It was in a class about bilingualism in the Spanish-speaking world where I learned of the Chat Cafe facilitator position. Profesora Teresa Satterfield notified our class of the opportunity and I was immediately interested. Ever since I entered this university I have cultivated a new passion for studying language acquisition and speech, which I have maintained in a variety of ways. As a pre-medical student, I am intrigued by the issues that language barriers can create with respect to healthcare and access to treatment. From a public health standpoint, it is clear that many can be disadvantaged when they are not able to effectively express symptoms and concerns to their healthcare provider. Thus, I chose to immerse myself in a world of speech disorders in order to gain more insight into the problems posed by lack of communication. Volunteering for the University of Michigan Aphasia Program has helped me to understand some of the frustration involved with the inability to express oneself. The feeling of an idea being on the "tip of one's tongue"...the knowledge of a word yet lack of linguistic capability to form the sound...these are just some of the feelings that I have observed and wish to address in my group sessions.
The issues surrounding global communication are of great interest to me, as they relate to the medical model that I have studied in recent years. Too often, language barriers discriminate and isolate individuals in ways that seem unavoidable. I believe that through effective communication and interaction, one can surpass these hurdles and nurture a supportive environment where concerns can be both voiced and heard. I wish to use my role as a facilitator to encourage conversation among students from very different linguistic and cultural backgrounds so that similarities can be identified and an effective community can be created.
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