I've applied!

Well, I've finally sent in my application for school...going back for my B.A. in Spanish for the Professions! It's about time something big[ger] has happened for me. I'm incredibly proud that I've made a decision and not just stuck with it, but completely followed through on it. The major steps left are to fill out my FAFSA form and figure out which other paperwork needs to be filled out before school starts. There's also the issue of finding and apartment and a job (I'll be attending school part-time, hopefully all my gen-ed and elective credits will transfer so I'll only be taking Spanish courses!). I've been scouring Craigslist and plan to send out some emails or make phone calls this week. I would love to live in my own apartment for the first time, but I don't think that's in my budget right now. Oh and tomorrow, the day before Thanksgiving, I get to sign up for my winter course! I'll be taking a Spanish for Health Care Providers course. Weee, it's a course I've wanted to take for the last two years but never got a chance to or found one in my price range. It'll be expensive to start off my degree with that course (about $700 I think) but at least it will be applied to my degree, whew.

For my application there was the option to write an essay. It's the first time I've seen an optional essay on a college application, I think? Who knows...I haven't applied to college in over nine years! Anyway, I thought I would share it with you.

Question:
Describe the feelings you've had in the past three years about your educational experience. Be sure to mention circumstances which have had a special influence on your education.

Answer:
During the past three years I have done much soul-searching. I’ve found myself constantly re-evaluating the knowledge I gained in my undergraduate studies at the University of Rhode Island. As a Biology major and coxswain of the men’s crew team for four years, I had a strict schedule for attending classes, studying, eating and spending time with friends. My commitments brought me great joy, taught me time-management skills and enhanced my passion for life. My newfound “family,” the crew team, was full of other highly-motivated students who helped me stay focused and motivated.

It has been five years since my commencement into the working world, and I have held many important job positions. After university, I worked in a hematology oncology office as a phlebotomist and laboratory assistant. From my patients, I learned about the true meaning of life and the decisions we make every day that affect our lives. For one year, I was a Safety Compliance Officer for the largest clinical laboratory in Rhode Island. There I learned how to write company policies and procedures, managed biohazardous waste disposal and educated my colleagues about laboratory regulations, disease and fire-safety. Following that time I enrolled in an Emergency Medical Technician course and acquired my EMT license. I gained insight into the worlds of Medicare and Medicaid, saw diabetics suffer through their dialysis treatments, watched as doctors debrided necrotic body tissues and once or twice heard death knocking on my patients’ doors. My education in Biology enabled me all of these opportunities, each which acted as building blocks for the next.

Throughout these job experiences and the times between, I have never stopped learning about myself and my passions.

In the last two years I’ve discovered that I have an extreme passion for travel. Most impressive were my visits to Australia and Peru. In both countries I was completely immersed in the culture, traditions and lives of the people. I stayed with friends’ families: cooked with them, went to the market, the hardware store, visited extended family, acquainted myself with the native wildlife and toured the countrysides. In Peru, I was immediately enamored, albeit a bit shy about my Spanish upon arrival. Despite the challenges at hand, I came home with profound respect and love for both cultures and a Spanish fluency that I had never felt before.

Because of my trip to Peru, I also realized that I have a passion for the Spanish language and Latino and Spanish cultures. The language has been a love of mine for as long as I can remember, though in college I quickly brushed it aside as only a requirement, a course I needed to take to graduate. When my career in health-care began, I found myself using my high school and college Spanish skills to communicate with patients. I have developed incredible relationships with friends from all over the Spanish-speaking world. I’ve learned how to dance the Salsa, Tango, Durangesa and many more…you name the dance, I am sure I’ve tried it! I even cook Latino meals in my kitchen.

My incredible vacations and job experiences over the past three years have made me realize that my “education” is not just something I’ve received from an institution. The people I’ve met, the places I’ve been and the activities I’ve tried have all taught me more about the world and my own self than I could have ever learned only in the classroom. Thus I will continue to grasp life and the experiences it offers, while continuing my formal education, in hopes that my life will always be full of passion and prosperity.