My name is Amy Sivils.

I am a senior Communication Sciences and Disorders major at Longwood University. I am 21 years old and have been interested in the field of speech-language pathology since I was a junior in high school. I’m interested in working at an elementary school with young students, but neurological disorders, including traumatic brain injury and stroke, also interest me in a clinical setting. I plan on attending graduate school in the fall.

I have work experience in multiple positions, including retail, teaching, customer service, and tech support. This wide variety of work experience, including teaching children music in groups and assisting disabled people through the Richmond International Airport, gives me a wide base to build my professional career in speech-language pathology by giving me experience in teaching groups of students and helping disabled people in the workplace.

Lastly, I have experience working with different cultures, valuable experience for a speech-language pathologist. Within this experience I’ve worked with international students as a mentor, mainly with students from Saudi Arabia. Additionally, I’ve worked with the Lakota people on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation through a mission trip for the past five years in a row. Both of these have given me a respect for other cultures and a background knowledge in working with those groups of people.

Due to all of my experience working with different people in different settings, I have a deep rooted compassion to help people and work with others to attain a better world. I am very interested in learning about other cultures and helping people connect and bridge gaps between people with different backgrounds.

Through English 470, I have gained the knowledge of professional writing skills and genres. These are on display here for those interested in working with me professionally can know my skill level and be familiar with my work.

The course outcomes of English 470 are as follows:

1. Analyze and produce writing genres commonly found in the professional world (e.g., business, gov., media);
2. Create professional documents that use plain English (clear, concise, and grammatically correct);
3. Conduct research to create content for a variety of professional documents (memos, letters, reports, etc.);
4. Create professional documents that uses design—standard formats, layout, use of graphics, etc.
5. Practice oral communication skills to present content effectively (enhanced with multimedia tools);
6. Participate productively in collaborative projects.