When someone is passionate about something, you can see it radiate through their smile, hear it resonate in their voice, and feel it’s energy emanate from their enthusiasm. Talking about biological topics such as protein function, DNA regulation, and cellular communication makes my heart rate jump to about 120 beats per minute and my eyes double in dilation. This partly because I always get excited when someone actually wants to listen to me talk about biology. The other part of my enthusiasm stems from my genuine passion about all the small, forgotten, but undeniably necessary events that make life on this planet possible. I can vividly recall the first time someone showed me how amazing biology could be. It was 2008, Brownsville, Texas, Introductory …show more content…
Experiences such as probing rat brains for dopamine, recording thalamic neuronal current, and creating genetically mutated bacteria are merely a few of the defining factors that affected my decision to continue my education in the biological sciences. Ironically, the event led me to the goal of being a professor of biology has very little to do with biology. In a combination of serendipitous opportunity and having nothing better to do, I accepted an offer from my swim coach to become an American Red Cross certified water safety instructor. Shortly afterwards, he gave me job teaching swim lessons for people in the Austin, Texas community. What I got out of doing this was an immense appreciation for the interpersonal skills, patience, and dedication it takes to convey information effectively as an educator. Additionally, my students showed me how people develop these enigmatic connections when one human helps another human comprehend something elusive. From my experience, showing an interest in the student's well being and helping said student enhance their knowledge establishes a relationship with high levels of trust and respect. Teaching and tutoring mathematics at St. Austin’s Catholic School, Burnet Middle School, and UT ROTC Air force only affirmed these …show more content…
Countless hours of planning and considerations preceded this. My mom is an artist by career, and as such, she always pushed me to pursue whatever makes me happy. She never wanted me to settle for a monotonous job where the pay is good, but I am explicitly miserable. After graduation, I spent a year trying to find out what “whatever makes you happy” really meant. I interviewed doctors, psychologists, biotechnology workers, neuroscientist, addiction counselors, and nothing met the reward and fulfillment as the field of education. I am applying to the master's program at the University of Texas at the Rio Grande Valley in preparation for my long term goal of obtaining a PhD in biological sciences and teaching and researching at a small
From the time a child enters preschool, teachers begin asking a common question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” That dreaded query has always haunted me, mostly because the way it was redundantly asked put a ton of pressure on me and my peers. The question was like a rusty nail being hammered into our head’s by society. I continuously had the cliché answers of becoming a doctor, teacher, or a police officer, but with serious reservations. After years of not having a clue, I started to think about what I like to do after the stresses of work and school were gone at the end of the day.
I feel that the Biomedical Academy would be a great addition to my education. As a current eighth grader, I am becoming more active in making decisions about my future, and after exploring all options, I have decided that the Academy would definitely be a great place for me to further my education.
So I started thinking about what I wanted to do; I went from teaching to law enforcement, computer programming to astronautics and numerous other professions. Now I come to a crossroad in my life where I must choose what to do with my future, choose what will make me happy.
It has taken me a long time to come to this point but I am now sure of what I want to do, and what I need to do to achieve my goals. Had I not gone through the countless jobs and educational paths, I would have never come to the one that I finally know I will love and it will benefit me as a person, and benefit my family financially.
Looking back through my life to find what has led me down this path I see that I had several challenging events in my life. At the time I did not understand why I was going through them or how I was going to get through them but knew that there is always a solution to every problem. During the time that I was working through the challenging events I realized that these were only preparing me to be a stronger individual. These experiences formed my passion to continue my education. I had an opportunity to live in Arizona in 2005, I was working for a nation wide Property Management Company as a Business Manager, worked in this industry for 16 years.
Throughout high school and during my undergraduate studies, education was never a top priority for me. Only during the past two years, in the "real world", have I realized the importance of education. I look back at those years and wish I had done more and realized all the potential I had in my hands and not wasted so much time. During my undergraduate career my social activities consumed my life. My friends were not motivated to do well in school so I followed their lead. My grades were low, and I did not even care. After I graduated in 1997 with a Psychology B.A. and lost touch with my old friends and old ways, I have realized that I should have spent more time doing some soul searching and thinking what it was that I wanted to do with my life. I liked Psychology but what I really wanted to do was work with children more closely. I had spent my junior and senior years involved in internships at Head Start and at a High School in a Program for teenaged mothers. I loved my work there. At Head Start I was a Teacher Aid for the pre-school, teaching the children to read, numbers etc. And at the High School I counseled the teenaged mothers, took care of their kids while they went to school and after the school day I tutored them with their homework. After being out of school for a while, I started to miss that. The feeling that I was teaching something those kids, the feeling that I was making a difference. I was determined to find a job in education, with my background in Psychology, how hard could it be? I found work at a residential school for runaways and abused teenaged females. It was great! I was ready to go, I was going to change the world and change those girls lives. What I didn't realize is that will alone does not make me a teacher and that I needed training, a lot of training. I made a lot of mistakes in that job. I got discouraged and decided to forget about working with children, forget teaching and do something else that paid more. So, I got a job as a Secretary, I did that for about two years. Teaching, working with children was always on my mind.
...s, so, basically it is up to us to make that change. Now, I’m not talking about a revolt, at least not in the traditional sense. I suggest jumping the track and exploring what is out there in the world before deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life. This is what I had to figure out for my self. When I was a freshman majoring in business, and I was miserable because I had no interest in the classes I was taking, so I dropped out. I spent the next two years traveling, and somewhere in those two years I realized that photography was what I wanted to pursue. The funny thing was since I was about six I’ve always wanted to be a photographer, but I didn’t realize it because I didn’t stop to really think about what I truly wanted to do. I realize that I’m not going to make the big bucks, which is OK because you can’t put a monetary value on happiness.
Growing up I struggled with the constant question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” With so many different career paths to choose from, it’s hard to become overwhelmed. As college gradually tiptoed in on me, I began to feel like I would never find the profession right for me. The few things that I did know I wanted in my future career were very simple to me. They were a job in the healthcare world where I could go home each night knowing I made a difference in someone’s life. A job that wasn’t just following a routine everyday but required creativity and brought new challenges while working with a diverse population.
After I graduated high school, I was unsure of what career appealed to me most. The summer before my first year of university, I endlessly researched and debated what career called to me. I soon realized that my calling in life was to help people, but I wasn’t sure how exactly I wanted to help them. Eventually I decided on the career of physical therapy, thinking that this was the way that I wanted to impact someone’s life. Sometimes though, things don’t always go the way we plan and my life plan was one of those things.
Doing that you love sounds like a dream but is sometimes not what is best. In the article A Life beyond ‘Do What You Love’, Gordon Marino states,”Our desires should not be the ultimate arbiters of our vacation. Sometimes we should do what we hate, or what most needs doing, and do it as best we can.” Throughout the article Marino tells about his experiences and conversations he has had with his students about what they want to do after high school. As an occupational counselor, Marino explains to his student advisees that sometimes they have to put what they want to do to the side and do something that is not only good for themselves but for others around them. He continues to prove his point to the student advisees by using his professional techniques, telling stories, asking questions, and giving reasons for his argument.
Rimm-Kaufman, Sara. “Improving Students’ Relationships with Teachers to Provide Essential Supports for Learning.” American Psychological Association. May 2012. Web.
Throughout my life, I was told art wasn’t a good career choice. I was told I would never make any money with it, and that I should choose something more practical to pursue. I was told that it was a nice talent to have, but not a real applicable skill in life. So, I looked for other options. However, I never abandoned art. I kept working on it on my own, developing my skill and creativity as I grew older. I doodled on homework assignments and filled sketchbooks with my character designs and art. While my family and school encouraged me to pursue a “money making” job, I internally made the decision to follow my passions.
My goal is to venture into the profession of biological research, whether it be industrial or academia. I want to be able to apply my knowledge in a method that benefits the world. I spent many of my days attending Chemistry roundtables and PTEs for Biology and Chemistry. Being surrounded by intelligent people discussing either their research projects or going in depth about something I learned in class that day was truly inspiring. It inspired me to fully immerse myself in all of my classes and strive to get amazing marks. I conversed with my TAs to understand more about the topics we learned about in class and I was sure to inquire them about anything I was unsure about. Aside from academics, I
After I finish my biology transfer degree here at CCC, I plan to transfer to PSU to further my education towards the medical field by working towards either a biological science, physical science or health science master’s degree. Each year I plan to take 12-15 credits a trimester and 6-12 credits during the summer. I will adjust my credits per trimester on the criteria that I maintain at least a 3.50 GPA. During the summer break, I will be taking CNA classes and various other training courses to get a general start in working in the medical field. I will start working in hospitals or nursing homes as a CNA as soon as I have taken enough required training classes to start. From there I plan to work my way up in position, and see where I fit best in the hospital atmosphere, regarding where my skill set works the best and in what position.
While my academic successes guided my career passions towards higher education, my research experiences solidified