2011 Annual Report, English - Montreal Fluency

A Volunteer’s
Experience
I am extremely grateful for my time at MFC. I am working towards becoming a certified Speech-
Language Pathologists (SLP), and the MFC was instrumental in inspiring that decision and helping
me achieve my goals.
I started volunteering at the Centre in 2010 because I was considering my future career options
and wanted to see what speech-language pathology was all about. As a volunteer, I helped with
office work, prepared materials, and sometimes transcribed recorded therapy sessions. Even this
preliminary work was influential - I gained a much greater understanding of what SLPs do and I saw
the day-to-day workings of a clinic. That summer, I volunteered at the summer program, which led
me to decide without a doubt that I had to pursue a career as an SLP. I worked side-by-side with
MFC’s incredibly skilled, dedicated clinicians, assisting with therapy for small groups of children. I
learned many useful techniques to scaffold language development and saw first-hand the
difference these interventions made. The next summer, I worked at the camp again, this time as
the Music and Movement leader. I learned how to design and implement activities which
incorporated social language practice appropriate for each group and each child but which were
still engaging and manageable for the group as a whole. All the while, I had the support, advice,
and encouragement of MFC’s amazing trained clinicians.
At the MFC, I also had the opportunity to assist the executive director, Dr. Rosalee Shenker, with
stuttering research. Working with her was inspiring, and I feel blessed to have had such a wonderful
mentor.
All of my experiences at the Montreal Fluency Centre have been extremely positive, and I know
that the opportunities afforded to me there gave me a huge advantage when applying to graduate
school and likely played a major role in my being awarded a scholarship. But more important, those
experiences nurtured skills that I will use
throughout my career. I can never fully
express my gratitude to each and every
clinician and staff member of the MFC not
only for their inspiring mentorship, but for
their dedication to the important work
they do each day.
Hannah Pinsky
Graduate Student
University of Vermont
8
Hannah volunteering at Summer
Camp 2011