Personal Narrative: No Ordinary Student Who's Applying To College

Returning to college, after graduating high school twenty-five years earlier, proved to be not only rewarding quite challenging as well. Viewing myself as a self-starter with extensive investigative skills I truly believed college path mapped out correctly, so I never met with an advisor, what a colossal mistake! I had self-scheduled all my courses and although I faced a few obstacles I was finally at the end. After completion of all my pre-requisites I applied to the LPN-RN Fast Track Program, little did I know my past would stop me dead in my tracks.

Coming into the University I didn’t know what to expect, especially with taking 16 hours, and Comp being one of them. Being a first generation college student, has been rough especially since my older sister exceeded my parents expectations. I believe I am capable of succeeding in anything I set my mind to. I have always struggled with English/Writing since English is my second language. Many people tend to get surprised when I tell them I learned English at the age of 4, since they believed English would be my first language since I was born in the United States. Long story short, English is my second language because I was raised by my grandparents, since my parents always dedicated their time to work to provide us with a better future.

Serving others by utilizing the lessons I have learned through my experiences and my talents is how I want to live my life. As a first generation college student, I want to integrate myself in programs or start my own mentorship program where I am able to mentor and give back to students who are first generation college students as well. I feel it’s important to reach out to first generation college students because the amount of pressure we receive with little to no guidance can be discouraging and lead us to feel alone in this process.

1. What experience do you like talking about the most? What has been the most interesting, intriguing, and exciting part of your life- why, and what did you learn from it?

Ever since I was a kid I have always thought about what college I was eventually going to go to. I made the decision in high school that I wanted to be a special education teacher, so I thought about some schools that had that teaching program. My number one school I wanted to attend that had the best teaching program was East Carolina University. Having ECU as my number one choice lead me to apply there. Weeks after I applied I got a letter telling me some sad news that I was not accepted. Since I applied to ECU and did not get in, I was now thinking about applying to other schools like Methodist University or maybe a community college.

Being a non-traditional college student is hard for anyone, for someone who gets anxious easily it can be even harder. I remember my first day of college, I had spent the previous week sick and could barely talk because I still had a lingering cough. Pacing back and forth at home, I contemplated if it was too late to back out and quit school before I had even started. I changed my clothes several times and thought about giving up so much that I was nearly late to my first class. Additionally, in all the excitement I only took the time to know when my classes started and not where they were actually held. I had no idea why I was even here.

Entering community college with little programming experience, I was eager to learn. I registered for my first programming class excited, with a fresh mind. My professor introduced the class to our first program, "Hello World." Instantly, I was hooked. As I uncovered the complexities of problem-solving and the importance of proper syntax, my love grew stronger. Eventually, with experience in C++ and JAVA, another professor presented a life changing opportunity to me.

After recently graduating from Fullerton College with two associate degrees in psychology, I could have not accomplished this goal all by myself without the proper guidance that I received from EOPS and FYSI at the time. These programs were established to support former foster youth at Fullerton College in their education as long as they met all the conditions for each semester. As a result, this was valuable for me during my time as a community college student, allowing me to guarantee that I would finish all my requirements on time to transfer to a good university, and becoming more involved with the campus each semester. That being said, this is one of the main reasons as to why I am applying to your program, so I could receive the support

I remember all the meetings I had during my senior year. They were all suppose to help us prepare for college. All my friends knew what careers they wanted and what they wanted to be in life. Then there was me, I had no clue what career I wanted or what interested me. Knowing that, I was scared to even apply to a college. I was able to overcome the fear of attending college by talking to my 12th grade english teacher and forcing myself to apply to college.

Returning to college has been a prodigious challenge. One in which I determined I would meet head on with resolution. As a fine arts student I was fortunate to find a mentor in the Paradise Valley Community College Theater Director, Andrea Robertson. Andrea perceived potential in me and encouraged pursuit my goals as a writer/director. I took the initiative to approach Andrea with the idea to write and direct my own play in the Advanced Directing course. This past fall that idea came into fruition. As a director I oversaw numerous different areas in the production of my play. These were roles filled by fellow students, allowing the opportunity to provide guidance and leadership to peers. I worked with actors, stage management, set design, prop

I chose to come to community college because I felt it would better benefit me. Most four year universities have difficult obstacles to overcome. Distractions like parties, and other social things can be hard to ignore. For better focus and judgment I chose to come to Faulkner state. Also, I heard good things about the college on how they didn’t tolerate parties and the use of alcohol or drugs and the instructors have good relationships with their students, and to this day I find that very true. Another thing is when I was in the industrial contracting industry I knew going back to school was going to make me happy and make me feel like I had a purpose for my calling in the medical field of radiology. I knew I would feel fulfilled and it would

I am a transfer student from Gadsden State Community College and I have recently lost my job due to the production going over seas. After this had taken place I was given the opportunity for the government to pay for the rest of my schooling. I was given two forms that needed to be filled out by JSU officials stating how long my course, "Secondary Education with a focus in English" would take to complete and how much the tuition for the course would be. When I showed this to the Bursar's office and explained to them what I needed, they gazed at the two sheets of paper as if it was written in a foreign language. They told me I had came to the wrong office, and to try down stairs at the Registrar's office. After much confusion at the Registrar's office, they also gave me a blank stare and told me they did not know what they could do. They then told me to try Ramona Wood Hall and see if I had any better luck there, I did not. I talked to the Secretary for the Department of Secondary Education. She took the two forms from me and told me to come back in two hours and she would find out what was needed. Two hours past by, and as I walked into the room she kindly handed the papers back to me and asked where I got the papers from. She said she has never seen papers like this before and was sorry to say she could not help me in any way.

You’ve been looking forward to your 4th of July…a weekend of your newly found Independence…when, just a mere two weeks ago you delivered a hand-written, heart-felt note…to You Know Who…scribbling out something like…

In the beginning I was unsure of what I wanted to do. I thought I wanted to go into publishing, but I then changed my mind. All I knew is that I wanted to be surrounded by books all day long. When I was younger I spent most of my time in the library. Even in elementary school we had a library class. After interviewing Krista Bowers-Sharpe, I felt like I got a good insight of what life might actually be like for me after I graduate college next year. When she talked about what graduate school was like for her, I felt like I got the most insight in that. I feel better about applying to grad school now. I was worried at first and I was unsure if I wanted to go. After talking about the types of classes that she took and her experiences, I feel

Brad Pitt once said, “You must lose everything in order to gain anything.” Stanly Early College was my dream when I was in the seventh grade. Though it was my dream, I didn’t know that going to it will make me lose aspects of my life. The journey coming and being here has changed me and made me realized what is more important. Being here has taken me on a different journey. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I applied for Stanly Early College. The future then was so vivid and still is. When I found out I got in there were mixed emotions. It was the first time I ever cried tears of joy. People tried to put me down and still do, but I want to prove them wrong. I want to say I can do it and there is nothing you can stop me. Being