Module 1 SLP; Review Education pays: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society

Many people believe that a college education is a worthy investment. The ability to become a college graduate will result in making more money. There are more jobs in today’s society that require college degrees. College graduates develop more and better employment opportunities within earning a degree. Self-discipline is a major element in becoming a successful graduate. Also, college graduates are healthier and live longer. Adults-young and old, male and female-who have a bachelor’s degree or higher have twice the annual median income than someone with only a high school degree ("Do college graduates," 2014).

A strong family life, faith, and ambition characterize my development. A lot of who I am now can be attributed to the manner in which my parents raised me. I grew up in a devout Mormon household, so from a young age my parents instilled values of love, honesty, and kindness.

Every time my mother used to tell me my dad was perfect and I should also be like him. My mother said he provides everything I ask for because he studied well in his childhood. My dad used to help me when I am trying to solve difficult math problems, he told me problem solving skills will come easily if you read the question carefully and think about it, the answer will come easily to you. He helped me with my studies and pointed out my mistakes, so that I could fix them and never make them again. He showed me better ways to study rather than just memorize whatever is written in the textbook and write all that in the exam. He was always patient with me and I admire him for it. I have a four year old sister right now and she looks up to me, I want to set the right example. I want my sister to see me as her role model. I want to make her proud and say “That is my big sister.” That is my dream and I want to achieve it no matter what. After all, who doesn’t want to be a role model for their younger siblings? This is another reason I want to join the team.

First, college degree graduates have better opportunities in finding a high wage job. “Graduates enjoy increased

I firmly believe that the people i've surrounded myself with have helped me become the person I am today. I think that they have helped me become a leader in my own right and have pushed me to achieve reach my full potential. The passion that I have has forced me to be the leader i am in the sense that i push for the goals I know are reachable and it has also allowed me to be the leader that compromises when it comes to the people I work with. I’m adaptable, positive, and i maximize where and when I

Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill report that bachelor’s degree holders make on average around 10% more than those with high school diplomas. They also write that a college education improve one’s standard of living. Gaining a bachelor’s degree is not accomplishable by everyone due to different reasons, so only a select few will be able to receive these benefits, given colleges’ selectivity.

Many college students choose to also get more than one degree while attending college to earn more income and further their education. College graduates have the choice of get higher level degrees and training resulting in earn even more income based on the different higher level degrees earned and training received (this means the more degrees and training you have the more income you may receive). People with higher level degrees and training earn more money that those without degrees. In 1996, for example, workers with bachelor's degrees had median annual earnings of about $36,000, while college graduates with more advanced degrees earned around $40,000 (Mittelhauser 3). This is a four-thousand dollar difference in income; this is only one of several examples of how people who graduate college make more money than the average high school graduate and that of people with lower-level degrees. The median annual wage for a bachelor’s degree in 2010 was $63,430. While the median annual wage for a person with a doctoral or professional degree in 2010 was $87,500 ("Employment by Education and Training Assignment, 2010 and Projected 2020"). This is almost a twenty-four thousand difference income just based off of median annual wage of different degrees. The income difference from college graduates than to those of high school graduates is great. College graduates are getting better wages and job openings than those of high school graduates (“President’s Perspective:

Being a leader was never my strong suit, but I often put myself in situations that required me to improve. I would frequently see my younger family seeking advice but were often discouraged since they felt uncomfortable asking their elders. This led to me becoming their mentor because I experienced similar issues first due to being a first generation student.

Going to college to receive a higher education could be one of the biggest obstacles of your life. If it is not the biggest obstacle than it’s certainly the most important. Frank Bruni’s opening question is more appealing to the transition from HighSchool to College. In HighSchool we were all taught to think a certain way when completing any task that dealt with learning. We were taught to remember and understand any work that was taught to students. Even when teachers gave test, they were only testing your ability to remember the material given. High school teachers’ number one objective was for students to remember what is said to pass the exam. However, in college these thinking skills are not acceptable. So approaching Frank Bruni’s opening question “‘What’s the most transformative educational experience you’ve had?’” I had to approach this question with higher thinking or else it would be a High School placement essay. I responded by of course using a little remembering and understanding because I have to understand the words in the question and remember the meaning of them. However, I mostly used theoretical ideas, some logic, understood the value of the question, and finally I combined all of my approaches to see how it would positively increase my diversity in college knowledge.

Having a bachelor’s degree also comes with a high ranking position and an increased salary which leads to more responsibilities for the individual.

Getting a successful career after graduating from college has an outcome of “earning $20,000 more a year as a result of having gotten that degree” (Source F). Because all of the money spent for college would be paid off after a few years, college is worth its cost. Also, “86% [of college graduates] say that college has been a good investment for them” (Source F). Students who invest earlier for college are benefitted because they get a portion of their money back that they utilized for their education. Earning a bachelor’s degree after graduating makes college more worth it, because “workers with a bachelor’s degree [make 83 percent] more than those with only a high-school diploma” (Source D). Making 83 percent more than the young adults that did not go to college proves that

“Bachelor’s degree graduates should see the most hiring, with a 7-percent increase in available jobs” (Johnson 295). Bachelor degree will see an increase in hiring but,“the unemployment rate for people with graduate degrees is 3 percent compared with 5 percent unemployment rate for those with a BA” (Carnevale, Cheah, and Strohl 299).The unemployment rate isn’t the big distinguisher between getting a Bachelor’s degree and a Graduate’s degree. According to Rampell, the problem is that “college graduates are having trouble paying off student loan debt” (294). The more school a student has the more loans they have to pay off. Students have to decide if the unemployment rate outweighs the debt involved. Either way, all three articles support at least getting a Bachelor’s degree so that student can be successful in their

The benefits of a college degree are not just for money, but also a college degree will also give a person more career options. A person with a college degree will have more career options than someone without a college degree because employers will see that one has a college degree and think that person knows what to do and can do the job well. Employers want the best person for the job and a college degree looks really good on a person’s resume (Ten Great…). In a survey that was casted to see what employers look for, those employers said that they wanted people that have dependability, reliability, a good attitude, the ability to read comfortably, the ability to think more consciously, computer skills, and the ability to communicate clearly whether it be spoken or in writing (Knowledge and…). Along the path of getting a college degree, one will also learn these skills and attributes.

As a future leader, I will have many opportunities to do things that have a positive and lasting impact on the lives of others. This impact will be shaped by the actions, beliefs and values that I have gained through my various life experiences, especially those experiences from my family. I have had many people that have influenced me in positive ways: my parents, my hockey coaches at Loomis Chaffee and at Cushing Academy, and some of my teachers at Cushing Academy. If I had to choose an individual that has impacted my life in terms of leadership, that person would be my father. Thus, I would like to emulate his values, beliefs and actions in my future. I hope to be a man and a leader of fine character, and I hope to make my

The biggest learning experience to me so far is life itself. I feel that way because there is so much to learn in life. It takes growing up for me to learn in life. I am now beginning to understand the value of learning because a year ago I did not appreciate learning. I did not value it like I value it now. I took it for granted as if learning could just be given to me. I realize now that it has to be earned. My attitude in high school was bad because I really did not feel I was learning, so I took it for granted. In high school I felt as if the teachers were jokes and I also felt they did not care about educating me properly. I am now starting to learn the value of an education. I now look forward to learning new things everyday. I feel that I am beginning to have a passion for learning. I never thought that I would feel this way about learning because I never did appreciate it like I do now. I now actually yearn to learn; I feel that I need to learn new things. Every assignment I have done in college is teaching me something new. I think I feel this way because I am maturing and I now view learning differently than I did