Irene Leal FS 1001 1
College Success Paper
When I began my journey at TWU in 2007, I never thought I would face some of the
challenges I did to get back on track. I proudly told everyone how I wanted to become a Physical
Therapist to help many of the immigrant workers that get hurt on the job. I was already working
in the field alongside one of my biggest influencers who was already a Licensed PT. I felt
confident with so much experience under my belt in PT, and professionals that could guide me
and support me on this new journey. Little did I know that life, or God had a different plan for
me.
My major went from wanting to be a PT in 2007 to now wanting to be a double major in
FS, and SLP in 2015. Many say it is an odd combination especially when most take the FS/OT
route, and ask why I took such a long break. After my 2007 entry at TWU, my child was
diagnosed with infantile Autism. So to assist her in her recovery (as I saw it then) I dropped out
and began my challenging journey in life with Autism. In this journey I discovered how
beneficial it would be for us all if I returned back to school to get an education in the therapy
field. I struggled between what field would be the most helpful for my child, RN, OT, PT, ABA,
SLP, were all a possibility to me. Of course I was also highly motivated by all the therapist and
Dr.’s that we saw, but three main things stood out for me, what my child struggled with the most
was communication which led to a disruption in her behavior which caused other professionals
to become biased on how we ran our home. So after much thought and unplanned trials, I learned
how important it is for professionals to understand the dynamics of a child’s home.
Family Studies soon became my main interest because I knew how beneficial it would be
for us if I understood better how the home environment can cause certain behaviors to surface in

Irene Leal FS 1001 2
the home. I became interested in SLP because my daughter is non-verbal and struggles to
communicate her needs. I am not looking into teaching her how to speak verbally but motivated
to teach her sign language and to be better at generalizing her communication modes. I feel the
understanding of what goes on in a child’s home, because of their values, beliefs, and culture
norms, is a major factor to look at when working with a child with any different need. After I am
done with my goals at TWU, I plan on getting my Masters in ABA at UNT. I also see the need in
understanding human behavior, and why so many of us cycle over and over in destructive
behavior patterns. I want to be able to better understand why children with ASD need so much
reinforcement in completing a task.
I am very aware of how ambiguous my goals are and how crucial my short term goals at
TWU are in order for me to be successful in both my majors. My plans are to graduate with both
majors in 2017 and transfer to UNT that coming fall semester. I know I will need to become an
even better expert at juggling my roles as a mother, wife, advocate, and full time student for me
to stay positive. I need to set a specific time frame for class assignments and give each course the
right study time. Since my major’s are unique I need to make each goal achievable in each class
and remind myself, when the studying is too overwhelming, why I am doing all of this. I will
work daily to stay positive by breaking down the specific requirements in each class in order for
me to be successful.
In conclusion, I am not a traditional student and both my major’s are unique. Though the
experiences I have had that got me to where I am were challenging I know my perspective and
motivation would be different. I have somehow managed to find the positive and purpose of my
existence, and I want to share that with others so they never feel that when life does not go as
planned you stop dreaming and pushing yourself to be successful.