The greatest weakness of my application is my age, 52. Nevertheless, I feel that I have a great deal to contribute to your distinguished program in School Counseling at XXXX University as a result of my maturity and my experience and I hope to be accepted so as to contribute to the diversity of your program as an older, non-traditional student. I also feel strongly that I will make an excellent school counselor and that it is most healthy for our young people to be able to benefit from the wisdom of those of us who have learned from our mistakes in life and are most dedicated to helping young people to avoid the dangers and pitfalls often associated with youth.
I am an eternal optimist and someone who has invested a lot of time in the cause of finding the child within me, learning to make peace with myself and others, to forgive, and to give my best to my community. Up to this point in my career, I have labored professionally in the medical field in office management and informatics. I hold a diploma in Diagnostic Ultrasound and a Certificate in Echocardiography. I will be graduating from Kutztown with my BA Degree in Sociology this coming December with a central focus on issues of equity and inequality. I hope to begin graduate school in your program right away and enroll for the Spring Semester.
I have most enjoyed the enormous privilege of speaking publicly at XXXX University on the issue of HIV/AIDS prevention, since I am a long-term survivor and an activist for the cause. I have now spoken in front of more than five hundred university students on the subject throughout the course of the past 3 years at XXXX. I also currently volunteer with an organization called Kaleidescope that helps autistic children to accomplish basic, special goals such as shopping for a present for their mother on Mother’s Day. Soon, I hope to become an International Student Director to become certified in placing exchange students in suitable homes in the USA, monitoring the home environment and providing solutions to problems that arise. For next summer, 2014, I have been accepted into the IADS Language Emersion Program in Costa Rica so that I can bring my Spanish up to a conversational level that will enable me to use this language in my professional activity.
I have struggled mightily for many years, especially as a volunteer, to help everyone that crosses my path to the extent to which I have been able. One of my most notable and formative helping experiences, for example, was four years ago when I organized an all-volunteer staff for an after school, color guard program at Nazareth High School in Allentown, PA. We have for the last 3 years competed successfully and my experience as a color guard instructor and organizer stands at the center of the contribution that I hope to continue to make to my community as a school counselor. We started as novices, yet our group at Nazareth High is now a National A-Class guard. We organize parents, fund raisers, etc. I contribute at least 15 to 20 hours of my time each week in rehearsals and performances. I am also a color guard judge for the National Judges Association, evaluating color guard performances throughout the area. In addition, I help to plan and organize educational experiences for children that assist them in learning about our urgent need to make development sustainable planet-wide, as well as raising awareness of the critical importance of respect for diversity, particularly as it relates to our efforts to prevent bullying in our school systems.
My passion for becoming a school counselor stems from many years of experience working with young people. I managed an explorer scout troop for 10 years that provided an opportunity for children in Houston Texas to learn about our Winter Guard and travel around the country to compete in Winter Guard International throughout the 1990's. In fact, I have given my all as a high school marching band coach around the country for more than 25 years. In California, I taught 4 classes under the guidance of a band director and was 100 percent responsible for curriculum development and training in dance and color guard for a nationally famous high school marching band that participated in both the Rose Parade as well as the Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington DC in 1999.
Completing your program and becoming a school counselor will enable me to attain my dream job, working in the school system as a counselor while I continue my devotion to the promotion of color guard activity as a director and choreographer. Our color guards promote dignity, respect, self-esteem, and cultivate appreciation for active community involvement, which I see as the key ingredients to helping young people to live productive, fulfilling lives that uplift our community and help to keep them from falling into trouble and making mistakes that they will pay for throughout their lives.
I thank you sincerely for your consideration of my application to your program.
MA School Counseling Personal Purpose HIV Survivor Activist
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