Graduation Speech : My Educational Background

I always expected to feel differently when applying for college, and especially when getting accepted. But it did not go quite how I had always pictured. I had been out of school and working, and started to lose the urgency or desire to leave for college right away. I was not ready to leave home and all my loved ones and so I slacked on keeping up with all the college stuff like I should have been doing. One day I finally applied to the only place I set my sights on, not really expecting much. And to my surprise, I was accepted. There, everything changed.

As a child being raised in the corporate auto industry, and an active-duty military wife whose husband is currently serving in his 24th year; I have moved every two to four years my entire life. I just completing my 22nd move this past year. This constant change has afforded me the ability to learn to adjust quickly and adapt to new surroundings as well as constantly has exposed me to different cultures, traditions, and customs that I have cherished. This is a skill that I believe is an asset to Social Work. My educational background is compiled numerous institutions from my many military moves. This demonstrates my unwavering commitment my determination to achieving my set goals despite the challenges set before me. My bachelor 's degree is in Business Management, and my associates degree was in the area of General Studies, both of which I graduated cum laude with a GPA of 3.87. Along with the general education requirements, my associate’s degree consisted of 26 units in the area of Biological Science and 15 units of Psychology. I have always been drawn to understanding and helping others. I have been an avid volunteer in the various states I have lived in. In Huntington Beach, California, I volunteered with the American Red Cross. In Groton, Connecticut, I volunteered with the Sunshine Soup Kitchen and Homeless Shelter. In Orlando, Florida, I volunteered with Second Harvest Food Bank. Most recently in Virginia Beach, Virginia, I volunteered with Virginia Beach

Day after day I had always regretted not finishing school. Every day that went by Reminded me how much I needed to complete my education. I would remember applying to jobs and always seeing that dreaded sentence saying “must have High school diploma or equivalent’’. The memory of those days still feel as if it was just yesterday that I was without education. Growing up I never realized how much I would need education in my life. Education is needed to overall make a decent living in order to survive. All of the jobs that I was working at the time were either fast food or hard labor. In my early 20’s I soon figured that there were no short cuts to success. If I wanted to make decent money, I need a decent education. I then started researching how to get my General education diploma. Since I was too old to return to high school to finish that was my only option. I remember it was like yesterday walking onto the Community college property where the test was given to inquire about signing up to take it. Everything on campus looked so well put together in my eyes. I knew at that time that I wanted to be a future college student. I felt like I belonged there, but I was missing one thing a GED to qualify for enrollment. Being in the scenery of an actual college environment showed me just how much I was missing and made me more determined to follow up on my dreams of one-day graduating from college. As I neared the testing centers door my heart started pounding. I noticed that I

Throughout my childhood and up to my adolescence, I promised myself not to get involved in drugs or alcohol. Of course, this thought process changed more and more with age, but I managed to avoid drinking alcohol up until I was sixteen years old. It was then that, along with alcohol and college parties, I experimented with marijuana as well. Luckily, I seldom felt addicted to either drug and only did them occasionally in high school, maybe monthly. My education and reputation was far more important than achieving a high, and I was able to graduate with a 4.0 grade point average and over 30 college course credits from Kirkwood Community College, also with a 4.0 GPA.

When living in America, the chances of one having received some form of general education are high. Schools come in all shapes and sizes to accommodate the needs and preferences of parents and students; they can range between the extremes of religious to liberal arts and private to public education. In E.B. White’s “Education”, he describes his son’s shift from a city private school to a country public school. In contrast, the public education I received before entering college was very different from the experiences of White’s son as a child.

With more than 15 years experience in higher education at the university, state, and national level, I can genuinely say I enjoy my work. For many prospective students, the college admissions process is an arduous and daunting task. As a higher education administrator, college admissions and enrollment management allows me to improve the college search experience, provide avenues of opportunity, and assist students with what is potentially the first and most important adult decision they will make.

My educational experience is just now beginning as of now I am taking an English class also over summer I took an online academic skills class. Although online classes don’t do college justice you don’t really get the full college experience. As of now I am just focusing on my general education then eventually I hope to attend an RN program. So as of my educational experience this far would be high school and as Dweck author of Brainology would say I had a fixed mindset during high school even during grade school. Fixed mindsets care so much about how smart they will appear that they will reject learning opportunities. Which is exactly what I did during high school. Always thought as long as I was passing why try harder to get a better grade. Even if getting a better grade wouldn’t necessarily be hard.

It has been nearly four centuries since the first higher education institution in America, Harvard University, was founded in 1636. Ever since, one of the most critical facets in the ideal of upward mobility, in the United States and around the globe, remains the college degree. However, with the rising costs of obtaining a degree, many students have been challenged with the question of whether attending university and/or obtaining a degree is even worth the financial investment. Former CBS anchor Dan Rather answers it best, “A college degree is the key to realizing the American dream, well worth the financial sacrifice because it is supposed to open the door to a world of opportunity.” So, yes, despite the high and rising costs of obtaining a university degree, it is very much worth the expense as it prepares a more highly skilled workforce for post-collegiate careers, it promotes the betterment and advancement of society, and the value of a degree creates monetary opportunities and benefits later on.

2. Should I say goodbye then and there with a hug, see how that goes, and then maybe a kiss if I don’t get red-lighted

As a group we decided to include a “College Success” course for freshman within out First Year Experience. Instead of making the course required, we would prefer to make the class optional and offered for 2 credits. The class would be for 50 minutes per day and either Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday and available both spring and fall semesters for first-year students at High Point University. The course would be recommended to all freshman for the fall semester in order to assist in the transition to college life, but would be offered spring semester as well for students who struggled first semester with becoming acclimated to the university.

“I had been enrolled in a math resource classes from the ninth grade, and was instructed at a slightly lower grade level than my classmates. Despite this, I was repeatedly administered the TCAP on a higher grade level than the one at which I was taught. As a result, I was unable to pass the math section by the end of the senior year” (page 73).

A decade or two ago, a college education was considered more so a privilege rather than a choice. Today, our society takes education for granted by opting out of it because of the expenses, the stress and many other reasons that comes with going to school. Is a college education still worth having? Arguments will continually arise that it is no longer needed to be successful in today’s world. However, research and statistics continually prove that having one will remain far more beneficial than not earning one. Your time in college is the prime time for you to explore your options, make lifelong connections, and discover your strengths and weaknesses while working to earn something that will give you the feeling of pride. Life after college is significantly better for college graduates because they attract high paying employers which in turn will help earn a higher income, not to mention the added perks that will provide security and satisfaction in life. Above all those reasons, getting an education is an example and a legacy you can pass on to your children.

My Father once said to me, “Work hard for four years of college, or work hard for the rest of your life.” What he meant, was that if I pour all my effort and hard work into achieving a degree during the four years I am in college, I will most likely live comfortably the rest of my life, as opposed to not having a college degree; breaking my back every time I go to work. However, the college life has many elements that prevent it from being a piece of cake, elements consisting of society 's views of college. Attaining a higher education becomes strenuous when the outlook on college begins to be highly criticized as corrupt by society. My college experience has led me to think the exact opposite of what society believes , and I am

Everyone is entitled to have the opportunities to succeed in their education, however, not everyone has the privilege to receive a great education from the start. Due to the factors that might interfere or hinder education, such as economic and geographic matters, many programs have been developed in order to help students with their journey throughout college and high school. The Puente Project is one of the many programs that has been around for three decades assisting underrepresented students to further their education. The program believes in the potential of their students, especially when given the right tools and opportunities to achieve academic success.

During high school, my aspirations were to attend Idaho State University while I worked to save for an LDS mission. Following graduation at Bonneville High, I had been accepted into the university, and received several scholarships. Despite my awards, and desire to go, I was overcome with feelings of unease. So, after much prayerful consideration, I made the choice not to further my education until after my mission. However, soon after, the thought that I needed to apply to BYU-Idaho in Rexburg crossed my mind. Never did I have intentions of attending BYU-I, nor did I want to.