Tuesday, July 8, 2008

At least I know how to introduce myself



My name is Michelle Beaver, yes Beaver.  I often hear, "That must have been a tough name to have growing up."  Then I have to admit that I had a choice since it is my married name!  I grew up in the same house in Sunset, Utah where I was within walking distance to my elementary, junior high and high school.  I graduated with a degree in Exotic Animal Training and Management in 1989 (in Los Angeles anything is possible.) I trained animals from coast to coast, but in 2001 I wanted a career change and I received my degree in American Sign Language interpreting.  In 2005 I finished my BA in Psychology from Chapman University.

Considering it has taken me an hour to figure out how to get to this page, I must say my tech skills are somewhere in the stone age.  I do have a cell phone, and now that the "hands-free" law is in effect, I learned how to use the speaker phone today while on my drive to school.  I bought a Mac in Jan. to piss off my husband who is addicted to his PC.  (It worked) Now I have written 12 songs on garage band and I have all my music on Itunes with my photos on picasa.  I use microsoft at work and I am somewhat skilled in excel and powerpoint.

My degree will be in Speech Language Pathology.  With the technology of the cochlear implant raising such controversy with hearing parents with deaf children, I would like to use my skills in American Sign Language to help bridge the gap between people who can hear and the Deaf World.  Equality for all students is so important and I am excited to see how this concept is incorporated into my CSUSM education.  The speech pathology program is not offered at many universities and since CSUSM is soon to be accredited through the American Speech and Hearing Association, I am looking forward to being a part of the cutting edge instruction being offered at this university.


1 comment:

Elizabeth Froeberg said...

Wow! That is so awesome that you trained animals from coast to coast! Your picture is really cute. It was my childhood dream to be an animal trainer at Sea World or the Zoo. I gave up on that dream, but still wonder sometimes what it would have been like if I pursued it. I just love animals! What kind of animals did you train? I'm sure you have a lot of stories! How do you get a job doing something like that? I hope to get a chance to talk to you more about all your experiences.