Personal Statement: A Career As A Non Traditional Student

I am a nontraditional student, currently employed by Children’s Mercy Hospital where I work as the Division Manager for the Emergency Department. I am a senior at UMKC, who will move directly into a Masters program upon completion of my BLA degree. I was born in Wallace, Idaho but have lived all over the country (Hawaii, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Dallas, and Seattle) and now reside in the Waldo/Brookside area. I have taken several online courses and have enjoyed them all. I particularly like an instructor who loads the entire class online from day one. I am very busy with my job and family and like to have the option to work ahead a little just in case something comes up at work unexpectedly. I took English 311 American Literature

Many students have aspirations about attending the college of their dreams, but many people lack financial support and are not able to go because of high tuition payments, such as housing, and other college expenses. U.S. Student Loans Debt Statistics for 2017 indicate that “the cost of attending college is becoming a growing burden for a huge portion of Americans.” (Student Loan Hero). Students are left with the option of dropping and leaving school. Even after receiving some financial support, such as scholarships and grants, students have limited amount of money to pay off their expenses. At the start of their college career, students apply for the colleges they would like to go to, and many forget about the financial decision that is required to pay for college. “A 2010 study on more than 200,000 freshmen at four-year colleges, more students rated themselves as below average in emotional health than ever before. The financial stress of worrying about their college loans and whether they’ll find a job after college and the day to day stress of making decisions for themselves in all aspects of their lives.” (Allianz). Unfortunately, freshman students are the main group of college students that go through financial conflicts, leading to stress about how to pay for college. Some students choose to work their way through college. “Others decide they’d rather be making money working full time than pursuing a costly degree. Still others become discouraged at the prospect of incurring loan debt” (College View). According to Public Agenda, “Work is the top reason young adults give for not returning to college once they leave. More than a third (36 percent) of those who left school say that even if they had a grant that fully paid for tuition

Growing up, it is easy to imagine the future playing out something like this: attend college, score that dream job, get rich, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after. It all sounds pretty familiar, however many young adults find that life does not always happen so simply. There are horror stories everywhere. Students graduate, fail to find a job in their field as they expected, and are left feeling hopeless as their credit card and loan bills pile sky high. Take Paige Nichols for example. Paige grew up in a family that was well-off financially. Her parents were able to pay for her two younger siblings’ college educations and, like many middle class children, she was used to getting what she wanted. However, by the time it was her turn to go to college, her parents’ financial situation had gone downhill and she was left to pay for her education by herself. After four years she graduated with a business degree and $20,000 in debt to go with it. Her payment plan was set at $300 per month, and although she had jobs, she was used to living frivolously, and therefore only made the bare minimum payment of $50 most months. This left her in a position where she would remain in debt until she was 50 years old. A few years after graduating with her bachelor’s, she considered going back for her master’s in forensic psychology, something she had grown very fond of. However, since she was already inundated with student debt and could not afford to spend an extra

When I was around eight years old, I realized that my goals in life were very different from those of the people around me. Drawing, building, and getting my hands dirty with the work that I saw needed to be done around me were things I liked to do. My friends wanted to grow up to be actresses, chefs, astronauts, and one even wanted to be president; however, I was never like that. My younger self knew that when she grew up, she would want to do something that she loved, not something that everyone else wanted her to love.

As a student who values the opportunity to work with his professors and peers, Northwestern seems to be a large fit. The unique research and lab opportunities presented at the school interest me. Particularly, the argalabb, or the Assistive and Rehabilitation Laboratory, and the Economics Group are what interest me. Throughout my life, I have been heavily involved with sports. Unfortunately, I have had to struggle through many injuries, having torn my wrist ligaments three times as well as hurting my back and knees. Although these injuries pale in comparison to those who live with crippling injuries and can no longer walk, stand, or perform simple daily functions, my own predicament led to me to being more involved and interested in ways to deal with physical issues.

After reading A Child Called It in the seventh grade, I aspired to become a psychiatrist. I wanted to help people who were unable to help themselves. That is until I realized that my true loves in life were solving algebraic equations, taking calculus classes, and finding my own ways to make problems easier. I loved to graph equations and estimate growth. My love of math alone never led me to another career path. It was when I became a member of the Student Council that I realized that I could still desire to help and lead people while incorporating my aptitude for math. Being in Student Council for the last three years, I have been given the opportunity to take charge of a group while making a change in our school and community. This extracurricular has impacted me more

I am from a family of very low income. My father who is my primary sponsor makes $800 a month (lower than the minimum wage here in Texas). As my parents are both supporting me and my younger sister (who is also pursuing her degree in Political Science at the University of Dar-es-Salaam), it is getting harder and harder to support all of us together with themselves in that equation and as a result, my parents are in considerable debt. They are living paycheck to paycheck with no savings and it hurts me so much that I put them in this position because of my pursuit of education here. Though my little sister is working part-time and on school breaks, she still requires my parent's financial support. Being an international student here in America,

When I was 22 years of age, I walked through graduation ceremonies at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, CA. It was a proud day for my mom in addition to many of my relatives who were present because I had overcome one of the greatest hurdles in a young man’s life: A college degree. I could now get a job in the “real world” and the “real world” was now my oyster. Unfortunately, that world did not actually exist for me because I did not actually have my degree. In fact, I found out the “hard way” that not having a degree significantly inhibits your opportunities in life as well as one’s income.

My story began in December 1997, Midwest City, Oklahoma. During these past eighteen years, I have lived at eight different addresses, each of them impacting my life in countless ways. Each address, every new friend, and all of my varied experiences collectively shaped who I am today. Due to these numerous moves, which to some might seem difficult, I have attended many different schools over the course of my education. However, I believe it has been a blessing to have lived and studied in all the places I have; I see this life as a great privilege. As a military dependent whose father is a loyal member of the United States Air Force, the importance of service, character, honor, and the strength to adapt to change have been instilled in me from a young age. In effect, these various experiences have ultimately led to my aspirations to be a college student and an athlete.

I have always been active, both in and out of the classroom. Throughout my years as a high school student, I've been involved with many activities such as baseball, various clubs and school programs, internships, and volunteer experiences. I have taken comfort in these avocations, looking to pursue them in the future as well.

I started college as an undeclared freshman with no clue what the future held for me. I signed up for whatever random classes my advisor threw at me and hoped for the best. It wasn't until the end of my first semester that I started to get an image in my head of what I actually wanted to major in: Asian Studies. I never really expected to figure out a major my first year of college, let alone my first semester. By then I realized I really wanted to learn Japanese, too late of course as I was spending my time learning Italian instead of the language I really wanted to be learning. When I realized I had to wait all the way until the next fall to enroll in a Japanese class I was disappointed, I had found something I really wanted and I couldn't have it until I became a sophomore. I didn't want to wait. I decided I was going to spend my summer learning as much of the Japanese language as I could, and what better placed to learn it than in Japan? That’s how I found the KCP International Japanese Language School and decided I needed to apply.

I have a talent that I am proud of that will help me get through High School and will potentially help me for my future in college and after that. The talent that I have is my skill at solving logical problems and finding tricky solutions. I believe that this is an important talent is because it helps me do better at math than some people because it allows me to think about ways I can solve problems easier. I believe that this will help me because I will be able to perform better in math allowing me to major in Mathematics so I can become a math teacher. This also allows me to perform well in Engineering because math is one of the most important tools that you will need in order to be a good engineer. Due to my impressive skills and being able

While being a student at New Prague High School, I have been on the A Honor Roll for all semesters and trimesters (we were on a trimester system my freshman year). I have also been granted the Academic All-Star Award two times throughout my academic history. In addition to being recognized as a student, I have received numerous awards as an athlete as well. My summer going into my junior year, I earned the Sportsmanship Player Award in a summer softball tournament; recognizing me for my positive attitude, composure, and team leadership. That following spring in my junior softball season, I was awarded All Conference Honorable Mention for the first time. As a senior it is a goal of mine to regain these awards as well as exceed

In all senses, I am not a traditional student. I have spent most of my formative years in therapy and at mental health units. I know more about the amygdala than math proofs, but this has given me an emotional maturity that others my age lack. Through therapy I have developed useful traits; I know my strengths and weaknesses like the back of my hand. I have developed efficient communication skills. I already know how to manage and minimize

There are three things that are guaranteed in this life; death, taxes and college loans. More and more millennials are getting college loans or deciding to skip college entirely and immediately enter the work force. This can inadvertently affect the psyche and relationships that young people build. While Maria Konnikova and Robin Hennig covered a vast amount of challenges that a young person faces in this day and age it seems that one important issue may have slipped through the cracks: college loans. Loans have become a near necessity to anyone who wants to pursue high education. Without them even the best of students would not be able to get into the illustrious institutions such as FAU that provide these services. While most would probably just write this off and a necessary evil that most people have to accept, they may be only taking it at surface value. The true problem lies within the cycle that these loans cause. One must put take out a loan in order to get into college, putting themselves or their parents in a form of debt. They then must work all the way through college to get the degree they need in order to obtain the job that will kickstart their career and provide them with funds which they then have to use to pay off said debt along with paying for other utilities such as an apartment, food and car assuming that they moved out of their parents' house after college thus beginning their "emerging adulthood." Loans can in a way become a parasite affecting every