Harmon Sekhon

My name is Harmon Sekhon and I am a 4th-year Cognitive Science major. Being a Cognitive Science major has given me a breadth of knowledge in multiple different fields that all connect in some shape or form. I have recognized that these fields of study are often interconnected. I find that the areas often relate to each other such as Linguistics appearing in my Psychology courses. This has allowed me to get experience in a variety of fields, such as Psychology, Linguistics, Philosophy, and Computer Science. Linguistics and Psychology are my main strengths along with my proficient computer skills in digital design, Pratt, and audio editing. My study in the field of psychology has given me experience in library research. I have learned even more in my Cogs 300 class. This class is a research project seminar where the entire semester we would need to search for articles and summarize them in a reading log.  My future plans are to apply to grad school to become a speech-language pathologist or audiologist. I have always wanted to help people since I was younger. I do think that these two professions will help me achieve that goal. When I was younger, I went to an SLP because I had trouble producing the [ʃ]  sound. My brother also went to an SLP for assistance. My grandma recently got a hearing aid from an audiologist and it has greatly improved her daily life. I have witnessed firsthand what these professions are able to accomplish for people and I wish to have that same impact on other people’s lives.

Asides from school, I have worked in a professional setting at Tidal Wave Aquatics. I have worked here since grade 11 where I was a volunteer and then hired on. For my job at Tidal Wave Aquatics I always arrive 10 minutes before my shift starts so that I am prepared to start right away and the same applies to when I go to my classes. At my job, I am responsible for four different children for their hydrotherapy swimming blocks. That is the reason I arrive to make sure that I know what I will have to do with each child and be familiar with who is my partner for the session. During the sessions, I need to make sure the child is doing what they are supposed to while also making sure to adapt accordingly. This means making the exercises more difficult or easier depending on the situation. I make to communicate effectively with my partner to make sure that the sessions go well and the child enjoys their session while completing their physio. My ability to plan for future events, be punctual, and be adaptive can directly apply to how I will be in a lab setting. From my success at my job at TWA, my boss recommend me to a child who I worked with in the pool and I became his behaviour interventionist for the summer. The past three summers I have planned outings, corrected his speech, and taught him social skills. For this job, I need to be punctual and also have the people skills to interact with a young boy with autism spectrum disorder. This shows that I have the communication skills necessary for a work environment.

I am in the last year of completing my BA in Cognitive Science at Simon Fraser University.