Two Years Later, More Experience and Lots to Talk About!

In the words of one of my favorite celebrities from my childhood: "They say if you love something, let it go. If it comes back it's yours, that's how you know it's for keeps, yeah, it's for sure..." You know the rest.. hopefully! (Christina Aguilera- What A Girl Wants... DUH!)

 I loved this blog, I let it go (for two years), and I'm back! So, I guess its meant to be. 😃 Please excuse me if this post isn't as interesting as the previous.. I'm a little rusty!
 Enough cheesiness.. Let's get to BUSINESS, literally. 

My Current Job

This is sooooo me, btw. 

Last time I blogged, I mentioned that I went on my first two job interviews in one day and accepted a job at an elementary school in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, as a Clinical Fellow. I earned my CCCs and I am still employed at this school as a clinically certified speech teacher SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST!! I have gained a lot of experience with a wonderful population of children.Throughout my career in this school, I have had the experience of working with students who present with a myriad of disabilities including, but not limited to, speech-language impairments, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, emotional disturbance disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, articulation and phonological disorders, and any combination of these impairments. In addition to the various deficits listed above, I have encountered many children on my caseload who are English Language Learners (ELLs). At first, the challenge of working with ELLs, who have a special education classification, was intimidating to me as a monolingual speech therapist. However, over the years, I have learned various evidence-based strategies that have proven to be successful with my ELL students with disabilities; thus I have seen tremendous growth in these students and in myself as a professional.

In addition to having the pleasure of working with such wonderful students, I also have the pleasure of working with four other extremely intelligent, talented, and dedicated SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS, who have become a group of amazing friends!

My passion in this career goes further, as I have also been working as an Early Intervention (EI) speech therapist for about a year now and I love, love, love it! You have to hustle hard in this field if you want to make money and broaden your knowledge to be the best therapist you can be!

"We learn by example and by direct experience because there are limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction." 

- Malcolm Gladwell

P.S. Notice, I started blogging again in JULY. SUMMERS OFF is a huge benefit of working in the school system. Lots of free time to do some of my favorite things:
- gain experience in other settings and/or with other populations (e.g., EI)
- catch up with friends and family
- catch up on hobbies/discover new hobbies
- travel
- receive pay checks while being on the beach sipping your drink of choice
- and blog!


To see some of my work and how I conduct therapy session, follow me on Instagram @speak.play.love by clicking the link below. 

https://www.instagram.com/speak.play.love/

How to Land an Interview and Get the Job!

Most of the information in this section is going to be specific to school-based clinicians; however, there will be some general guidelines for the interview process and tips on how to give the best first impression you can during an interview!

I walked down the aisle for graduation with a Master of Science degree in hand on May of 2014, but my official graduation date wasn't until September 1, 2014 (that's just how it worked at Brooklyn College). I spent the entire summer emailing speech supervisors, reaching out to people I knew personally in the field asking them if they knew of any agencies looking for Clinical Fellows. I also googled "Speech Pathology jobs in Brooklyn, New York" and put my personal information on several websites. I was getting emails and phone calls asking me if I was willing to travel across the country to accept a job, which I wasn't.

At the end of August, a speech supervisor contacted me and sent me on two interviews in one day! Being that these were my first two job interviews, I was extremely nervous. The first interview was for a speech therapy position in a Middle School located in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The second interview was for a position in an elementary school in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. If I were to get only one of the jobs I was hoping for the elementary population.

Tips for the interview:

1) Dress appropriately- Try not to wear shorts, short dresses or skirts; don't expose you're midriff and don't show cleavage. Best bet would be going for the business-casual look. You do not have to spend a lot of money on an outfit for an interview in order to look professional. The day of my first interview it was very hot outside. I wore a pair of black and white pants from H&M and a black sleeveless collared shirt from Forever21.

2) Ladies, don't put on tons of makeup- Of course you want to look alive and glowing during your interview! But it is important to look modest and show that you aren't going to be late for work on a daily basis because you're putting a full face on every morning! A little bit of blush, some mascara to make your eyes pop, and some natural lipstick/gloss is all you need. Harsh makeup like eyeshadow and bright lipsticks can distract your listener from focusing on all of the wonderful knowledge you are sharing during your interview.

3) BE PREPARED!- I cannot stress this point enough! Come to the interview with a well-thought-out portfolio which holds all of the wonderful hard work you have done over the years (from college, grad school, or previous job experiences). Use dividers to label different sections in the binder. My portfolio contained the following sections: Resume, Workshops, Session Plans and S.O.A.P notes, Clinician-created charts and templates, Diagnostic Reports, and Clinician-made materials. Anything that you think will show off your skills and what an amazing clinician you are should be included in the binder. I also put each page in plastic sheet protectors to prevents rips or stains on paper. Below you can see the cover of my portfolio.

4) Anticipate questions that may be asked- Prior to the interview, do some research on the facility and the position they want fulfilled. I had friends who went on interviews a year before I did and I asked them what types of questions were asked during the interview. Always be honest during an interview and if you do not know the answer to a question, inquire about it. Asking about something you are uncertain about shows that you want to learn and that you don't know everything!

5) Follow up with a "Thank You" letter- After your interview(s), send the person who interviewed you a "thank you" letter or card expressing your appreciation for their time and consideration. This is professional and thoughtful. I have never heard of doing this before and when someone told me about it I said "I don't want to be a kiss ass," but when I asked other people it seemed to be a pretty commonly known thing to do. (Guess I missed the memo on that one.. or do I get off the hook easy since these were my first real interviews for my career?!)

So, you might be asking yourself, WHY should I be taking interview advice from this Samantha girl? Well, because I got the job at the elementary school and started working on the first day of the school year!

Pragmatics Lesson One: Properly Introduce Yourself... And Your Blog

Welcome to Speak, Play, Love -- a blog created for the three types of people in the world: 

(1) speech-language pathologists

(2) those who are undergoing the dreadful process of becoming speech-language pathologists

(3) those who wish they were speech-language pathologists! (HA)

Kidding!--I like to add humor to everything!-- This blog is actually for anyone who is interested in reading it! So hello and thank you in advance for taking your time to read my blog.

My name is Samantha Rinato. I am a proud graduate of the Speech Pathology Program at Brooklyn College (located in Brooklyn, New York). Throughout my graduate school journey I have had the pleasure of meeting five amazing young women, who I like to call life-long friends: Bianca, Jaclyn, the Jennifers (2), and Rinat. Together, throughout our journey, we have laughed together, cried together, and of course studied together! Without them, I would not be the speech pathologist that I am today. Now, if you're an educator or any type of therapist, you know how important it is to set realistic goals for your clients. My goal for this blog is for me to share my personal experiences, as well as each of my friends' own unique experiences in the field of speech-language pathology, from being novice clinicians to eventually seasoned professionals. I am hoping that the information in this blog will help others who are considering their careers in this field, trying to choose the best setting/age group to work with, vent about their own challenges in the field, and share information about their experiences and professionalism. The long term/overarching goal of this blog is to create relationships and form bonds with other professionals in the field, to open doors for new opportunities, and of course to better improve the lives and communication abilities of those who present with speech and language deficits by what better way than having discussions and sharing success stories!

From Grad School to the Working World

Samantha Rinato 

M.S., CCC-SLP, TSSLD

September 2014 Graduate of Brooklyn College

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas A. Edison

If you have already been through the process of applying to graduate schools, I don't have to explain the trials and tribulations; however, if you have not yet been through the process, RUNNNNNN!!! Just kidding-- you'll get through it! Especially, if you're passionate about this field of study.

Grad school started off just as I had expected it-- tedious, time consuming, stressful, yet interesting. Meeting friends who I shared so many things in common with and creating this support group made grad school smooth sailing in the beginning. But we hit a few bumps in the road. SCRATCH THAT! We hit a few gigantic pot holes, lost a few tires, and had to do our best to repair what was broken by depending on one another to carry us through. The first pot hole occurred on March 20, 2013, a few days before the start of spring break, I got the worst phone call I could imagine-- my mom had passed away. On top of this horrible news, the cause of her death was shocking and disturbing. My mom was a victim of a homicide. Using my academic studies as a distraction, I locked myself in my room and buried my head in my books to study for midterms. As I planned to return back to school after spring break, the dread of facing faculty and my colleagues left a burning knot in my stomach. With the help of my support group (close friends and family) I was able to resume my studies and to continue giving therapy to clients who came to Brooklyn College for speech therapy. It was difficult, but somehow I had the strength to persevere and I knew it's what my mother would have wanted.

Just when I thought the tragedies were over, I got another phone call on September 27, 2013 delivering the news that one of our best friends from graduate school had tragically passed away in a car accident. With the comprehensive exam approaching, which we all planned to study for together, we were all miserable and ready to throw in the towel. But that's not what our friend would have wanted. So we did the best we could to meet several times per week and study our asses off for the comprehensive exam. There was no option, we were all passing "the Comps," for our dear friend Jennifer. Results were in-- we all passed the Comps, and it was the first time we had all smiled in a while. Although that was exciting news, we were heartbroken and missed our friend. Attending class wasn't the same. Nothing was. So we decided to open a scholarship in her name. We initiated a fundraiser on GoFundMe.com which enabled us to raise a substantial amount of money in less than 24 hours. We accumulated well beyond our $10,000 goal. Realizing how loved Jennifer was, we set a higher goal for an endowment scholarship, which lasts much longer than the scholarship we originally aimed for. With the help of Jennifer's loving family, we were able to set up the endowment scholarship in her name. A sincere thank you to all who contributed in making this scholarship possible, to the Silverstein family, to Brooklyn College for offering this scholarship, and to our dear friend Jennifer who left a large imprint on our hearts and taught us so much in the short time that we had spent together. Forever in our hearts.

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” – Marie Curie