Personal Statement
During my first semester at Missouri State University I was meeting with a professor to discuss my interests and academic goals. When I told her I was interested in studying Proto-Indo-European she bluntly replied, “That’s naive of you.” I laughed off the comment, saying that of course I was naive, I was taking my first Linguistics course. She went on to tell me that the research was imprecise and no more than speculation. I felt as if a little balloon popped inside of me; no one had dismissed my aspirations so curtly before. When I repeated the event to other people and they were angry on my behalf I began to feel hurt over the situation. I felt ashamed and questioned if my ideas and interests were stupid. I even contemplated if I should switch majors or just give up. Life tends to go in circles and
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I taught pre-GED students at a local community college. These students often had learning disabilities or had suffered severe traumas. My favorite experience was tutoring a man who was completely illiterate and had been laid off. I watched him go from being ashamed and hanging his head as he sounded out words such as “cat” to proudly showing me a wielding textbook he was studying before starting college. I don’t even know the words to explain how amazing that was. His entire life changed. I also tutored and volunteered English to immigrants in a local government outreach. I made so many great friends from all over the world. I was invited to dinners in the homes of Chinese businessmen who were wanting to use English as a tool to climb the corporate ladder back home. I met a large group of refugees from Myanmar who all hardly spoke a word of English but we spent a lot of time smiling at each other. One of my favorite friends was a Mexican man who worked in construction who was very candid about his illegal trek into
There are a lot of reasons why I chose to pursue pharmacy as my career and they all point to the most important reason: pharmacy is a great fit for my life and is something I have become increasingly passionate about. It started when I was researching careers with my parents and my dad suggested pharmacy and, simply put, it sparked my interest because at the time it was one of the few things I thought I would not hate doing. A healthcare career has always been where I put myself in the future, mainly because most of my family members are in the healthcare field. However, I have never been one that could directly help the wounded or deal with anything gory, but am very intrigued by the growing science of pharmacy. As I continue exploring pharmacy, the more I enjoy learning about it and feel like I could excel in this career.
When I first came to this country, I wasn’t thinking about the language, how to learn it, use it, write, how I’m going to speak with people who are next to you and you want to talk to them. My first experience was in Veterans School, it was my first year in school here in United States, and I was in eight grades. The first day of school you were suppose to go with your parent, especially if you were new in the school, like me. What happened was that I didn’t bring my dad whit me, a woman was asking me a lot of questions and I was completely loss, I didn’t have any idea of what she was telling me and I was scare. One funny thing, I started cry because I fell like frustrate, I didn’t know no one from there. Someone seat next to me, and ask me in Spanish what was wrong and I just say in my mind thanks God for send me this person, then I answered her that I didn’t know Engl...
For as long as I can remember learning how to read and write was a real challenge for me. When I first arrived in the United States I was enrolled at the nearby elementary school. Being from another country I was scared and embarrassed because I was different then the other children in my class. Talking and communicating with others was something that wasn't in the interest of what I wanted to do. I sat far away from others depriving myself of what they were doing or learning. Coming from Mexico and going to a school where no other children would speak the same language that I would or even play the way I did made me believe that I was some sort of thing that didn't belong. All these contributed to a low esteemed child that was unable to communicate. The world I was in suddenly became a place that I didn't know. To the kids and others in my class I was an illiterate person.
“You are in America, speak English.” As a young child hearing these words, it did not only confuse me but it also made me question my belonging in a foreign country. As a child I struggled with my self-image; Not being Hispanic enough because of my physical appearance and not being welcomed enough in the community I have tried so hard to integrate myself with. Being an immigrant with immigrant parents forces you to view life differently. It drives you to work harder or to change the status quo for the preconceived notion someone else created on a mass of people. Coming to America filled me with anxiety, excitement, and even an unexpected wave of fear.
Whoosh!A bed whizzed by, surrounded by about 6 medical personnel. “What’s going on?” I thought immediately with apprehension. I knew whatever was happening it was not ideal. Ensuring I was not in the way, I stood on my toes to see what demanded so much attention. To my astonishment, I saw a coin sized hot-pink little girl. She could not have been bigger than two quarters lying side by side.She was struggling! Even with all the procedures the doctors were executing to save her life, she was performing the most work.
For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be an encouraging influence for others. As a child I was very shy and unsure of myself partly due to my overwhelming fear of others and feelings of inadequacy. Nevertheless deep inside I knew of my true worth but was afraid to show the world who I really was because I may be rejected. Those feelings of rejection kept me from being who I am and sent me down a dark, lonely, and destructive path.
My perseverance has prepared me for a career in medicine. The path towards becoming a physician can be long and challenging, necessitating the ability to endure. My ability to bounce back from setbacks and mistakes has solidified throughout my journey. One of the cornerstone experiences of my personal development occurred during high school. My determination led to me my graduating as valedictorian of my class, while balancing three varsity sports and several extracurricular activities. In addition, I worked on weekends to help support my family financially. This persistence resulted in scholarship awards that made higher education a possibility.
My commitment and motivation to pursue master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy is based on the extensive experiences that I have gained in human services in the past 2 years. Since long I have always held the belief that the application of psychological principles has the power to positively impact society. And I especially believe in its power to help children cope with the stresses and events of everyday life. My own life is a testament to this belief.
Since the beginning of my academic endeavors, I have long cherished a dream to be a member of the social science research community, which gives our society progressive insights into human ecology. I began my undergraduate studies at Ramapo College of New Jersey with a passion for ecological justice and with the intention of majoring in environmental studies. Ramapo College’s progressive liberal arts foundation provided me with ample room to explore the multifarious array of social science courses. As I took more social science courses, however, my understanding of human social groups underwent a metamorphosis. As a result, I decided to pursue a degree in Social Science, with minors in the two fields I felt most passionately interested in, Women’s Studies and African American Studies.
Please discuss the following items in the order given. Briefly respond to all areas listed.
These experiences have helped me to see and embrace the differences of others. My Hispanic culture has allowed me to become a collectivist, family oriented individual. I put others first and care about what will benefit the majority. My previous volunteer experiences within my community has also shaped my choices. I participated in Flip for Autism, a gymnastics event for those with physical and intellectual disabilities. This event opened my eyes to the many great accomplishments and limitlessness of those with disabilities and furthermore confirmed my professional
One experience that I will always remember is the day I was running errands and had the opportunity to meet a very special patient. She was a sweet woman who was originally from Mexico. We were having a friendly conversation when she asked me about why I chose to do community service at the hospital. I explained to her that I planned on majoring in the medical field one day and I was working on obtaining community service hours. We got to talking about the education systems in our countries. In our conversation I learned that only selected people were given the opportunity to receive an education in her native country of Mexico. She told me about the poor education system and the extreme poverty which debilitates Mexico. As a United States citizen, I am provided with a variety of options for education. People in Mexico must fight to obtain access to any education. This made me realize how truly fortunate I am.
I began to get fascinated by our capitalist world’s economy at a very early age of my life. Growing up, I was incredibly curious to unravel how systems function, and this curiosity developed into a burning desire to learn how processes and organizations operate and run our world. As I started my first job, I realized how much I needed to be better acquainted with the science of money making and the scientific approaches to money management. Later on in my life, being within a company system, I wanted to see the big picture by learning where such a company stands in the midst of all other business interactions locally and internationally. Being involved in the company’s practices I started analyzing the methods used by my managers, the causes and consequences of their managerial choices.
For a long time I have been interested in the subject of psychology. The ways people behave and why they do certain things has always fascinated me and makes me question myself a lot. To answer these questions, I started to read many books that related to psychology to gain as much knowledge as I can. I now have a better overview of psychology so I would like to continue to further my knowledge at a higher level in Berea College.
My family emigrated from the Dominican Republic when I was two years old. At the time, none of us spoke any fluent English. Due to their limited education,