Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Personal statement 2

“The girl whines to her father, "You messed up my childhood!" And the father says, "How could I, daughter? I wasn't even there.” -Unknown. This could have been me if I would have dwelled and not risen above the occasion. Though my father wasn’t there for the majority of my childhood, he has inspired me more than anyone else has. His unfulfilled high school education, dishonesty, and random appearances in my life has impacted my life.

My father dropped out of school by the time he was in the eleventh grade; then later got his GED. I was only in middle school when my father was lecturing me bout completing high school. It does not make sense to me why he complains when I am accomplishing my goals . I now understand he does not want me to make thesame mistake he has made. I will do the same thing in the future with my children , just a little more supportive. When it is Christmas time my siblings and I always get my dads infamous phone call telling us he will be sending us money. Weeks go by and we do not hear from him nor receive any money. We finally hear from him and its always the same excuse. His dishonesty has taught me to tell the truth up front instead of waiting and later having to explain myself. In the past ten years I have maybe seen my dad five times and that’s only at funerals and family reunions. This has made me want to always keep in contact with all my family.

My father’s unfulfilled high school education, dishonesty, and random appearances in my life has impacted my life. I love my father dearly but sometimes it is hard to tell if the feeling is mutual. John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” Does that mean my dad is a leader?

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Personal Statement

Malcolm Forbes once said, “Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” Choosing a college isn’t like choosing a pair of tennis shoes, a lot of thought must go into it. If I choose to go to a school that doesn’t interest me or will not benefit me in the end, my mind will remain empty.


There are many colleges and Universities to choose from and I have a basic idea of where I want to go. I would like to maybe attend the University of Nebraska -Kearney for the accounting program that they offer. Then again I still want to do more research on other schools that may offer the same or better programs. When I look at colleges there are a few things that I look for. Those things are level of degrees, the campus, and class size.
I look for level of degrees because I need to go to a school that will fulfill my dream of becoming an accountant. I don’t want to just stop at my bachelor’s, higher degree means more money. The size of a school’s campus would influence my selection as well. A larger campus would be harder to get around and it would be more difficult to become familiar or comfortable with my surroundings. This brings me to why class size is important to me because I don’t want to just be “another face” to my professors. Having some kind of one-on-one time with my professor would be essential to my learning experience.


Overall choosing a college is like picking a nail out of a haystack, I may get poked a few times but in the end I know I’ll make the right decision.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

High School VS. College

In high school, students are not really treated like adults. We still have to raise our hands to get out of our seats or ask permission to use the restroom. College is more complex than high school. We are more responsible for being to class everyday on time and knowing the dates when assignments are due, which is provided on the syllabus. The classrooms have a variety of age groups and we do not have assigned seats. UNO's campus is three-times bigger than Central's and there are a lot more students attending the college. These are just a few examples of differences, but there are also similarities.


Everyone knows, anytime you are on school grounds there will be rules and regulations. For example, any kind of abuse is not allowed at a high school nor a college. In college we have mid-terms and final exams just like in high school. It is normal to stay after class and ask your professor for further instructions on a lecture or an assignment, like you would in high school. Identification cards are given to each student to verify they are enrolled in the schools. Overall, college is high school just with more responsibilities and a little more freedom.
It has only been a little over a week for me in college, but I am already learning new things and changing myself. I try harder to focus on my homework more and I do not let people distract me as much. With my high school homework, I would not stay up late trying to finish but now I do. Having all the resources that UNO has to offer has also helped me learn new things and keep up with my assignments. I believe the college experience I will have by then end of the summer will prepare for college in the future.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Residential Life with Summer Scholars

When I first arrived to Scott Hall dorms, I was worried if I would know anybody else in the program. Students were continuously coming through the door and I didn’t recognize anybody. Finally, I saw two girls who also go to Central with me who I could possibly have a conversation with. After I received my room keys, I went upstairs to take a look at my room. My room was too small for my preference, but I knew it would all work out. I went look down the hall and found our entertainment room, which has a large flat screen television, ping-pong table and a few couches and chairs. I used the convenient elevator to go back to the lobby area. I was getting very excited for the trip to Camp Carol Joy Holling, which is located in Ashland, Nebraska.


Once everybody arrived we were told to get on our charter bus that would take us to Ashland. While on the bus we were given a sack lunch that was a turkey sandwich, chips, Oreos and bottled water. Lunch was great but I was too excited to get to the camp, so I didn't eat everything. The group name I was in while at the camp was called the mighty beans. We first went to the solo challenge courses where there was wall climbing, rope climbing, and walking across wire. We left that obstacle course to go eat lunch then had to go to another course with the zip lines. Early Saturday morning we was back at it again except it was a little less work. I had a fantastic time at the Carol Joy Holling camp and would recommend it to anyone who likes to have a good time.

My week living in the dorms was the most fun I have had in a long time. I would love to have the opportunity to do everything over again. The food we ate was good most of the time and the ice cream was delicious. I have met a lot of new friends that encouraged me to keep going with the obstacle course and made sure I did my homework. All the RTAs were awesome and they did a wonderful job entertaining me and my peers. I would like to thank Maria and who ever else that has let me have this opportunity.