My name is Ray Boyd, I am 25 years old, and I was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. Through my childhood into college years, I endured about 20 different surgeries related to my cleft. In addition, I was enrolled in things like speech therapy as a result of my cleft through my college years. As a child who grew up with a cleft, I found it to be something I shouldn’t be ashamed of in my college years. I knew I wanted to take my uniqueness and encourage others through my life experience. With that, I decided I wanted to become a speech-language pathologist. 2 degrees later, I am currently a practicing speech-language pathologist. I love to encourage kids and their families that they are born to be unique and can overcome any obstacle that faces them in life. I am proud of my cleft and the way it has shaped my life.My name is Ray Boyd, I am 25 years old, and I was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. Through my childhood into college years, I endured about 20 different surgeries related to my cleft. In addition, I was enrolled in things like speech therapy as a result of my cleft through my college years. As a child who grew up with a cleft, I found it to be something I shouldn’t be ashamed of in my college years. I knew I wanted to take my uniqueness and encourage others through my life experience. With that, I decided I wanted to become a speech-language pathologist. 2 degrees later, I am currently a practicing speech-language pathologist. I love to encourage kids and their families that they are born to be unique and can overcome any obstacle that faces them in life. I am proud of my cleft and the way it has shaped my life.