I stepped onto the strange campus that I would call home for the next six weeks. My duffel bag stuffed with clothes, was cutting off the circulation from my arm. I froze, staring at the four story building where I would live. Every worry I had, seeped through my mind in that instant. Being too shy to even order a pizza, I had never really made friends easily. Suddenly, the Upward Bound program at Bowdoin College did not feel like the ideal use of my time that summer. Strangely, at that moment, a smiling face of a friend, my friend, stepped forward and greeted me. She was the only person I knew at the time, so I clung to her. I remember standing around a tree with her and a few of the friends that she already had. I observed their mannerisms
My eyes explored the hall in front of me for the second time. It’s Early College High School, I realized. This school is extremely academically oriented, I recall. I think I would be a good student at this school. I knew from visiting that the school itself held a warm, home-like feel to it.
Prompt: In 500 words or more, describe your collegiate experience thus far. How has this experience and the knowledge you've gained influenced what you plan to study? How have they influenced your decision to apply to St. Edward's?
My journey to higher education spans 24-years and combines two passions, teaching and EMS (emergency medical services). This journey began in 1986 with a suburban kindergarten class of 25 in Memphis, TN. Eleven years later no longer am I teaching school-age children; instead, I am delivering training programs to EMS providers as well as the medical community. Today, I combine both passions to offer students authentic experiences through which to obtain proficient skills in written and oral communications, critical and analytical thinking, problem solving, as well as in negotiation and conflict resolution skills as they prepare for rewarding
The students and advisors of my Upward Bound Program, sat outside in a circle with an electric candle in our hands as we prepared our hearts for an honest and heart-to-heart conversation. Each student talked about what they had gone through and the struggles they had to face in their lives. Some students spoke about their torn families, thoughts of suicide and not feeling comfortable in their own skin.This brought out my own burden since the age of seven regarding my family where years of altercation, stress, worries, pressure could no longer be contained and my emotions came pouring out.
It was the first week of September, 1992. Bishal looked through the window of the small Ford. All he could see was flat and plain land with houses scattered around it. As they drove closer into the town, the houses became closer and closer to each other. This was the small, quiet town of Grinnell, in the middle of Iowa.
About a little under a year ago I had questioned a strong belief of mine that I had my whole life; going to college. I had started to question this because my father had went to college to study business and he now sells insurance. I thought to myself, why would I need to go to college when I could get my license to sell insurance straight out of high school. It didn’t make sense to me on paying a lot of money for tuition when I could always just start a career and be pretty successful out of high school. I started having these questions run through my head because a while ago my father had worked for a company named Delta where he was in the business department. By him getting his masters degree in business it would obviously help him. However
At first, it wasn’t too hard, as the work load was rather miniscule for all of my classes. Around midterms the amount of schoolwork exceeded the amount of time I had available and has stayed there since. There are 168 hours in any given week, 50 of which I am working, and 17 hours are class time. That leaves me with 101 hours. Around 56 hours are used to sleep as I attempt to get around 8 hours of sleep a night. Down to 45 hours to drive places, eat, and socialize I realized I need to manage my time better. The biggest obstacle that challenged my success in college was spreading myself too
I was strolling down the hallway, trying to figure out where my class would be, when I bumped into a girl. “Oh goodness! I am so sorry. I wasn 't looking," she said and bent down to grab my file and books even before I could. I sighed and replied, “No, it 's fine." I wiped the sweat, which I had accumulated from walking all over the school, off my forehead. She stood up and handed me my books. I realized she was also a freshman by her orange colored uniform. She flipped her hair and said while grinning," Let me introduce myself. I 'm Natasha. I 'm from Canada so I don 't really know much about this town. How about you?" Even though I had never met her before, I could tell she seemed nice so I introduced myself. I had to make a judgment to decide whether to befriend the girl or not. Little did I know this stranger was
Instead of remaining in a solitary corner, I was brought out into the light. My classmates invited me to join their groups, so I would not have to be isolated. I was a stranger in their midst, but they accepted me as their sister. I felt as if I have arrived in a forever home away from home. The air and people that I encountered were like rays of sun that illuminated the shadows of my heart.
My parents sensed my troubles and we moved. Adjusting to a new high school took time. It was not easy making new friends and I continued to be lost. These incidents weighed heavily on my mind. My anguished heart refused to see beyond my own woes. A recent disturbing incident changed my purview of life.
The bell of Highland High school rang and all the doors swung open. Students were rushing out of the school’s entrance. I hurried my way out of the school and decided to go to a store close by. It was a ten-minute walk. On this particular day I was craving some powdered donuts. While I was in my class I would think about how soft and delicious they would taste after a long day of learning things I didn’t find interesting. As I was walking to the store I thought about how boring my first year of High school is. I was distressed by the fact that I had to endure three more years of a place I considered a prison. When I finally got the store I rushed to the donut section and grabbed two bags of powdered donuts. I paid for my donuts and walked to my house, which was another five-minute walk. I hated taking this route because there is a warehouse across from my home. So many semis pass by my house and they would make extremely lurid noises. It was as if I was living at a construction site. When I arrived to my house I swiftly went into my room hoping nobody would see the bag of powdered donuts. I opened
The journey of life follows a predetermined pattern; we evolve from needing influence and guidance to finally reaching that point where our lives are up to us. I consider myself very lucky up to this point in my journey. Some people become sidetracked and wind up on a far different course than initially planned, but the detours I made have only assisted in embellishing the individual instead of devouring it.
... thought that maybe we won’t be friends or even know each other in the future. Unexpectedly, we all had these feelings of fondness for a place we a come to despise and couldn’t wait to leave. Why would that happen to us? We all realized that in this moment we’re growing up but are far from “grown up.” Suddenly, there is a flash of light and in that moment I knew that the three of us would be separated for the rest of the day, maybe our lives. The flash brought everything back. It gave us a reason to go back into the hallway and meaninglessly chat with our friends. After we left that room we were still sharing a moment together but in a different sort of way. The picture was there and we had superficial thoughts but the graduation was so much more. It marked a major time in our lives and sent us off into the future. No longer were we the next generation because we were being sent off into the grown up world. Would we all still be appreciated? How is the world going to receive three naive girls who don’t know anything? All these questions were to be asked and to be forgotten because we got caught up in the moment. The picture marks that time in our past and an important time it was.
Bonnie the secretary introduced me to my new teacher. As Mrs. Bonnie was leaving the room, my new teacher Mrs. Evaheart introduced me to the class. As I stared at the class I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. I wanted to go back to my old school where I had friends, knew almost everyone, a place where I didn’t feel lonesome, a place anywhere but here. As I saw each and every one of my new classmates faces the utter dread that I felt slowly began to fade as I saw a familiar face. Seeing one of my former friends give me a renewed hope that maybe being in this school won’t be so bad after
I arrived at the Broward College campus at about noon. I arrived at the busy parking lot, before I attended classes, I had been at the campus for a while now, but I never quite understood how big the campus was until I seen it with all the students and cars. I hadn’t received a parking decal yet so the campus police wouldn’t let me park. Luckily, I had a high school friend who lives 5 minutes far from the College, so I was able to park in her house parking lot. I'll always remember the completely uncomfortable feeling of walking in a new environment for the first time and I didn’t know how to get to my classroom. I was absolutely lost and I had to ask one of the students about the room number and the location of my class even though I had my schedule. This individual name is Andrea. She is a Latin girl, about 5'6, with curly hair, wore a red shirt with tight leggings and flip flop. She acts like a normal kind of being. With a very kind way, she told me my classroom direction. After 10 minutes, I walked into the campus and saw a number of students from different countries and at that moment I felt strange because everyone was new. I became very close to a girl who was from the same place I was. All the first timers had to go to building 19 next to student life. I asked for the classroom once again and we found out that we were in the same room number and I felt less n...