High School Admission Essay Sample

I am a rising senior at Christopher Newport University, where I am studying organismal biology with a minor in chemistry. And while I undoubtedly have a passion for science, I have also had an enduring desire to pursue a career in research or teaching. That is why, in the summer after my freshman year, I was delighted to have the opportunity to work for the New Horizons Regional Education Centers. New Horizons Regional Education Centers is a regional facility that is comprised of six unique centers, and each center focuses on a different educational service. In my time working at New Horizons, I worked primarily within the Career and Technical Training Education Center and the Center for Autism. For these two centers, I was assigned three types

of tasks: classroom-oriented tasks, office administrative tasks, and a major project. Each type of task helped me in a unique way to prepare me for my future. My summer at New Horizons was an invaluable experience that taught me applicable skills for a career in the educational sector, and also allowed me to better understand what is to be expected of me and of the field.
At New Horizons, I was hired as a Private Contractor, which granted me a lot of flexibility. This flexibility then allowed me to fill many types of roles in the school system. As aforementioned, these roles were divided into three sections: classroom oriented tasks, office administrative tasks, and a major project. Of the three tasks, the classroom oriented tasks were probably the most fun because I got to work hands-on, in a classroom environment. One of the classroom oriented assignments I was responsible for was figuring out what supplies the teachers needed for their upcoming school year. Based upon their requests, I would look at the budget, and order and allocate supplies to the best of my abilities. I found this duty to be very enlightening, as I was able to see first-hand how constrained public school budgets are. Inversely, I also found this assignment to be inspiring as I got to see how much these teachers wanted to provide the best for their students.
The second classroom-oriented task I got to do with the teachers was to create activities and worksheets. I found this particular task to be very interesting, but also very challenging. This task was challenging because each student had different needs and capacities for activities, so what would work for some, would not work for others. I really learned that this was something that always had to be kept in mind, which requires a lot of patience and an open mind. From these classroom-oriented tasks I was able to work directly with teachers, which was invaluable in allowing me to witness their daily role.
For my office administrative tasks, I worked closely with the office secretaries, and also directly beneath the principal and the director of the school. The office administrative tasks were especially varied. Some of these tasks included sending and receiving mail and packages, shredding confidential documents, making copies, and organizing files. While it may not seem like these tasks were very significant, I was very excited to have the opportunity to do them. I was very happy simply to gain some office skills, but there is also a less obvious benefit. The biggest benefit of working in the main office, was how closely I got to work with some high up officials in the school system, and getting to ask them questions. To my fortune, they were very willing to share advice about how they got to where they are. I learned a lot about the individuals there, and about how they decided to pursue this career, and about what has changed since they started. I found this particular aspect of these tasks to be priceless, as many of these individuals have been working in the school system for many years and know it better than most.
The main project of the summer was also a very valuable experience. My main project of the summer was interpreting data on students that had been taken over the coarse of many years. With this data I would look for certain trends, and then translate these trends into graphs and write up a report. This task was very important for three reasons. Firstly, this project was one of my serious and official assignments, and as a result, there was little room for error. Secondly, it was important because it allowed me to brush up on my skills with using excel, making graphs, and also presenting information. Finally, I enjoyed this task because it felt very close to the realm of what I study at CNU, and approached my second passion for doing research. From this project, I learned that there are definitely chances for doing research within the school system.
In my time working at New Horizons, I learned a lot.

I really felt that the combination of these three tasks exposed me to very different and very realistic parts of working in the school system. The classroom-oriented tasks exposed me to the daily life of a teacher, and the responsibilities and complexities that are an integreal part of that career. The office administrative tasks boosted my office skills, allowing me to make copies and fax like no other. But further, it allowed me to ask professionals in the field about what it took to get where they are, and what advice they would give to someone who was pursuing such a career, which I can’t express my gratitude enough for them being willing to share that with me. And finally, the major project allowed me to use more of the scientific skills I have picked up at CNU, and also to see that perhaps research and teaching could be a combined effort. And while all of these tasks were incredibly enlightening and encouraging, perhaps the greatest takeaway from this experience was the passion for students that I witnessed there. In my time there, I could really see how much everyone loved their job, and the devotion they felt toward their students. I now feel a lot more confident in saying that I want to pursue a career in teaching or in the school system because of the skills I attained at New

Horizons.