There are times in life where a great tragedy may serve as a huge reminder of what is important in life. On November 5, 2011 my father passed away. I came home for the weekend to surprise my family and ended up receiving the surprise of a lifetime. After many attempts at numbing the pain I began to feel complacent and honestly quite lost. It took some time to realize that through that great tragedy, I had completely forgotten my purpose and even wonder if I knew my purpose before then. My mind became filled with thoughts about all of the goals he had set for himself that he will not live to accomplish. Then I realized that the same thing could happen to me if I didn’t find my purpose. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The purpose of life is not
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Lowery Institute: Becoming an Agent of Change. Being an agent of change included weekly meetings and mentoring. I had the pleasure of joining a team to brainstorm ideas of how to lower the ever growing AIDS epidemic in Malawi, Africa. This program eventually equipped me to become a mentor for KIPP Ways Learning Academy in Atlanta, GA. KIPP Ways, located in West Atlanta is a tuition free public charter school that was founded in 2003. As a mentor I helped pre teen girls channel their energy into something positive and truly learn that importance of education. During my time as a mentor I also got the opportunity to meet with and converse with the families of my mentees. I consider that experience as my first peek into the world of public service, working with children and families.
After transferring to South Carolina State University, I began to volunteer for a local farmers market, Right Choice, Fresh Start Farmers Market. The market was started by a group of research students from the University of South Carolina, in conjunction with the Family Health Center in Orangeburg, South Carolina to provide healthy produce to low income families, as well as people suffering from various health related problems (diabetes, hypertension, etc). Along with providing healthy produce, the market also provided helpful information on how to have a healthy …show more content…
My educational background has also prepared me for work at the graduate level. Though biology is a far stretch from social work, the biology program at SCSU was extremely demanding and challenged my level of focus, time management, and discipline. Obtaining my degree shaped my work ethic and helped me hone in on skills to be improved as I continue my educational journey. I believe that my role as a houseparent as well as the many programs I have volunteered for have played a role in helping prepare me for graduate school. I have gained practical experience by being an advocate for the children here at Connie Maxwell, as well as professional
Lowery Institute: Becoming an Agent of Change. Being an agent of change included weekly meetings and mentoring. I had the pleasure of joining a team to brainstorm ideas of how to lower the ever growing AIDS epidemic in Malawi, Africa. This program eventually equipped me to become a mentor for KIPP Ways Learning Academy in Atlanta, GA. KIPP Ways, located in West Atlanta is a tuition free public charter school that was founded in 2003. As a mentor I helped pre teen girls channel their energy into something positive and truly learn that importance of education. During my time as a mentor I also got the opportunity to meet with and converse with the families of my mentees. I consider that experience as my first peek into the world of public service, working with children and families.
After transferring to South Carolina State University, I began to volunteer for a local farmers market, Right Choice, Fresh Start Farmers Market. The market was started by a group of research students from the University of South Carolina, in conjunction with the Family Health Center in Orangeburg, South Carolina to provide healthy produce to low income families, as well as people suffering from various health related problems (diabetes, hypertension, etc). Along with providing healthy produce, the market also provided helpful information on how to have a healthy …show more content…
My educational background has also prepared me for work at the graduate level. Though biology is a far stretch from social work, the biology program at SCSU was extremely demanding and challenged my level of focus, time management, and discipline. Obtaining my degree shaped my work ethic and helped me hone in on skills to be improved as I continue my educational journey. I believe that my role as a houseparent as well as the many programs I have volunteered for have played a role in helping prepare me for graduate school. I have gained practical experience by being an advocate for the children here at Connie Maxwell, as well as professional