Alumni Profile: Ashley Cukier '04 (Pre-U '05)
Speech Language Pathologist
Life after LCC has been a journey of self-discovery for Ashley Cukier ’04 (Pre-U ’05), one that has led her to explore new countries, cultures, and disciplines, all shaping her successful career as a speech language pathologist.
Immediately after graduating from LCC’s Pre-University program, Ashley spent the summer in Italy, teaching English to children in the mornings and learning how to sculpt in the Tuscan hills in the afternoons. It was a memorable experience leading up to her university years.
Ashley’s first semester at Boston’s Brandeis University was spent on exchange in Paris. Not done globetrotting, she returned to the US only to begin preparing for her next big adventure: a semester in Australia. “I took a variety of courses in sciences and arts. It was great living on my own, traveling to different countries, meeting new people, and being exposed to unfamiliar perspectives and cultures. My experiences abroad helped me come out of my shell,” she says.
Ashley’s LCC science classes were excellent preparation for her BSc in Health: Science, Society, and Policy (HSSP) from Brandeis. During her time in Boston, she tutored, mentored and volunteered as a big sister in the community. In her final year, she worked in a lab which sparked a new interest in cognitive and language development.
Post-graduation, she did research, took some courses and realized that improving communication and working with children were areas that she was passionate about. Motivated by this newfound passion, she devoted the next two years to studying speech language pathology at Syracuse University. She has been back in Montreal since 2012 working as a speech language pathologist.
Today, Ashley works with toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children with a wide variety of speech and language needs including expressive and receptive language difficulties, speech sound difficulties, pragmatic language difficulties and stuttering.
Ashley has also supported students at LCC’s Learning Enrichment and Development (LEAD) Centre since 2015. “It’s amazing to see how much the school has changed over the years. LCC helped me develop a strong foundation, and I wanted to give back to the community that shaped me,” she says.
Despite her full schedule seeing clients and mentoring interns, Ashley has made time to volunteer for a friendly phone program that checks in on the elderly. She continues to follow the school’s motto (Non Nobis Solum) two decades after graduating.
Balancing priorities, in both her work and personal life, is a skill that she says she acquired at LCC. To stay grounded, Ashley works out daily, meditates, journals and makes a point to “start each day with an active and clear mind.” An athlete at heart, Ashley joined as many sports teams as she could at LCC, so it is not surprising that she continues to run, ski, play hockey and soccer, and has recently taken up alpine touring.
Her participation in sports at LCC, whether team or individual, taught her about hard work and the value of time management, problem-solving, communication and teamwork. She developed close friendships which she has maintained more than 15 years on. Ashley was a pioneer, coming to the school when she was entering grade 3 in 1995, the first year that girls were admitted.
Her time at LCC taught her to think creatively, be confident, and set goals. As she reflects on her school years, Ashley is quick to acknowledge the exceptional teachers who showed her lots of persistence, patience, kindness and dedication.
Ashley’s piece of advice for students is to not be afraid to explore. “Remember that you are not born with all the knowledge and skills. You acquire them through effort and time. Be present, create habits, continue to learn, trust yourself and you will find something you are passionate about!”