and how I could make a difference as a Speech Pathologist.

           My Speech-Language Pathology and Child Development classes have given me the necessary skills to formulate a conclusion from data, and my experiences as an active student, a volunteer, and an infant teacher have vastly strengthened my decision to pursue a career as a Speech Pathologist. The next step for me is going to graduate school. I am committed to improve the quality of life for my future patients and to become the medical beacon of help for those around me that I have always wanted to become.