Wood Work Personal Statement

My story isn't quite special really, although I have lived under some unique circumstances. My mother was a single parent raising my little sister and I until she married my Stepdad in 2007. I was five at the time and had no father figure until then. From that time on he became my dad. Our new family moved twice before living in a small city where we stayed for 6 years. This is where I made close friends, achieved academic excellence, went to church regularly, life was great or so I thought. What seemed to be our perfect life was turned upside down as hard times fell upon us. I was now the oldest of five younger siblings, my mom wasn't healthy, and my dad had to struggle to keep things going.

Throughout life, I’ve learned and experienced many things through jobs and programs I’ve been involved in. During high school, I received my first job as a custodian inside the barbershop within my community. When I first started gaining wages, I eventually learned how to manage my funds and prioritize. Although, working inside the barbershop was deeper than just earning currency. It’s a place of business where men come in and socialize in order to learn something from one another. I’ve heard educational stories from business men, advice on life from former inmates, and gained the ability to carry myself as a more well-rounded individual. Also, while I was in high school, I was enrolled in the “National

Growing up, my mother always encouraged me to be involved in any activity I should interest in, whether that be soccer, softball, theater, or chess club. While my mom did not always have the extra money or time, she never told me I could not pursue a new activity. Through my mother’s actions, I have learned to never settle and to continue to fight and work for better, for myself and others. My mother’s selfless attitude and positive attitude inspire me to have the same attitude with the my future family and the people around me.

The requirements for the work release program in high school, were that you had to have a job that you got at least 15-20 hours of work a week. You had to have a job within two weeks into the class in order to be able to stay. I was having a very hard time finding a job, but luckily one of the girls in my class told me that her job, Texas Roadhouse, was hiring. I will never forget my interview, I was so nervous and wearing dress clothes that were three sizes too big, but I got the job as a bus boy. After about two months, most of the senior bus staff had left, so management asked if I would become their trainer. I quickly moved into other positions while I was under 18 including hosting and togo’s. Once I turned 18, I was able to move up to server, but I also still remained the bus trainer. About five years into my job at Texas Roadhouse, I became Training Coordinator where I really started to expand my career. I began doing openings around the country, participated in their training competitions making it to the top 20 in the company two times and made it to the top 3 the final time. I really enjoyed to corporate structure that Texas Roadhouse gave me. I

This happened when my Great Grandmother married a man named, Clayton Thompkins. Clayton was eighty-eight years old, had never married before, and did not have any kids of his own. My father had left my Mom and I many years before so the relationship seemed to spark instantly. Clayton took me under his wing and became a father figure that I was not use to having around in my life. Every Sunday at my grandmother’s house, we would waste the day away with the sounds of our voices. We would discuss about our favorite team the Oakland A’s and how much we despised the New York Yankees. Clayton had kept me happier that I could ever remember as a child. However, it never slipped his mind that I was upset with all my sicknesses and that I couldn’t actually do any of the things we would talk about. It was then Clayton would fill my young heart with the ideas of being in sports without being on the field. The theory arose that, I could become a statistician for baseball since math came so easy to me as a subject. We would listen to ESPN Radio and he said I could be like our favorite sports radio analyst, Colin Cowherd. I may even choose to get into writing and become a sports journalist for a newspaper or magazine or even interview my favorite athletes on Television. These new dreams that Clayton inspired in me gave me new goals and purpose in

In early 2006 I was knocked off track. My little brother was killed in a car accident at the age of 17. My world went pretty dark for a while, and I dropped out of college and left my jobs. After a few months of deep grieving, I got on my feet and got a job making more money as a receptionist for a window company. I pushed my passion to the back of my brain and put the money first. I was all determined to have a “grown up job” and be on my own. This meant I couldn’t afford classes, or books. I also had to have a full time day job to afford my rent. Teaching went to the back burner for several years. I was offered higher positions at my job, and pretty soon found myself sitting in the office behind the desk from which I myself was hired. I hated it. I could sit on the computer all day long and do nothing. Most people would’ve loved my job. But I could not handle

After graduating from high school in 2006, I went overseas to a Bible school in Germany for six months. I did a lot of things after coming home from Germany and pursued different jobs. In 2009, I became a Certified Nursing Assistant and did that for three years, on and off. I worked with kids with severe needs in a home healthcare agency. In 2012/2013, I went to PIMA Medical Institute for a Veterinary Assistant Certificate and looked for jobs in that field. I came away feeling very discouraged because of the low paying jobs in that field and without any benefits. During that time and before going to PIMA, I was subbing in District 20 as a teacher’s assistant. When I realized I didn’t want to pursue the veterinary world, I got a job in the district as a SPED Paraprofessional. I

Although jobs had been scarce, I had been lucky enough to acquire a job in a Steel mill in the industrial area of Tulsa. Many people were against working there due to the conditions in which we were forced to deal with. Rats littered the building, some open, upper floor areas had no railings, and the machines would occasionally get themselves stuck on something. I reluctantly was able to convince my boss to allow my father to work with me. The job had been very dangerous and hard, but I made just enough money to provide for my family. The difficult work and hazardous conditions, while not preferable, enabled us to stay

At the beginning of this school year, I began to realize something. I realized that my high school years were coming to an end. This was an eye opener for me. I didn't know what to expect of my last year nor what I wanted to do after high school. I then began looking for a job. So I applied to Chick-fil-a. I waited patiently several weeks for a call, but received no call whatsoever. I patiently waited for a new opportunity to come along. Until finally, I was given an opportunity at an electrical shop. On the first day of work I was introduced to the staff and learned the procedures of what needed to be done. My job now was to maintain the shop clean and to keep all materials organized as well as other tasks that helped me grow with my skills.

I have not had very much experience as an employee during my youth. My first time doing real world work was the day that I volunteered at my father’s office at the New York City Department of the Aging for two hours. It was apparently a day off from work because no one other than him, myself, and his supervisor were there, but I helped my father organize and file some papers. After my brief stint as a volunteer, my first, and only, actual job I was paid for was over this summer at the Eileen Abraham Insurance Agency. I got the job through a program called the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). This program helped young adults, like myself, get summer jobs around the city in various different fields. I specifically chose the Eileen

I organized college trips with my school staff and a career day for the students. I joined the student government and worked closely with the administrative staff. I made a 180-degree turn in my life. The teachers didn’t believe I was the same girl who was missing class, had a couple of fights in school and recovering from depression. The summer of 2015 I attended summer school and night school so I was able to graduate in August 2015. I had classes Monday-Thursday, my first class started at 9:00 AM and my last class ended at 9:00 PM. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday I worked from 9:00AM-11:00 PM in the Dyckman Community Center. I felt like superwoman! It was overwhelming but I knew this was the consequences of my actions freshman year. It was hard but it wasn’t impossible and I was able to motivate other students as well. They saw how dedicated I as to graduating and many students followed my steps. I graduated in August 2015 and received an award for the best intern of the year. I took a semester off because I didn’t want to go straight to college three weeks later after going to school for 12

I started North Park University, a week before everyone else, within a program called COMPASS. This program is to help smooth first generation student’s transition to college and build a strong group of friends to start college on the right path. In COMPASS, I met some of my close friends. We help one another whenever we need help: we have study sessions, emotional support for one another, hang out whenever we just need a little break, and much more. A month into school I was offered a job at my school as a student worker and I gladly accepted it. Since I was living on campus my first year this was an amazing accomplishment for me: I achieved some connections and a wide variety of networking opportunities if ever need them in the future.

While finishing my sophomore year of college, I applied, and was offered a position as a Desk Manger for the Department of Residence Life and Housing. Although this may seem inconsequential, I was the first ever sophomore hired for this position. This job required administrative skills, time management capabilities, and the ability to supervise over 30 people at any given time. Starting out in this position, I found myself to be very strict as a supervisor and had to learn to be more flexible with the many personalities that I was working with. It was during that first year that I made a personal choice to expand my knowledge and leadership so that I could become a better leader. By the second semester, I was voted staff member of the year and was given many accolades from my employees and coworkers. I continued working in this position for the remainder of my college journey. During this time, I was able to supervise over 200 people and take on more responsibility. Also while in this position, I was assigned as a Resident Assistant taking on dual roles, while still maintaining my grades.

In 1986, I dropped out of college to relocate to Florida where I worked a couple years, got married and had 2 boys. I formed Oceanview Landscape & Irrigation where I was the owner/operator and designer of Landscape Installations. This business served its purposed by allowing me to work around the family and contribute to our finances. I sold that business and unfortunately my marriage came to an end. I re-entered the corporate world for a previous supervisor and had the opportunity of a lifetime by working with some amazing professionals on the design for the restoration of the Everglades. Unfortunately political cutbacks affected my employment. I returned back to school for

As I left my freshman and sophomore year behind me and approached my junior and senior year, I began thinking about my senior project and what I want to do, not what’s easy or would take the least amount of effort and time. My first idea was to job shadow my dad because I liked working with him, but I thought about it and didn’t want to do it 100%. My next idea was what I want to do for community service, and of course, I think back to my first experience with community service, which was helping others. I wanted to volunteer at a foster home because that’s first-hand experience of being around less fortunate kids and gaining knowledge of what a Social Worker does, however there wasn’t anything available within the time range I needed it to be. The next best thing was volunteering at a Boys & Girls Club. Yes, I still help children who need it, but I wasn’t able to be around a Social Worker like I hoped. It was still a good