During my high school years, I would tell people that I was going to become a computer programmer. Yet, I went on to complete my undergraduate degree in business. And I have no regrets, because I now seek to become a computer scientist in order to dedicate myself to a lifetime of service to the business community, harnessing the power of technology to our quest for ever greater efficiency in economic development. Thus, I feel that my training and experience so far in the business world have helped to prepare me well, providing me with guidance and direction towards the attainment of my long term professional goals. After completing an advanced degree in computer science, I look forward to a long and highly productive career working with financial institutions, programming trading models and developing financial software. Ultimately, I would like to start my own internet commerce group dedicated to the enhancement of web commerce and especially online trading.

 Since childhood, I have had a deep and abiding interest in how technology affects our lives. As an adolescent, I learned basic programming on my first Apple IIe;  as technology progressed I kept up with the trends. When I was 16, however, my father opened a brokerage account and I quickly became ensnared by America´s favorite pass time, making money. Now, having spent 8 years trading securities, making good use of my BBA in Finance and Economics, I want to return to the passion of my early years and immerse myself more fully in the exciting challenges and vast opportunity of today´s  technological revolution.

 My greatest weakness, perhaps, is that I have often tried to do too much at the same time, mixing work and study to the extreme. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I maintained an internship with Merrill Lynch working a minimum of three days a week. Keeping this schedule had a negative effect on my ability to perform to my highest potential.  Although the internship proved beneficial insofar as it allowed me to obtain employment immediately upon graduation, it had a detrimental impact on my GPA. Nevertheless, I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in such a dynamic environment as Merrill Lynch for the past eight years, providing me with the opportunity to showcase my ability to work through difficult situations quickly and efficiently, producing optimal results in a number of challenging positions.

 I have a true passion for technology and I am most keenly interested in learning how to program. I have a number of business ideas running around in my head that I most optimistic about some day being able to refine and execute with further training. The greatest contribution that I might be able to make to society would be to create more efficient financial markets. I hope to be admitted to XXU as a non-degree student so as to prepare myself for a Masters program in computer science, thereby broadening my knowledge base and enhancing my intellectual tool kit, building upon and complimenting my background in finance. I now have a mature vision of my professional future on the cutting edge of financial software development. Studying at XXU will prepare me for entry into a state-of-the-art graduate program in software engineering. I am certain that this will provide me with the optimal environment for my transition into the field of computer science.  I truly appreciate your consideration of my application.