If you often wander in the hallways, you have most likely walked past friendly Mr. Alba, our school speech pathologist, who has been at San Dimas for 11 years. Mr. Alba’s job at San Dimas is at the heart of our school’s support system. Mr. Alba’s extraordinary passion has impacted the lives of many students; his recognition of what he does on campus and his personal story have been long overdue.
Mr. Alba has an interesting story about how he became a speech pathologist. While studying marine biology as an undergrad at UC Santa Cruz, he realized that wasn’t his path. “I realized upon leaving Santa Cruz that not everybody gets to swim with dolphins and do the fun things you wanted,” Alba explains.
After graduating, Mr. Alba realized he loved working with students, so he worked to get his teaching credentials. Alba emphasizes, “I went to get a teaching credential because I just loved working with students.”
While getting his teaching credentials, he still didn’t know what kind of teacher he wanted to be. But his ex-wife called to say she had again signed him up for college to study speech pathology. Mr. Alba went to school for 8 years to become the fantastic speech pathologist he is today.
When asked about a typical day as a speech pathologist, Alba said, “We have several responsibilities here; first and foremost is seeing the students and doing lessons and activities with them so they can improve their language and speech skills.” His job revolves around ensuring the students he teaches succeed and show improvement and progress. Some communication challenges he runs into are compound sentences, using the past tense, and students with limited verbal output.
Mr. Alba’s job is gratifying, and he has had a lasting impact on many students. Alba shared a special moment with a student who used to be nonverbal and avoidant, but after sessions together, Alba described him as “so outgoing.” A special moment he and Mr. Alba shared was when they went bowling together, and he noticed the student’s progress.
Mr. Alba wants people to know he’s worked in acute hospitals, rehab hospitals, and people’s homes. He explains, “It’s not only students we work with.” Speech therapy has many different roles, and the opportunities are endless. “I have a friend from my grad program who is a dialect coach in Hollywood!”
Mr. Alba has made a lasting impact at our school, and his efforts deserve recognition. Don’t hesitate to say hello if you ever encounter Mr. Alba in the hallway. If you want to become a speech pathologist, Mr. Alba is the perfect person to talk to!
