Personal Narrative: Why I Majored In Pursuing My Master Degree

My decision to go back to school in the fall of 2012 was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I’m a stay at home mom of 4 boys with 2 of them being special needs. My oldest was born with a rare genetic condition called hereditary spastic paraplegia and my youngest son was born with a rare condition called Dravet Syndrome that requires 24/7 care. I was at a point in my life where I had lost my identity of who I was and I wanted to be me again. I made that important decision to go back to school for myself with the fear of how I was going to do it, but I knew that it was right. It took me 3 years to complete my AS but with the support of my husband and kids I was able to receive my degree. I worked hard and was able to juggle being

Growing up my father taught me many life lessons; one that I will never forget was when he told me: “A man living in a house without light will never know where he is going or what he wants to do.” At the time I did not understand what that meant until one day he explained in to me. Without proper goals a person is just lost in darkness and unable to find their way in life. By working towards my goals, I feel that I am constantly growing as an individual and learning how to approach all sorts of situations that life throws at me. Recently, being a part of the EOF Nursing School Program at Rutgers University, I feel that I have just set the foundation to achieving my goals which include graduating with my Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing alongside one day opening a home for the less fortunate in Guyana.

I always believed that things would just work out in the end. That I did not need to be wrapped up in over complicated situations because they would unravel themselves. I had this idea that I would grow up, go to college, and then get a job. My older brother Joseph had a similar idea. He started at the University of Dayton in August of 2015, but decided to come back home to our house in Bucks County at the end of October in 2015. His simple decision of “college wasn’t for me” had single handedly ripped me from my cozy reality that “everything works out” and had pitted my family against one another.

Making that first step to complete independence isn’t always easy. Being the first person in my family to ever attend college, I knew I was travelling into uncharted territory, one where I wasn't sure what to expect. My dad, a concrete worker, my mom an esthetician both came from very little and never had the chance to attend college. Both of my brothers decided against college and went to work for my father in the concrete business. For this reason, I was a little bit hesitant to venture too far from my home my first year. What if something went wrong? What if I couldn’t do it? I am happy I stayed home and attended Daemen my freshman year, because it opened my eyes to a great deal of things, and helped me find what I want to do with the rest of my life. Since I was little I always knew I wanted a career that involved helping people, especially children. The first semester of my freshman year I took a class called “Healthcare Studies

Curiosity is what brings me to the University of Michigan. All the sweat and determination and hard work, I have put in all my life will pay off when I get into the school of my dreams. The countless of hours and stress I put myself in will pay off when my job is something I love. My drive is what distinguishes me from everyone else. I have one goal, to have a career I love doing. All along that has been my drive. The only thing is, my goal was too broad. This is because I personally believe it’s hard to make a decision now about what I want my life to be, when this is the time where were barely trying to figure ourselves out. So aside from my goal, my drive was to get good grades, to have the best attendance, to be the best in my class.

Everyone always told me, “You need to go to college,” but I was thinking about it in an entirely different way than they were. I thought college was needed to get a degree and a good paying job, which is actually true, but college is also needed because it teaches so much more than what can be learn in class. It teaches life lessons, it forces me to become more independent, and provides me with a great experience that I can take with me whenever I leave college and go out into the real world. The key to surviving freshman year is by taking advantage of all these things that will help me grow as a person.

Having been sponsored to leave China and study in the states, I had seemingly abandoned my piano career; my family simply did not have the funds to purchase another piano for me or pay for lessons. This changed when I received 50% off piano tuition from Cape Cod Conservatory and a grant from Olive Cahoon Classical Piano Scholarship Awards in order to pursue my future piano study in the US. Remarkably, I had also been donated a piano from John Gage, allowing me to pursue my passion. I simply could not comprehend the generosity of these strangers whom I had never met. Instead of furthering my own need, I now take time to volunteer for local charities and places in need, such as playing piano in senior homes, volunteering in hospitals and elementary

According to the National Center for Education, about 80 percent of the students in the United States end up changing their major at least once. In fact, I myself am part of that 80 percent. Not only did I change my major, I changed Universities in order to discover who I’am and find a suitable career for me.

What makes me an outstanding student is that I work really hard through the obstacles I’ve struggled in. I come prepared each day to school eager to learn and work hard. I’ve challenged myself throughout the years by adding challenging classes to keep me driven and learn something new. One thing you should know about me is that when things get hard I don’t give up. I use it as a motivation to push harder. I am a diverse student who speaks Fulani, English and French fluently. I use it to my advantage to differentiate myself from myself fellow peers. I’m curious to learning new things and center around myself with positive people who motivates me to push harder and reach my goals. My parents raised me to be the best that I can be. I’m a good

My very first choice is elementary education. I chose elementary education, because I love working with children, and I have had the opportunity to work with them as a teacher’s aide giving me the enjoyable insight of what it’s like to teach.

I recently earned a master’s degree in the field of marriage and family therapy. I know that to be successful in graduate work it takes a great deal of passion, dedication and a number of

Mom always told me that if I don’t keep the score up I will have to find a job someday. The score is just what my mom and I call my grades. She means that if I don’t keep up my grades she would stop giving me monthly allowance and you know kids these days, that's what keeps us going. I always listened to her until I started playing basketball. Everyday after school I went to basketball training for two whole hours and I know what you’re going to say, why don’t you do your homework after basketball? Well, you see my team always has these team parties. On other days I have to go to my older sister’s lacrosse games. She is a pro at it or should I say she was a pro at it. Lately, she has been missing all the goals. Now she is always yelling at me and bossing me around. She is always saying “Stephanie bring me this...and Stephanie bring me that…” If you are wondering who is Stephanie? Stephanie is me. Stephanie Helen Cooper, yup that’s me.

I was raised to be a Purdue fan. My dad attended in 1986, seven out of nine of his siblings attended, so growing up I was always told I could “follow in my family’s footsteps”. When I was younger I accompanied my father at Boiler sporting events, dressed to the nines in black and gold. I would clap when he clapped. Cheer when he cheered. High fived those around me like he did. However, I did not feel like I belonged there, and that is what led me here. It was not until I met David Hon, who would eventually become my stepdad, in 2010. He had graduated with a Bachelor’s degree at Indiana University, the school I was brought up to despise. One day he took me to see the campus and the flowers, trees, and the general simplicity of nature and my

For the entirety of my school years I have always been awful at math. I really started to struggle with it during high school I barely passed most of my math classes but I never really got the jist of what was being taught. Which is why I knew immediately I did not want to major in engineering. The biggest problem with this major is all the math involved, because math is not my strong suit I wouldn’t be able to work to my best ability so my job would not feel very successful. I think I need a career that I can strive in and know that I am good at it so that the result will be just as good. I also would like a career that doesn’t require as much math as an engineer has to. This is why I do not want to major in engineering.

In this essay I will identify the reason I want to continue my education through Spring Arbor University. I am currently a registered nurse in an emergency department and have been for almost 6 years. I have been in charge of the unit many times and have enjoyed teaching others. I would like to advance my degree for multiple reasons. The primary reason is that a Master’s degree is distinguishable and shows commitment to the field of nursing. Furthermore, it shows dedication and motivation of an individual to complete a degree that only about ten percent of nurses are able to accomplish.