Finally A Formal Introduction - Anna Pasternak, M.Sc.
Written by: Anna Pasternak / SLP / January 2020
Hi All!! As the newest member of the Well Said team, I wanted to introduce myself and let everyone know what I am all about.
My name is Anna Pasternak and I am a registered Speech Language Pathologist (CASLPO) who started working with Well Said in October 2019. I know I should have written this sooner, but since I started working it was a very busy few months going into the holiday season.
So… let’s start from the beginning. I moved to Canada when I was about four months old. I was born in Rome but both my parents are Polish, so naturally this is my first language. Fast-forward a few years, I ended up at York University studying psychology as it was the subject I was most passionate about throughout high school. I knew I wanted to dig deeper in understanding people’s minds. During this time, as I approached my third year, I got introduced to a potential future career which was speech therapy. From there I began to take many linguistic courses alongside my psychology courses and I knew that in the future I was going to be doing something with speech therapy. I was fascinated that I could apply all my knowledge and hard work studying psychology to a future career that I was passionate about. Another benefit to be honest was that I did not have to do much math or science except for statistics …which was my most hated course of my entire post graduate journey.
After I graduated from my undergrad I decided to take some time off and ended up moving to Poland for 6 months to work as a native English speaker teaching English to polish people. Knowing how to speak Polish was very beneficial for me as I could use both languages to help support my students. Students also enjoyed that I had an “American Accent” like in the movies, as they were only ever taught English by polish people with accents or British English. This experience was very rewarding and living abroad was an amazing experience to have.
From there I went on to complete the Communicative Disorders Assistant (CDA) program back in Ontario. CDA’s work with SLP’s and Audiologists to help support peoples communication needs. Once I completed this program I knew that I couldn’t stop there, I had to go on and do my Master’s in speech pathology. I ended up applying to school’s for master’s programs in the UK, I thought… no applications fees… living abroad again… YES and YES! I ended up accepting an offer to Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Once I saw pictures of the city (and of course reviewed the master’s program they were offering) I fell in love… like c’mon, its SCOTLAND!
I spent three wonderful, hard but rewarding years there completing my Master’s and dissertation. Through my many placements working with children and adults in Scotland I gained so much experience, I knew I was ready to start my career as a Speech-Language Pathologist back in Toronto. My first job I received as an SLP was working with children and adults in the community. In this position my knowledge and experience flourished in so many different areas such as: voice, articulation, social skills, language, myofunctional disorders and accent reduction. I had the opportunity to work with so many incredible individuals. It was amazing to see their progress as my skills and knowledge as an SLP also thrived.
As the time passed I realised that I needed more consistency in my life when it came to my career, and so I was thrilled to be offered the amazing opportunity to work at Well Said, where I am currently. My time here thus far has been very motivational and inspiring as I get to work alongside an amazing team. I feel grateful working with so many wonderful people, co-workers and clients alike. I have seen a huge positive change in my practice already. I look forward to the future working here and cannot wait to see myself grow as a clinician and individual in this position.
Anna Pasternak, SLP, Reg. CASLPO
To work with me, Anna Pasternak, as your speech-language pathologist at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.
This blog post was inspired by a recent session I had with a client who wanted to spend a session figuring out how to best navigate an upcoming holiday work party they were attending the following week. I realized that many of the tips I used for general networking were easily applicable to the annual holiday party, which in some instances may be the only chance you get to interact with colleagues in a different context and manner.