Melanie Elizabeth Leonard

Tronfeld West Durrett Scholarship Winner - Melanie
Ms. Leonard with attorneys Elizabeth West and John Newby.

Name: Melanie Elizabeth Leonard

Currently Enrolled (2017): Powhatan High School

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX5CQPpTxP8

Essay: Communication disorders are frustrating limitations that keep individuals from functioning at their highest capacity. Impairments such as deafness, stutters, lisps, muteness, and language processing disorders are examples of limitations that keep individuals from being the best they can be. In today’s fast-past world of instant messaging and quick speech, those who struggle to communicate are often left behind in society. I resent this reality; everyone deserves to have a voice in this world. For this reason, it is my dream to be a multi-lingual speech-language pathologist. As a speech language pathologist, I will be able to work with individuals, one on one, to diagnose the causes of their communication difficulty and guide them toward confident and coherent speech. The more languages I am fluent in, the more people I will be able to help. Therefore, it is also my dream to be a linguist and to learn as many languages as possible. I may not be able to directly help every single individual in the world, but I know that can make a world of difference to each individual I help.