Why should any graduate school want me as a
student? Why should this university want me as a student? My story is one that should be synonymous
with the story of biology. It is a story
of the evolution of a human being, and one that makes me perfect for you.
I promise you, I am not like any other graduate
applicant that you have seen. It is not
that I am Einstein smart, but I have a ton of heart and I love what I do. I have a heart that wants to make a
difference in our world, and who feels without a shadow of doubt that biology,
and specifically immunology, is where I belong.
To show this to you, I am going to express a very personal perspective
on my story.
I grew up in a strong
Christian home, and up until 11th grade; I was in a series of
private Christian schools. Something,
which is known to be true, is the lack science that is taught at these schools
and mine was no exception. It was not
until I transferred to the local public school that I got my first taste of a
real science class. As much as I loved
it, it scared me to death. I had no
working knowledge of the subject, and at that point never saw where it would be
a part of my future. I had my heart set
on a career in animation. It seemed like
the logical choice for me, since I had a knack for computers and I loved
editing film. I ended up starting my
college career at a local university to get my feet wet. Unfortunately, I became distracted by all the
freedom that I was suddenly experiencing. I got my eyes off of my future and
almost destroyed it. Thanks to amazing
parents, family, and the grace of God, who never gave up on me, I got out of
the situation and ended up at a local community college hoping to salvage my
future. My plan was to take on a general
studies degree, get my GPA up and go from there. The plan was going great, I had been in talk
with Disney about a possible internship with their animation department, and
was set to graduate. The spring before
my last year, I was having doubting fears on whether I was doing the right thing. I prayed and asked God if this was His will
for things to work out, but if it was not His will, for him to stop my plans in
their track. Then, towards the end of
that summer, I got a call from the financial aid department of my school
explaining that there had been a strange issue.
The electric FASFA that I had filled out had come through BLANK. As I am sure you know, you cannot summit those
without filling them out. I was going to
have to come up to campus and fill out a paper FASFA. The damage had been done though. I was not able to go to school that fall and
would have to push graduation to the next summer. This destroyed my plans of the
internship. It was obvious to me that
God had answered my prayer. I had been volunteering, as an assistant in my
church’s youth ministry and have always loved working with teenagers. I applied
to start what I thought was a Christian college, the fall after I graduated
from Gordon College. I thought that I
was supposed to become a full time youth pastor. I got in and things went on as planned. Well, that is until two weeks before my
graduation from Gordon. I was then
called to the office once more, this time to deliver the news that my advisor
had been wrong, and two classes that I was currently taking, no longer counted
towards my degree. This meant that I would have to come back in the fall. I
went to the Dean’s office and after several hours of searching, we realized
that my general studies courses that I had picked fit perfectly for an
Associates of Science in Pre-Dental Hygiene.
A field I had never thought of.
You see that love for science that I discovered my junior year of high
school had lead me to take extra science classes in college. There I was two weeks before graduation
changing my major. I graduated and went to the “Christian College” just as
planned. Only I found out shortly after arriving that it was not what was
advertised. It took me 2 months to get out, and I decided then that I was going
to try and do something with this associates degree. I attended Georgia
Highlands College with the hopes of getting into their Dental Hygiene
program. Of course, shortly after I
arrived, I found out the program was in danger of getting canceled. In order to save it they took a smaller than
normal class for that year and I did not make the cut. Strangely though, while at Georgia Highlands,
my Microbiology professor told me a story that set a fire in my heart and a
passion that I knew was just for me. He told
us about the work being done in AID’s. He spoke about how 10% of the population that
was of European descent is in a way immune to one of the strains of AID’s. This
blew my mind and I had to know more. I then transferred to Southern Polytechnic
State University. I have learned so much
since I have been at SPSU. This is the
first time that what I was doing felt right.
I can be in a lab for hours and not even realize it. I constantly drive my parents crazy with my
ramblings about everything that I have been doing in class and lab.
You might think that I have
changed my mind many times; therefore, what makes this any different? I believe that the road that I took to get
here was a very curvy and strange one, but I have always been one to love the scenic
routes. I have learned though this to
follow my heart and my heart has brought me here, and I know that this is where
I belong. I will work harder than anyone
you will meet. I know my GPA is not spectacular
and I am working on that. What killed my
GPA was fall 2011. My family had a
crisis. My mom was in and out of the
hospital, there were many times I thought we were going to lose her. She is now
getting much better. While this was
going on, one of my younger sisters was having surgery on her ankles. I was trying to take on a full load at
school, take care of my family, and work fulltime. I learned that I was not superwoman, and I
have been working my butt off to correct all the damage that was done. I will not be one to let a problem get in the
way of my work. I have fallen more than
once, and I always get back up. I want to make a difference in the scientific
community, and I want to do that with you! I hope that this essay has given you
a glimpse of who I am, and what I am about. As I first said, my story is one of
evolution and growth, a story about self-discovery and heart. I am not who I was when I first started college,
and I will continue to grow through your program to become the scientist I was and am destined to become.
This is my story. It is a shortened version, but the major details are all there. I hope that you can see through it that GOD always has a plan!
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