Rockville, MD -- Many people enter college knowing exactly what profession they wish to pursue and declare their major accordingly.

Fernan Tolentino is not one of those people.

Tolentino graduated from the University of California, Davis, with degrees in Asian-American Studies and Communications, but he couldn't find a job. He answered a job notice that advertised for a speech aide, thinking the position involved helping college kids with their public speaking. That turned out to be the first step in a journey that will end with Tolentino obtaining his master of science in Speech and Language Pathology from California State University, Sacramento, in 2010.
Now a licensed speech assistant, Tolentino tells his story in a featured video on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) home page (www.asha.org). Tolentino's video is part of ASHA's Share Your Stories project.

Tolentino explains making the phone call, inquiring about the job posting, and speaking with a woman for almost 2 hours. Even though she told Fernan that he was not qualified, she called him 2 weeks later and advised him to obtain his degree in speech-language pathology, explaining that the profession is recruiting more males and more minorities to the field. And that is exactly what he did.

Since 2004, Tolentino has worked with numerous populations, including developmentally disabled adults, children with language learning disabilities, people who use sign language and augmentative and alternative communication devices, lients with attention deficient hyperactivity disorder, and people with Down syndrome, dysarthria, apraxia, cerebral palsy, and autism.

"I [feel] like I really connected with the kids that I served," Tolentino says in his video.

"Giving back is a common theme among our 135,000 members," according to ASHA President Sue Hale. "Often, I hear from people in our profession such as Fernan, as well as audiologists, about how rewarding their work is and how it is about much more than a salary and job security. I congratulate him on obtaining his degree in speech-language pathology."

The Share Your Stories initiative highlights the difference audiologists and speech-language pathologists make in people's lives, making the professionals more familiar and accessible to the public. Segments from it are regularly featured on ASHA's home page.

"We think our Share Your Stories initiative is a great way to introduce the public to our members-to the kind of people they are, as well as the great value they contribute to society through their work," Hale says.

About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 135,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
View all ASHA press releases at www.asha.org/about/news.

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