Statement of Intent
Dennis Hisamoto, Applicant for the School Psychology Program
In third grade, my teacher suggested I be considered for special education. Fifteen years later, with the financial support from my scholarship, I became the first in my family to obtain a college degree. Some would call this phenomenon sweet irony. I, however, call it a rush to judgment due to a failure to acknowledge that issues outside of school could adversely bleed into the classroom. While at the time I was the socially and academically withdrawn child, what my teacher mistook for intellectual disability was actually my inability to cope with issues at home and a self-identity war I had raging within. Seeing my mom as a perpetual victim of domestic abuse and feeling unable to intervene, coupled with this deep-rooted understanding that I was different, lead to intense self-loathing. My experience of being misunderstood and feeling helpless encourages me to pursue a degree in School Psychology so that I may help youth faced with similar obstacles find healthy ways …show more content…
One of my favorite college experiences was studying abroad via the Institute for Shipboard Education’s Semester at Sea Program, where I had the voyage of a lifetime: 107 days, 16 cities, and 14 countries. Having the opportunity to see firsthand how people throughout the world live goes beyond expanding horizons and into the realm of developing a deep cross-cultural understanding. The people living in the favelas of Brazil, the townships of South Africa, the barrios of Argentina, and the villages of Ghana all have culturally specific customs, but also a lot of universalities. Perhaps that was my greatest discovery – while culture is certainly important and varying, there are a great deal of universal traits and characteristics that can be found everywhere you
Dennis Hisamoto, Applicant for the School Psychology Program
In third grade, my teacher suggested I be considered for special education. Fifteen years later, with the financial support from my scholarship, I became the first in my family to obtain a college degree. Some would call this phenomenon sweet irony. I, however, call it a rush to judgment due to a failure to acknowledge that issues outside of school could adversely bleed into the classroom. While at the time I was the socially and academically withdrawn child, what my teacher mistook for intellectual disability was actually my inability to cope with issues at home and a self-identity war I had raging within. Seeing my mom as a perpetual victim of domestic abuse and feeling unable to intervene, coupled with this deep-rooted understanding that I was different, lead to intense self-loathing. My experience of being misunderstood and feeling helpless encourages me to pursue a degree in School Psychology so that I may help youth faced with similar obstacles find healthy ways …show more content…
One of my favorite college experiences was studying abroad via the Institute for Shipboard Education’s Semester at Sea Program, where I had the voyage of a lifetime: 107 days, 16 cities, and 14 countries. Having the opportunity to see firsthand how people throughout the world live goes beyond expanding horizons and into the realm of developing a deep cross-cultural understanding. The people living in the favelas of Brazil, the townships of South Africa, the barrios of Argentina, and the villages of Ghana all have culturally specific customs, but also a lot of universalities. Perhaps that was my greatest discovery – while culture is certainly important and varying, there are a great deal of universal traits and characteristics that can be found everywhere you