The great Albert Einstein once said, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination”. As a student I am constantly reminded to acquire knowledge but not always reminded to tap into my imagination. Intelligence is defined as the ability to acquire and apply skills. Keeping this definition in mind Einstein suggests that one does not acquire and apply skills with knowledge alone, but with imagination. Imagination is defined as an action of forming new ideas, or concepts not present to the senses. The importance of this information as it pertains to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention is to declare that my experience at ASHA was not one of growing in knowledge but in imagination.
As I step into Pennsylvania Convention Center there was an immediate rush of nervous energy that filled my core. The amount of people that were in one location for one purpose was unreal. Moving past the innumerable attendants, I attended my very first session titled: The New Norms for Language Sample Analysis of Children. This session was about using the S.U.G.A.R method for obtaining and analyzing language samples in a more efficient and effective way. The session was very informative and interactive. While I learned so much from this session and many other oral sessions it wasn't the information or knowledge that was most impactful for me. In my eyes it was the imagination and the action the drove the individuals to acquire information in a particular area that lead to such unique topics and findings. The outcome of one following their imagination wasn't limited to the topics presented during oral sessions but was found in the poster board presentations, exhibits, and products. The amount of information seemed endless. One could not fathom even gathering a small percentage of the information that was offered. The topics that were covered ranged from global issues and practices to swallowing disorders and everything in between. My imagination quickly began to wonder about all of the possibilities that are in store in the field of Speech-Language Pathology. If someone were to ask me what was the main thing that I took from ASHA I would say that it wasn’t the information learned in sessions, but the all of the examples of professionals putting action behind their imagination to produce something great. I learned that you have the ability to take your own interest and passions to conduct research, create products, or even advocate. Attending ASHA has encouraged me to allow my imagination to wonder, my hands to work, and my heart to lead and to never stop being interested in learning.
0 Comments
|
Chelsea V.-Student Archives
January 2018
Categories |