SACI Application Essay For as long as I have had conscious memory, I have always loved to learn. As a child, I was painfully shy but intensely curious. It was this burning curiosity that forced me to interact with all those scary strangers talking to my parents, and, the same force that drove me to excel in school. My favorite subject changed on a daily basis and, as a result, I planned to have a different profession for every day of the week. This rather whimsical notion seemed to follow me to college as I had no idea which constraining field to settle into. Luckily, I discovered the Multi-Disciplinary Studies program at Colby- Sawyer College, in New London, New Hampshire, which allowed students to follow their intellect and study the intersectionality
Rebekah Nathan starts her undercover anthropological study with the a couple of research questions: “What is the current culture at AnyU (my pseudonym for my university) as an example of the American public university? How do contemporary American students understand their education, and what do they want from it? How do they negotiate college life? What
We live in a technologically advanced era, an era that has impacted communication immensely. Not only is communication important for social lives and individual development, but it also strikes the educational and academic spheres, as well. As a daughter of immigrant parents, I was given the immeasurable opportunity of getting an education here, in the United States. Through my family’s teachings, and my own personal development, I’ve come to value education, perseverance, a strong work ethic, and intellectual flexibility.
As I listen to the recording I had made back in week two of this course, I am able to realize how far my identity development has come. A few things stuck out to me as I listened to my thoughts and ideas from nine weeks ago. I found myself making statements about being “color blind” and that I “don’t go out of my way to think about how people are different”. I now realize that this kind of thinking is that kind that can inadvertently perpetuate racism in society. In order to challenge racism, there needs to be a dialogue about racism and denying the fact that there is any issue is only making matters worse.
Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here? Is an academic style magazine article by Mark Edmundson published in Oxford America. In this piece Edmundson uses ethos, logos, and pathos to convince parents to encourage their students to follow their dreams, as well as to convince students to discover themselves during their college career. He effectively achieves his purpose through his use of credible sources (ethos), appeals to morals and values (logos), and personal experiences (pathos).
Growing up in a traditional, white, nuclear family, this course helped me articulate how different I was from the dominant white culture in the South and why. I learned a style of communication that highlights bringing people together, building consensus and promoting justice. I have found myself even more able to draw on a diplomatic communication style than when I lived overseas in Africa, South America, and Asia.
In the autobiography Lives on the Boundary, Mike Rose tells his story, in his perspective, on what he has gone through with education. During his grade school years, Rose began to grow an interest in particular subjects such as chemistry and English. Around his high school years, he found interest only in his class in English with his professor, Mr. MacFarland. Soon enough, Rose begins to grow an interest in English when he began attending Loyola University; however, he did not breeze through his rigorous courses in college. He has seen people emotionally break down and struggle immensely to get by along his way of becoming a professor at UCLA. Ultimately, however, with all of these things Rose sees throughout his life, he has had many self-actualizations
UNC Asheville’s vision of a diverse and inclusive community excites me. One of my main expectations of college is the opportunity to reach beyond my comfort zone, make new connections and broaden my view of the world. I can’t wait to join a college community emphasizing tolerance, respect for others and diversity in addition to providing a quality education. In high school, I was involved in a broad range of extra-curricular activities not to build a resume but to get the most of out every day. I am bringing that same passion to college. My interests and hobbies include the arts and politics. I expect to continue those interests and activities in college, performing on stage and participating in student government organizations. In
A major theme in Becoming a Learner is that the journey of learning and who we become at the end of that journey is far more important than the resulting accomplishment. Internalizing this theme will be helpful throughout college as well as within subsequent career and private life. Far too often we get caught up in titles and outwardly appearances and lose sight of what really matters. What really matters is how the journey of learning has impacted who we are on the inside. Sanders states, “It’s not just that you completed a degree; it is how you earned your degree and the cumulative effects of your education that matter” (9).
I am so thankful that I chose Grand Valley State University to pursue my Bachelor’s degree. When I first embarked on the path towards higher education, GVSU stood out as the most affordable four-year institution on my short list, but could’ve never imagined the doors it would open for me. My support network of chosen family and mentors has massively grown, and from them I have learned so much. After experiencing the racial exclusivity and homoantagonism of my previous college, I emerged with renewed zeal for challenging bigoted notions, dismantling systemic barriers, and effecting change in the world around me.
Reflecting back on my educational journey thus far, the most meaningful material I have studied was regarding the overall lack of access and barriers to education. Specifically, Dr. Kathy Nakagawa’s Justice Studies course, JUS 365 – Inequality/Diversity in Education, provided a compelling glimpse of the intersectionality of race, class, and gender as contributing factors for both successful and unsatisfactory educational outcomes, at various levels of schooling. To be sure, my personal aspirations to become a community college professor deeply inspire me to explore the process of learning from multiple perspectives. Additionally, as I progressed through this course, I found myself identifying with several of the concepts due to the personal challenges I have faced in my primary and secondary education experiences. Indeed, my parents were teenagers when I was born; I was raised by a single mother and I did not know my biological
The moment I walked in the building, my world suddenly collapsed. I realized, I was in the wrong place. I came from Benedict College, and here I am, attending the University of South Carolina. How could this possibly be right? How did I get here? Could I possibly survive in this new environment? These are the questions that played over and over again, in my head, as I slowly walked through the hallways. When I arrived in the Exploring Diversity and Social Justice in Social Work Practice class, I was excessively hesitant. My emotions were everywhere, because I did not know what to expect. I was unsure if I would fit in or if I would stand out. Overall, I was unsure if I lacked the knowledge and skills to be in this illustrious program.
What attracts me to and excites me about Columbia is the juxtaposition of unique elements that serve to make a unique, dynamic campus environment. Columbia has a small undergraduate enrollment, but its community extends into one of the largest cities in the world. This allows me to take advantage of the opportunities offered by New York, such as internships, while still being a part of a smaller community, allowing for greater interaction with other students and professors. This combination of divergent ideas seems to extend itself to become a fundamental aspect of Columbia’s identity. Columbia’s core curriculum reflects this ideal. The University offers a diverse set of classes outside my major. The core curriculum will provide me with a
“So what do you want to study at Cornell?” I winced at these words, anticipating a familiar wave of conflicted emotions to pass through my body any second. It always was easy to answer what college I wanted to go to but the hard part was discussing what I wanted to study. Sometimes I would answer biology, other times sociology, but most of the time I indicated that I was undecided. I was wedged between two seemingly different areas of interest and was not ready to give either of them up. However, my experiences throughout high school with cross-disciplinary studies inside and outside of the classroom made the overlap between sociology and biology clear. I realized that I could pursue both passions in the unique Biology and Society major offered at Cornell, specifically in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The saying, “true knowledge means being aware one knows nothing,” in turn couldn’t be more accurate. Each day is a chance to learn, achieve, and aspire for tomorrow; thus, it is essential to make every day count. Education is not about regurgitating facts to pass an exam and then forget the material a week later, but instead inspiring a craving for knowledge and enthusiasm to seek information and experience. These are the foundations for which discovery and innovation rest upon, and the proverbs to which I live. My infinite hunger for knowledge and restless longing to make a difference have pushed me past my potential and to continue striving for more each day. The support my family and teachers have provided me during grade school has etched the axiom in my mind that anything can be accomplished if worked towards ambitiously. I know what I want to achieve in life and the determination needed to prevent diverging from that goal. I desire to seek the most life has to offer and never limit the extent of my learning, which is why I struggle to imagine myself at any other institution apart from Penn State
Entering the university is always a time of change, and I knew that coming in. What I did not expect, was for my entire philosophical outlook on life to change in my intro to university life class. The instructor just happened to be a professor of philosophy and in the tradition of his discipline the course was centered around justice. It was in studying the relationship of justice as presented in the Oresteia by Aeschylus, the treatment of the Cherokee nation, and the foundations of the liberal arts, that I acquired my passion for justice. In the rural south, justice is a singular construct, whereas a freethinking individual should be concerned with ensuring justice for the