Personal Narrative: My Journey To Washington State University

Growing up with high expectations my mind has always been set on the idea of college. However when thinking of the “right” college for my future, I never knew If I would be able to fully commit and choose which one was best for me. I wanted something that would be comfortable for me that also meets my criteria that would make the college transition a bit easier. Since I’m going into something new, my decision would end up being based on the class sizes, the costs being affordable, the majors and degrees available for Nursing, and the location and how close it is to my family. It was a hard decision however one school had it all, which is why I’ve decided to further this chapter of my life at West Texas A&M University.

In the fall of 2005, I took my first steps onto the campus of Appalachian State University with my sister who was entering as a freshman. One of my most vivid memories from my childhood is walking hand in hand with my then eighteen year old, wide eyed, and prospective sister into the Watauga dorms. Afterwards, as we left down King Street, I distinctly remember gazing back towards the magnificent North Carolina mountains and yearning to stay. Even at the age of five, I knew that one day I would follow in her footsteps and become an Appalachian Mountaineer.

Ever since my first day on the Evergreen campus, I began to hear the phrase cura personalis everywhere. I heard it in convocation and welcome speeches and found it written throughout admissions pamphlets and even in course syllabi. As a new first-year student, the phrase was introduced to me with the meaning, “care of the whole person.” During my first year at Loyola, I found that there was an abundance of resources and support systems around the Evergreen campus that were there to help students, like myself, navigate collegiate life while nurturing all facets of themselves, including the physical, mental, and emotional. Having been the recipient of these helpful sources, I decided that I wanted to spend my future years at Loyola helping my

After participating in the Health Career Opportunities Program, a Howard University-sponsored accelerated learner’s program, the summer I began my freshman year, I was optimistic about how my college career would turn out. I was confident in what my future grades would be, because we took classes that summer to prepare us. I was sure my journey through Howard University would be a smooth one. This thought was abruptly curtailed in my first spring semester. After doing alright in my Fall semester, I got extremely homesick in my Spring semester after realizing how much I missed home. This made my grades drop far below than anticipated, and unfortunately, this trend continued until Spring of 2017.

When I was at Brigham Young University as a student, I was heavily involved in different student activities as well as leadership programs in order to leave my comfort zone and learn how to work with variety of different people as a team. Especially, I co-founded a new student council for students from Asia at Brigham Young University, serving as a vice-president and a head of event marketing. I tried to unite students from Asia through social, educational, cultural events and to provide opportunities to serve others so that there are no intellectually, spiritually, or emotionally poor students from Asia. As a vice-president, I presided weekly performance meeting to assess progress of upcoming events and keep track of teamwork in order not to burden council members. And I also explored the funding opportunities that are offered by Brigham Young University Student Association and raised $5,000 by sharing our cultural experience to the local high school students during the fall semester of 2013.

My primary goal in attending Michigan State University is to graduate with a dual major in accounting and computer science along with a minor in creative writing. The first way I have prepared to meet this goal is by taking Computer Science I and AP Computer Science along with talking to my computer science teacher about what he recommends I do to be a successful computer programmer. The second way I prepared to meet my goal is by taking Algebra 2 honors instead of regulars along with talking to my uncle who is a very successful accountant in Australia and getting his advice on what to do to become a certified accountant; which he advised that for the United States I take the CPA examination. The third way I have prepared to accomplish my goal

I choose Florida Atlantic University because I felt in love with the sprit of the school. In my opinion FAU has all the requisites to provide me with an extraordinary education. In other words, the school is unknown for one of the best public University in Florida. For me is an honor to be able to represent the university and to able to enrich my academic journey at Florida Atlantic University. Most importantly the locations of the school was very important to me because I want a calm yet diverse area, which I can feel safe and comfortable. Once I step into FAU I knew it was the perfect school and everyone there were so attentive. The smaller classes more of a one-on-one with professors it very important for my educational learning. As a communication

While my upbringing in a rural Midwestern town was an overwhelmingly positive experience for me, it did leave me lacking some of the necessary preparation for attending a four-year institution in an urban area. Due to a lack of qualified instructors, my high school offered very few college-level courses. I am very thankful for the credits that I was able to earn, but the number of credits that I was able to transfer as an incoming freshman pales in comparison to many of my peers at Saint Louis University. As a consequence of my lack of experience with college level coursework, I spent a majority of my first year of college bringing my academic performance up to a level consistent with the high standards I set for myself. Fortunately, I was

Coming from a relatively small high school, I wanted to go to a moderately sized college that retained an atmosphere of school pride. At Washington College, I’ll be in a supportive environment where I can take advantage of various opportunities to gain experience and become actively involved.

My college experience has been very non traditional. Besides from having to work basically full-time for the entirety of my college career, school in general has been a struggle. My freshmen year, I decided to stay near home and attend Govornors State University. At Govornors State, I did very well but I was not enjoying my time there. My family was extremely disappointed in my decision to stay home. I was always told to "get away" and "get the college experience". I knew I did not want to be far away but I wanted to make my parents proud so I made the decision to go to Illinois State University the following fall.

The cold, hard and depressing halls of college are full of stress whenever a test comes around, but for me it was a different experience, because I was 12. I learned many things from the decision to go to The Advanced Learning Center, a college experience that Utah Valley University has. Through it all perseverance was the one that stood out to me, because for the first months I felt like an outsider.

Azusa Pacific University holds a distinct impact on my spiritual life, which in turn impacted my entire life. Entering this journey with faith, building a relationship with God, and finding a community began here, at APU. My sophomore year in High school, my sister was a junior at APU, she introduced me to positive outlook of Christianity, where it plays out not only in Chapel but in the classrooms, with the people, and through the entire campus. I seen through her what impact and transformation Christ can do to a person and I wanted that in my life.

Boston University is the best fit for me because it gives me an all package deal that completes all my wishes and what has specifically led me to apply for admissions was the fact that my cousin, Anthony Esponda, told me how great of a school Boston University was and how it completed all of his wishes too. For starters, BU has the major I need, Chemistry:Biochemistry, that will accomplish my requirements of becoming a successful Podiatrist. Second, after graduating from getting my bachelors and masters, I can move on to Boston University School of Medicine, which takes place conveniently less than three miles away from Boston University, but leaves me no worries of having to travel to a college out of state. Third, pursuing to a college in

The University of Maryland is the next step for me to achieve success. Coming out of high school, I had a feeling college would be the defining moment in my life. It seemed that it took me a long time to realize what I needed to do in order to really fulfill my potential – I took my education for granted. I knew I needed more time to develop before enrolling in a full time, 4-year university such as UMD. Though I struggled, I learned what I would need to do at FCC to succeed through the mistakes I had made in high school. I needed to put my theories to work: If I worked longer and harder, would I succeed? If I put in my best effort, would I get the grade I wanted? With that in mind, I did not allow my brain or body to break when I moved on

“I’ll see you in a week.” Barely a few days into my internship at Washington State University’s Intelligent Robot Learning Lab, my mentor, Professor Taylor, left for a robotics conference.