I am applying for Graduate School and I had to write a statement of intent. It took me a long time and it was an eye opener for me. With that being said, I am going to share with you the statement I wrote.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I could never understand the words astronaut, fireman, or ballerina when they were paired with the word passion. A fifth grade classmate, Miguel, had an endless supply of passion when it came to all things NASA. He dreamt it, breathed it, and endlessly talked about it. As my ten-year-old mind observed his exorbitant amount of passion, I wondered where I could find something to make me feel like that.
Needless to say, I have been on a quest to find the one thing I feel passionate about. I worked hard through high school so I would be sure and not pass up an opportunity to find my passion. Once high school got out, I thought I would have found what I was looking for but it didn’t exactly go how I had hoped. I continued working hard not to close any doors but it was a good thing I didn’t need to declare a major at the community college. I took the widest variety of classes you could think of and followed the Lord’s promptings when I made my schedule each semester, and I found a reoccurring pattern--communications. I took numerous communication classes and loved each one of them. It wasn’t anything that undeniably pronounced a future profession for me, but it was the first thing, since fifth grade, that I had loved.
Much to my chagrin, even though I found a passion, I continued to flounder around trying to narrow a passion into a career. In the middle of my floundering, I served a mission and thought for sure I’d come home with a firm path to follow. Alas, I still wasn’t sure how to narrow down communication, so I worked hard and took as many different emphasis classes as I could, everything from event planning to non-profit work. My senior year at Arizona State University, I decided to take the opportunity to do an internship. With the struggling economy, it was hard to find an appropriate career defining internship, so I decided to intern for Mesa United Way. It was an amazing experience to work with a non-profit and find joy in the service of others.
Consequently, I was able to find a full time job with a local non-profit, which is supported by Mesa United Way. For the last year, I have had the chance to work in the development department of a large local non-profit and by not working directly with clients, I have been able to see, hear, and report success stories, statements of impact, and even more importantly, the needs that are out there. I have seen hundreds of kids go through our community youth programs and recognized a need for able, competent, and understanding adults for the youth to look up to.
For two and a half years, I have been the Young Women’s president and that has given me a lot of experience working with adolescents. This age group has never ceased to amaze, frustrate, and engulf me with the love of Christ. With the opportunity to be surrounded by tomorrow’s adults, I have been blessed to find my passion. Working with, guiding, supporting, and being a mentor for adolescents makes me who I am and defines how I live my life.
For these reasons, I am pursuing the opportunity to further my education at Brigham Young University to become a psychologist for adolescents.
I plan to follow the suggested guidelines to finish the Clinical Psychology PhD program in 5 years. During which, I will specialize in working with adolescents. I will work hard, study, and dedicate myself to becoming the best Psychologist I can be. Once I have finished the program, I will be able to work with and support those in need. I will go to work everyday with a skip in my step because I have found my passion and am feeling that passion every day with each client.
No comments:
Post a Comment