Public Service Personal Statement

As a recent graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and a new Research Technician at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, becoming more familiar with different healthcare settings and helping others in doing so have always been of my interest. From my experience of volunteering as a piano teacher for inner-city children in Baltimore, I have learnt that even a small commitment and emotional support can make a big difference in the daily lives and the happiness of those in need. I have briefly familiarized myself to the hospital environment by shadowing physicians and conducting biomedical research but have yet to translate my volunteering experiences and the lessons learnt from them to the healthcare setting. I am a friendly, optimistic,

To expand upon Sue and Sue’s (2003) three primary categories of awareness, knowledge, and skill that are foundational to practicing culturally competent counseling, I believe for myself I will need to further process, explore, and ultimately find peace with multicultural issues I have encountered in my life and continue to struggle with. Often times I don’t like to go there with myself in my thoughts, feelings, and words because it makes me feel weak, less than, or other. My personal negative experiences of being pigeonholed a deviant when it comes to sexual orientation and variant with gender roles by society at large is something I am constantly reminded of and experiencing. Living as I am in a heteronormative society that operates with a sexual dichotomy has an

For the past six years, I have had the privilege of sharing my first language, Spanish, and Spanish culture as a teacher at a small private elementary school in a small rural town where diversity is almost non-existent. It has been a pleasure to open up a window to the outside world in the classrooms of this school where the students and I get to explore Spanish culture and language without having to leave town. My experience sharing my culture as well as my bilingual skills, however, extends beyond the elementary school classroom. Prior to teaching Spanish at the elementary school level, I worked as a Spanish-English translator and interpreter at various companies, and I also taught Spanish to adults.

Tulane, being the first private research university in the nation to institute a public service requirement for graduation, clearly attracts students who are similarly motivated towards civic engagement and public outreach. As an active member of the Service Council at the William Penn Charter School, I have witnessed firsthand the value of learning outside of the classroom and engaging with the world. One of the projects I am most involved with is providing meals for the hungry at the St. Francis Inn soup kitchen. As a food server at the Inn, I have learned more about mankind and interactions between people than would ever be possible in a classroom alone. Penn Charter high school, through its Quaker philosophy, has inspired me to seek out a life devoted to the common good. As a result of service learning courses at Tulane, such as Conservation Biology and Pathways to Urban Sustainability, I will be learning, applying knowledge and making an impact before I even graduate.

I have been very involved with serving my community throughout my life, and more so in the past few years because of my experience in the International Baccalaureate program and its service requirements.

My life experience, coupled with my recent studies, gives me a perspective and skill set that is all encompassing in a setting that promotes and honors academic excellence. As a life-long learner, I am choosing to pursue my MSW to accentuate my professional expertise with clinical proficiency in order to serve the Latino Community, with a special interest on immigrant children, and develop emotional resilience that will last them a lifetime.

What do working in a jail, knee surgery, and obtaining a local government job in Davidson County have in common? For me, each has played a role in the journey of my career. My journey has led me to a juncture, where in order to reach my potential, I plan to pursue an advanced degree. After outlining my career to date, I will explain my rationale behind the pursuit of an MPA degree, and discuss why Appalachian State’s program, specifically, appeals to me.

Throughout my life, I have always known that helping others would be an integral part of my career. In college, I searched for my identity and looked at a variety of career paths. However, I always came back to public service. It is the only profession that perfectly matches my personality and goals. In the public sector my job is more than a paycheck because I know the work I perform makes a difference. While there is certainly more fortune, free time, and privacy to be found in other careers, especially in the private sector, I cannot think of a more rewarding occupation.

I first considered Peace Corps service in 2008, after learning my Aunt and Uncle had served as a couple for 5 years in Africa. Having only been eleven, I knew I was not mature or old enough for such a commitment. However, as I grew so did my desire to make a difference a global scale would not dissipate and that someday I would fulfill this inner call. I have always been a service-oriented person; from my early days volunteering in a local nursing home, to leadership positions in service organizations throughout high school, and volunteering abroad in India, Mexico and soon Vietnam.

I would love to become a staff member again on Viper as you can see from my extensive amount of applications. I feel like becoming a staff member will double the love I have for Viper. Also, of course, I have a great passion to help out on the server and help to clear out the server of cheaters and rule breakers as I believe these types of people ruin the experience for others by, as I say later in my application, using the skills I have learnt from previous experience and. Furthermore, I recently decided to stop cheating, something I had done for a very long time, without staffing or cheating I have no motivation to play and have been playing mini games for the last month. Also from this experience, I have gained a broad knowledge of the act of cheating and hiding

Non nobis nati sumus (Not for ourselves alone are we born) Cautions the philosopher Cicero. Over the last several years I have engaged in projects whose sole purpose was to improve the lives of people. As the undergraduate chapter of my career comes to a close, I now look forward to writing a new chapter of service and dedication. I intend to build a foundation of knowledge that will harness my experiences and focus my passion as a member of the Peace Corps. I feel a true calling to serve in the Peace Corps because this program revolves around many of my life goals and aspirations: to travel and learn the native language of the region by integrating into the community, but most importantly, to serve others in a deep and meaningful way.

Growing up in a heterosexual world as a Lesbian who remained in many closets, has shape my identity and the way I will transact with people for the rest of my life. Upon coming out of closet, or being pushed out (by suspension from parents and friends) at the age of eighteen or nineteen I quickly assumed the bi-sexual title because it meant at least there was hope for me in the future. This proved to be worse for my self-esteem, and may have caused the most damage because even though I was free to come out, I was still afraid (somewhat) of taking the big leap and being totally ostracized by my friends and people I know. So I felt one million times worst trying to be bi-sexual than I ever did

I was looking for an interactive study abroad experience where I could obtain more experience doing fieldwork, and found this specific program. The aspects of this class that primarily caught my attention were the opportunity to do fieldwork, travel to a different continent, camp/hike in one of the worlds famous regions (Amazon rainforest), and the opportunity to widen my knowledge of biodiversity and how to calculate it.

During the last four years, the Peace Corp has served me as a shining beacon of aspiration and achievement. It has continually reminded me of the culmination of my undergraduate studies, what life could possibly look like should I volunteer, and, more significantly, provided a constant reminder of the reason I am studying: to help others. The Peace Corp is a collective symbolization of my life experiences, schooling, and general attitudes; volunteering for this historic and breathtaking organization would be nothing short of life-changing. Now that the Peace Corp has done so much for me, I would like to return the favor and do something for it.

I have wanted to work in the medical field since I was little girl, but just recently grew sure in what I specifically wanted to do. I have chosen to pursue a career in healthcare administration. I know that that there are a lot of preparations to do to get there, but I know that I can make it. My decision to attend Kaplan University is just one of many steps to take to achieve my goal. Kaplan is going to help me to earn the degree I need, but I am the only one in control of the personality traits and skills I need to obtain the position I seek. In this paper I will address all of these things including where I see myself in 5 years.