Coming to America from Vietnam with my family in the 1990s was a choice born of seeking a better life for ourselves. Compared to Vietnam, the opportunities for betterment were phenomenal, and as a recent graduate from high school, I was truly unsure of where my future lay. Following in the footsteps of my father led me to the path of Computer Science. I wrestled with the subject, wanting to succeed, to make sense of the curriculum, and settled on web development in computer information systems. But it was not me, my professional work going only slightly beyond a means to an end, and the 8x8 cubicle that was my workspace was closing in on me, stifling who I truly was. While my work as a web developer and network administrator developed, and proved my interpersonal, leadership and time management abilities, I longed for work where I could make a difference in the lives of others, an outlet for my compassionate nature, coupled with my love of the sciences that began in high school. Indeed, in high school I had excelled in not only math, but chemistry and biology as well. At first, the health sciences stood out to me, but Pharmacy was the ray of sunshine piercing the clouds of my frustrations. The more I researched the discipline, the more I wanted to be involved. To prepare for the opportunity and challenge of a quality PharmD program, I actively sought out and procured a volunteer job at a Medicine Shoppe, while completing my pharmacy pre-requisite courses. Volunteering at Medicine Shoppe allowed me to gain invaluable experience and insight into pharmacy, giving me exposure to Tablet, Capsule, Oral Liquid, Dry Syrup production, and Quality Analysis and Quality Control procedures. Here, I have gained knowledge of day-to-day activities such as prescription handling, dispensing, labeling, guiding patients, putting the fundamentals I have learned to practical use. Moreover, I have seen how to manage a pharmacy practically and even market the business. I am able to quickly find the answers to my questions regarding any aspect of the business as well as keeping my education alive and sharp. I have come to appreciate how a pharmacist is a cornerstone of their community, a professional entrusted with providing safe, accurate advice regarding appropriate drugs and their correct use. Communication is of critical importance in Pharmacy, a skill I perfected in the computer industry, and applied in my Pharmacy work. It is a great feeling to know that my work helped to improve the customers' quality of life. I now know that I have the passion, capability, and personality to become a great pharmacist. More importantly, I am truly sympathetic to our clients. My own aunt, diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia and my father-in-law with stage three colon cancer have brought home to me how our clients are living with their own illnesses. I am intimately aware of the pain and hardship they are going through, a realization that fuels my patience and compassion. Additionally, a pharmacist reaches people on many levels, even culturally. I feel that my unique background and bilingual abilities in Vietnamese and English will equip me to better serve clients, those that need quality service the most, filling a much-needed gap between patients and physicians in my area. I am particularly sensitive and aware of the increasing needs of minorities, especially in their introduction to the American healthcare system, having walked more than a mile in the immigrant's shoes. A quality PharmD program will enable me to pursue my dreams, to contribute positively to my community and the communities I go on to serve. No other field could bring me the same level of personal or professional satisfaction, and I eagerly look forward to my future. Pharmacy is a competitive field but with integrity, compassion, and willingness, I am confident that I will succeed. Your time and consideration are appreciated. PharmD Statement of Purpose Example

My career change to Psychology is grounded upon 20+ years of being an EMT, private detective, security consultant, instructor, and IT entrepreneur. Before that I was a musician and a singer in an alternative rock band. I like to think that curiosity, attention to detail, and the desire to solve the puzzle and uncover the truth, are qualities that are as well suited to the Psychologist as they are to the security professional. I also explore common origins between my great passion for psychology as a middle-aged adult, on the one hand, and my love for rock music as a young man on the other. ​ My short-term goal is to earn the PSYD Degree in Combined School & Clinical Psychology at XXXX University. Fully dedicated to lifetime research and professional growth, I hope to publish and teach in Psychology for decades to come. I am applying only to XXXX College at XXXX where I am currently finishing my undergraduate degree because I could not be happier where I am. I am best poised to excel here at XXXX where I have a long record of engagement. My first volunteer experience was at XXXX, on the crisis hotline, in 1986. I became an EMT and did my clinical work in Union and Elizabeth. The East Campus is less than a mile from my house.  This is home. My purpose as a psychologist will be to help children, especially adopted children, a goal that is grounded in the fact that I was myself an adopted child. I am also dedicated to the fullest embrace of diversity possible and most intrigued by the complex ways in which our understanding of the ‘family’ is changing in America. Thus, I look forward to the fullest immersion possible in the literature concerned with the wellbeing of adopted children in today’s America, especially as concerns issues of race, multiculturalism, gender and sexual orientation, immigration, and language. I describe my Spanish as high-intermediate, speaking, writing, and reading. ​ My interest in adopted children and children in foster care is grounded in my personal experience. Shortly after my birth, I was placed in an orphanage in Miami, Florida. Not long after, I was adopted by a couple who brought me to New Jersey and raised me one mile from the XXXX University campus where I now study and hope to continue to study as a graduate student. I am intrigued by issues in my own development, such as trying to become an alternative rock star right about the time that I was beginning to figure out that I was adopted to begin with. Has my spending over a decade as a security specialist somehow been related to childhood/adolescent insecurities? Why have I chosen to stay so close to home, once again deciding to live in my adopted parents’ house, since both have passed away? ​ I keenly look forward to giving the balance of my professional lifetime to investigating connections between the separation of children from their biological parents and the development of emotional disabilities at an early age, particularly in a school setting, and the ways in which these disabilities all-too-often persist into adulthood. I have a closely related interest in our juvenile detention system, with which I may develop a professional engagement in the future since I am especially concerned that juveniles in this system receive effective treatment for emotional disorders. ​ I could not feel more alive than I do studying Psychology at XXXX; and it is in my present academic environment where I am best poised to excel. If accepted, I hope to serve as a Graduate Assistant.  In addition to studying under Professor XXXX, I plan to learn as much as I can about trauma, stress, and mindfulness from Drs. XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. I am most enthused about collaboration initiatives unfolding between Kean’s Holocaust and Genocide Studies Programs and advancements being made in the examination of outcomes of community-based interventions for trauma victims. Profoundly inspired by Professor Aaron A. Gubi’s work on the promotion of well-being among children and adolescents, I also want to learn as much as I can about positive youth development, particularly for children from minority racial/ethnic and cultural backgrounds, coupled to a broad diversity of developmental experiences. ​ As a security consultant, I provide services to XXXX High School, a public high school that is part of Union County Public Schools and is located on the XXXX University Campus. I implement evidence-based practice with students impacted by substance abuse and other co-morbid mental health challenges; collaborating with other professionals to create an online training experience for school psychologists and school counselors. Currently, however, I have scaled back my professional responsibilities in security and I am now working only on a per diem basis and only taking cases that are somehow related to my ongoing interests in Psychology. ​ Additional Information: It is well established that children in foster care are at a higher risk for mental health disorders. Furthermore, misdiagnoses and missed diagnoses among these children are higher than average, resulting in mental issues that frequently continue into adulthood. Thus, in preparation for addressing these issues, I look forward to a close examination of the extent to which separation from one’s biological parent(s) results in trauma, and feelings of loss and rejection that last into adulthood. I want to study the myriad ways in which this early emotional trauma tends to influence a person’s life decisions, personal relationships, career choices, etc. ​ I am familiar with mindfulness, grounding techniques and meditation. I have taught them to my students and have used them. I clearly see myself working on a mindfulness-based program for burnout prevention, serving my fellow health care providers and connecting with them. I would like to measure the effects of mindfulness and grounding techniques on adults and children suffering from both physical and emotional trauma. This would include patients preparing for surgery, post-op, and patients undergoing chemotherapy. This research would not just benefit us as psychologists and paraprofessionals, but all health care providers, especially those at institutions that are developing integrative medicine programs. ​ As a student of Health Psychology, I could not be more fascinated with the many complex ways that the nature and character of families are changing in America, particularly as our population continues to age. I am looking forward to continuing to work with palliative care specialists, building on my countless hours of patient contact experience as an EMT, working with physicians I have known for years at Trinitas, Overlook, and Morristown Hospitals. Studying and working at Kean has been the cornerstone of that foundation. ​ My dad was a disabled World War 2 veteran who lost both of his legs in combat at the age of twenty-five. Since 1945 until his death in 2009, he lived with PTSD and little emotional support. When he became too sick to take care of himself in early 2008, I returned to my childhood home to look after him. As I watched him deteriorate, he became extremely depressed, disoriented, and demented. The Veteran’s Administration was useless and only after his second cardiac arrest and resuscitation did his civilian doctors prescribe him some Prozac. When I tried to secure some sort of psychiatric or emotional support, there was nothing available to him. Living here with his memory all around me, I cannot help but reflect upon veteran’s affairs and the egregious injustice to which so many have been subjected because of inferior-to-non-existent care for our traumatized veterans. My father was a hero who deserved better. PsyD Clinical & School Psychology Personal Statement

I am a young woman from Tokyo, who has lived in Michigan for the last 13 years, after having lived and studied in Japan for four years, with one in Brazil and five in Texas. I am writing this letter on behalf of my application to the MSW. Women's Studies Dual Degree Program at XXXX University. I have been around the block since I was twenty-three and very much like learning and exploring new things. I graduated from the University of XXXX in April of 2007 with my first dual degree, my B.A. in Psychology in addition to Women's Studies. Being a woman is foremost in my life, and I think women's issues should stand at the center of social work reform and direct how this should transpire, along theoretical and political lines that are favorable to women and children. I look forward to becoming ever-more creative in contributing to the debate from a womanist perspective. My first choice for graduate study, therefore, is XXXX University MSW & MA in Women's Studies Dual Degree Program. I am most interested in social issues and social work in the context of gender and ethnicity. I believe that our society is oppressive to people that are not white, male, hetero, and rich and I want to spend my professional life struggling against this oppression as a social work professional who takes it upon herself to care for the weaker members of society who have little power and little voice, inspiring and empowering them to assert their rights and to protect and advance their interests. My long term goal is to someday create my own non-profit organization for men and women of all ethnic backgrounds and experiences can join, feel safe and appreciated, and in time help them to learn the kinds of modern day survival skills that can enhance their quality of life and the inner strength especially women of color, who have historically had less access to economic power than men. I want to become a professional therapist with excellent preparation in the core materials, theories, and methodologies in this field. I have always wanted to belong to a field that embraced women and believed that assisting them in bringing new life into this world would be one of the most satisfying jobs I could be involved with. Although my passion for saving lives and assisting clients has not diminished, it gradually became apparent that I was not suited for a career as a nurse. While I have the greatest respect and admiration for people who choose to devote their lives as nurses, I came to the realization that working in a hospital setting would be too impersonal for my disposition and gifts, and I am now convinced that the more in-depth psychological interaction that characterizes the social work experience is a better fit for my personality and individual gifts. This is why I transferred out of the nursing program after a year and a half of college and ventured into the realm of psychology and women's studies. The more educated I became about issues surrounding discrimination, such as sexism, racism, homophobia, etc., the more involved I became in these issues and the greater my desire became to contribute to these areas. At this point, I discovered the Social Work option, as way to harness my abilities to the professional goals of supporting women and serving as an ally in the struggle for progressive social change, therapeutic recovery, and the healing that can result from counseling. I have been active for the last couple of years with a variety of social organizations that address my concerns, in the pursuit of my dream, including Safehouse, SAPAC, and the XXXX Office. My central goal in life is to help others and to make this world a better place for future generations. I passionately believe that participating in this struggle is the best way to live, and that it makes life enormously rewarding. I want to touch the lives of people in need daily. Whether that involves smiling at a stranger on the street or having a deep and intimate conversation with a friend recovering from an abusive relationship, I will always aspire to have a positive influence on the lives of people around me. I want to have the privilege of reaching out to women who are struggling to survive the trauma of a sexual assault. I want to be able to reach out to a man that has been taunted by others because of his sexual orientation. I want to reach out to children who are underprivileged and are starving for love and affection. And, because of my education in psychology and women's studies, along with my involvement with numerous organizations throughout the community, I am a strong applicant for your MSW program, especially because of my great determination to make my goal a reality. I strongly believe that the dual degree program in Social Work and Women's Studies at XXXX University is the best place for me to prepare myself for reaching my professional goals and I want to thank you for your consideration of my application. MSW & Women's Studies Dual Degree Purpose Statement

I have long been especially close to my father, a pediatrician, and I grew up observing him healing children. Always having been mesmerized by the power of medicine, especially its psychological power, social impact, and ability to save lives; at 27, I am now at the optimal point in life to make a firm, lifelong commitment to pharmacy. I live in Chicago, and XXXX University is a natural, first choice for me. I am extremely excited about all aspects of pharmacy, theoretical, practical, clinical, pharmacy and society, etc. Someday, I especially look forward to helping to make medicine more accessible to those who need it most. I am a very dedicated and hard-working person, serious, focused, and determined to go that extra mile to fulfill my aspirations. If admitted to your program, I will be among the most diligent of students. I am an avid reader concerning all aspects of health care systems. Being Indian is an important part of my identity. And even though I grew up in Illinois, I wish to return to India someday to help make medicine more accessible for people, finding creative and novel ways to do so. I have worked as a pharmacy technician for the past three years, balancing this job with my full-time position as a computer engineer, and taking prerequisite course work towards pharmacy school. I am especially pleased with the contributions that I have been able to make to expand our patient base at the pharmacy. I have learned how to manage my time wisely and I think that my background in engineering may help me to make important contributions to the field of pharmacy. I ask for your assistance in helping me discover how I can best adapt my talents and interests to the goal of contributing to pharmacy in the developing world. Thank you for your consideration of my application. PharmD Personal Purpose in Pharmacy Indian American

A Latina of humble origins, I have lofty and noble professional dreams of helping as many vulnerable people as I can to be safe and happy. The MSW Program at UXX’s XXXX School of Social Work is my first choice for a variety of reasons, mostly the fact that your program is such an established pioneer and remains the leader in Social Work education online. I love the sophistication of your program and see it as the optimal springboard for me to achieve the most thorough education in social work possible, to be able to maximize my contribution to my field over many years to come. Earning my MSW at UXX will introduce me and help me to fully understand a broad variety of strategies and tactics to better my surrounding community. Most critically, I will learn not just the mechanics of the status quo, but also immerse myself in the innovative material concerning how to best go about improving the system in creative ways that are more effective at helping people in a holistic and sustainable fashion. I feel strongly that Social Work at UXX is highly exemplary in this regard, humanitarian, concerned with social justice issues as an integral part of the Social Work curriculum. As a graduate student, I will aim to master the gambit of strategies that are most effective at promoting progressive social change. Being a caring person is intrinsic to social work, along with the drive and high motivation to challenge clients to realize their full potential. Social workers must honor the individuality of each client and empower them to move forward and achieve improvement. The fullest respect of client dignity helps to foster a sense of worth leading towards self-realization and self-determination and helps to produce participatory citizens rather than burdens to the system. The fight against social injustice is intrinsic to social work as I see it, in addition to advocacy, always with an eye on achieving the best outcomes for one’s clients. I personally feel strongly that serving as a voice for the oppressed should come naturally for social workers as they fight for justice and progressive change in their communities. While working with individual clients in the micro setting is my primary and immediate goal, it is complimentary to never lose sight of the broader picture and the way in which our own efforts are part of a larger movement towards greater levels of equality and dignity in our society. Through my volunteer work, I have sought a healthy balance with my clients, treating them with the fullest measure of respect and giving my all, while I struggle to stop thinking about them at the end of the day and return to my home and family.  Having worked extensively with survivors of domestic violence, I am always especially concerned and engaged when my many clients have valid reasons to fear for their safety; thus, I have learned a great deal about legal procedures as s social worker, restraining orders, child services, etc. We worked extremely hard in our agency and were frequently successful in helping our clients to end abusive relationships and to establish their own homes free of violence, for themselves and their children, in other cases, simply making sure that the abuser has been removed from the premises and kept away by legal means. I want the children of troubled and vulnerable families to see me as a kind and supportive friend, a representative of the community whose job it is to advocate and even militate if necessary on their behalf, so as to empower them to make use of available resources and to demand the recognition of their fullest human rights, especially as children. During my internship at the House of Ruth, I shadowed many caseworkers as they interacted with their clients – mostly women and their children. We learned through our training that we must start where the client is and be considerate of their situation and its unique circumstances. One of the behaviors I observed is that these caseworkers are genuinely concerned and want to see the client make progress. I have learned and reflected extensively on the importance of not seeing our clients as helpless, simply ‘battered’ women; rather, we need to help our clients to discover their own power within so as to be able to mold their own destiny as independent women and mothers. I have a very welcoming demeanor that allows people to open up to me and speak easily about their feelings. Whether it is family, friends, associates, or clients, I gain people's trust because I am a good listener, without judgement. I help the client judge for themselves, steering them in the right direction and doing what I can to safeguard their interests, while I also fully realize that at the end of the day it must be the client who takes the initiative in the betterment of their own lives, at least in the case of adults. I feel especially honored as a social worker to have the opportunity to help members of disadvantaged communities and minority ethnic populations, recent immigrants, the vulnerable members of our society, many who speak Spanish and need the kind of assistance that a bilingual Latina social worker can provide. I labor to make the client feel comfortable enough to disclose and discuss their hardships so that they do not feel so isolated as a result of having been abused; but, rather, feel like they are an essential part of a society where abuse is not tolerated and where alternatives to living in abusive situations do exist as a result of community solidarity. As a graduate student in your MSW Program, I will never lose sight of the need to improve our communities by reinforcing and streamlining our support systems to serve, protect, and uplift the vulnerable and marginalized, one client at a time. By earning the MSW Degree, I will complete a thorough immersion experience in the helping professions, ethics, strategies, methodology, research, and practice. With respect to my area of specialization, I hope to build a central focus on the child welfare and protection system because it is in this area where I feel I will be able to make my greatest contribution. I passionately believe that social workers should be model parents if they have children and always as citizens that engage and uplift their community. We need better role models for our children, and subsequent generations and the social worker should be exemplary and take a leadership role in providing children at risk with good role models to steer them along the path towards fulfillment, security, and happiness. I appreciate the importance of working with parents and their children individually, finding a sense of balance between parental control and community responsibility that provides an adequate foundation for child development and subsequent self-determination. The community I have worked with is mostly women and some men – and their children -in recovery from abusive domestic relationships. They are looking for ways to better their lives and the lives of their children. The drive and determination of these women to improve their family’s situation is inspiring. Most simply must face the challenge of the love of their own children trumping the love or connection they once had with their abuser, and many do so quite bravely and successfully. The importance of providing vulnerable and abused children with good role models is an issue that I am especially passionate about. Not all the parents that I have gotten to know at the House of Ruth are highly motivated to improve their current lifestyle and become the kind of people that their children could really look up to. Without adequate role models, our society suffers. I have taken note of how many children there are in our communities who are in desperate need of the help that a social worker can provide, especially a good role model, someone who is kind, concerned, responsible, and a good listener. The skills I will learn through the MSW program will provide me with the additional knowledge and experience that I need to support and educate parents in troubled situations as to what is in the best interests of their children, for the long as well as short term. I have been reading about child welfare and wellbeing issues for several years in my free time and have worked at county jobs, such as DCFS. I seek to build a distinguished career as an MSW professional in support of needy mothers and their children fleeing abusive situations. My five-year plan is to get more experience not only in the field of domestic violence, but to become competent in all areas of social work that are closely related to child welfare, such as adoption, addictions, etc. My ten-year plan is to become the finest social worker possible, giving my all to a maximum caseload in a leadership position, increasingly doing outreach on behalf of needy children, especially those in the Spanish-speaking community. Thank you for your consideration of my application to Social Work at UXX. MSW Statement of Purpose Sample Bilingual Latina

For the past ten years, I have maintained a conceptual continuity in my academics, research, and clinical experiences in the field of clinical psychology. Interpersonal interaction with families and children of all ages is overwhelmingly and intrinsically rewarding. It is where my heart and passion truly lie. My belief is that I have exhausted every avenue of possibility and promotion within my current career. I have met every challenge over the years with an open mind and while I developed my experiences, have been able to address every challenge with increasing professionalism and effectiveness. But I want more from my career, and I have many ideas of how to achieve this aim. Coming this far, I cannot help but think back on all the naysayers I’ve encountered, never accepting, or listening to others who tried to reign in my aspirations; never giving in. My learning disability and ADHD will always be there. They are my burdens, but I have risen to each challenge and overcome. Whenever I can, I tell people, particularly my fellow military spouses on deployment; that they have no limitations except those that they choose to impose upon themselves. It’s easier for me in many ways, especially since I have a dedicated support system on the home-front. It makes the harder times that much more bearable, particularly of late, as I have only just recently lost my father to cancer. I can’t help but think that he has prepared me all these years for when he couldn’t be there. It is my intention to dedicate my PhD work to his memory. I will not let him down. In terms of my academics, I have succeeded in every academic venture I have undertaken. Each program of study has led logically to the next and mirrored my burgeoning career in counseling. My bachelor's degree in psychology laid the necessary groundwork for my chosen career, while my master's degrees in education and psychology with a focus on Family Therapy will both aid me invaluably in the pursuit of my dreams, allowing me to do my utmost for my clients through a thorough understanding of the issues. My master's in education is supplemented by a Teaching Certification in Special Education, in addition to my Licensed Professional Counselor certification. And I’ve kept active in my professional training responsibilities, staying aware and expanding upon my clinical acumen, attending events that dealt with an assortment of issues that I had encountered over the years. These events have allowed me to connect with the extended community of clinicians and interact with the exhibitors. They help me keep current. I’ve learned that being an active counselor is just as important as being able to speak intelligently about the field. To achieve this end, I also spend a great deal of time reading peer-reviewed articles, professional journals, and reviewing the latest books dealing with child assessment and child custody cases. Reaching out to the community from an informed standpoint has seen me - for the past four years – speaking at presentations in various high schools on the issues of teen dating violence and prom safety, increasing teens awareness of these all-too-real situations they may someday encounter. I have given my time to The XXXX County Women’s Center, as well, speaking to groups of volunteers on the issues of sexual assault, domestic violence, and diverse populations and family violence. This is how I give back to the community, a pursuit I will continue no matter where my career takes me. It is much like preventative medicine to a doctor. The more the community is aware of the issues and the possibilities, the more likely we are to stave off future assaults, or at least equip people with the necessary skills to be able to recognize a dangerous situation before anything awful actually happens, to get away, to get help, or simply not be there in the first place. Giving back means professional involvement in associations, as well, and I am a part of the XXXX Counseling Association, XXXX Marriage and Family Association and Texas Play Therapy. My time as an Adaptive Behavior Teacher with XXXX Junior High School laid some important groundwork for my work with children. Having taught emotionally disturbed and learning-disabled children, I was able to interact with the children of XXXX Place more easily, a facility that combines direct counseling with art therapy and educational services to children and families affected by the loss of a loved one. It was my four years with XXXX Women’s Center, however, that exposed me to a whole spectrum of counseling issues, situations and only increased my range, my flexibility and creativity. During my time with XXXX I worked as a Sexual Assault Counselor, and Children’s Counselor, giving me in-depth, real-world experiences to couple with my educational background, both in one-on-one counseling as well as group therapy. While my tenure with XXXX has ended, I continue my therapy work with XXXX Healthcare group, continuing my work assessing, diagnosing, report writing, formulating treatment plans, and providing group counseling. Throughout my professional career I have learned that while I have many strengths, such as my ability to adapt to a variety of professional settings and circumstances, any successful counselor must have effective communication skills, strong interpersonal skills as well as possessing a compassionate and caring heart; it’s a prerequisite! Being able to multi-task has proven to be necessary, as well, especially since I enjoy taking on the more challenging cases such as schizoaffective, eating disorders, major depression with psychotic features. Repeatedly. I come back to children, particularly abused children, as being the group that I will bend over backwards for, dedicating all that I am to their cause. This is my biggest fault: the amount of time I dedicate to my work. I give of myself, my energy, am thoroughly dedicated and I give my time. My work ethic combined with my desire to give back oftentimes goes beyond the one-hour or half-hour session, and constantly need to reign myself in, to take things in steps and stages. I have long been an advocate for families, and particularly children. I want to do more for my clients, and it is my belief that I can do more, and on a larger scale by entering a course of study that focuses on the issues intrinsic to Forensic Psychology and Neuropsychology. Firstly, Forensic Psychology will aid me in alleviating the assorted recurring problems I have seen repeatedly in my work with abusive familial situations. Too many times there are children with voices that have not been heard, falling between the cracks, and returning to an abusive parental unit or home life. This cycle is wrong, and the situation needs to be remedied. I have many ideas and plans on how to achieve this aim, backed up by sound experiences and drive. To alleviate this problem, I am intent upon seeking out situations in which I can be an advocate for children caught during custody cases. Secondly Neuropsychology will enable me to further develop myself as a clinical psychologist and provide further strengthening to my foundation of academic and professional experiences, making me a more proficient researcher, dynamic educator and effective advocate of children and families. At the same time, my academic research into Neuropsychology will better equip me for the challenges of working with children as well as providing the necessary groundwork for my work in Forensic Psychology. The School speaks of the need to create a community atmosphere for learning, combining the experiences of all the students and faculty. This is the sort of environment I feel I will excel in, allowing me to share my experiences with my classmates and faculty while I can learn from the fieldwork of others in a congenial setting. Combined with this is what I feel is an elevated level of cultural competency. Having traveled the globe, four of the seven continents, experiencing most of Europe, parts of Australia, Thailand, and the US, have given me a unique worldview as well as an appreciation for the myriad cultures, customs, and differing worldviews. This will no doubt aid me in my experiences with people of differing cultures in the classroom, clinical situations or with my colleagues. Overall, though, my confidence in my expectations for an unparalleled experience with the School of Psychology is compounded by the promise of students having the ability to tailor the curriculum towards their research requirements and experiences. The School of Psychology at XXXX University is ideal for my needs, and my goals, for several reasons. The incredibly flexible program of study has made XXXX my number one choice for my PhD. The program of study allows distance learning on a schedule that I help create and this will enable me to remain active in my home life as well as giving my academic program the attention that I want to give it. XXXX’s School of Psychology recognizes that students may have different learning styles. In my case, this couldn’t fit my situation better as I have a learning disability combined with ADHD. To have a school allow for this, compensate for it, only increases my desire for an academic relationship with XXXX. Additionally, XXXX’s School of Psychology incorporates into the curriculum the relevant experiences and academics students may have already attained, which speaks to avoiding redundancies in the educational experience. For the future, I envision a private practice that focuses on families and children, especially those that lack the financial means, working with and through non-profits such as CPS or shelters. And I still have not ruled out completely a relationship with a university. I’ve heard it said that the door of a priest should always be open, but the door of a doctor should never be closed. I only foresee my door never being closed through my work with XXXX University and particularly the School of Psychology. PHD Forensic Psychology and Neuropsychology Purpose

My first choice for graduate study is XXXX University in Richmond, Virginia. This is the only school to which I am applying because I feel strongly that the program at XXXX best fits my interests and potential contribution. I was raised in Richmond, my home, and this is where I want to contribute to society. I want to go to graduate school because I very much want to spend the rest of my professional life working with inner city youth as part of the educational system. I look forward to helping develop comprehensive services for underprivileged youth and their families, especially in Richmond, allowing them to overcome cultural and economic hurdles to reach their fullest potential. I earned a B.S. in Social Psychology while I was a member of the U.S. military. After both graduating and leaving the military in 1993, I have held several jobs, all of which, in some way or another, have helped to lay the experiential foundation for becoming a professional counselor. For the last ten years I have worked as a rehabilitation counselor with the department of corrections and the Petersburg Sheriff's Office, where I facilitate various groups such as parenting, anger management, breaking barriers, women's empowerment, and the development of social skills. I also provide individual and group counseling, work on developing treatment plans, and file progress report for the courts and the parole board. Before this position, I worked as a Program Coordinator for inner city youth, providing academic assistance to children at risk of dropping out of school. Working with adult offenders is especially rewarding when they make a conscious decision to reform their lives. Nevertheless, my heart will always be with disadvantaged youth in the inner city and the crucial need for parental support, helping their children with the school system's challenges. Last year I developed a Parent Education Resource Ministry program that helps parents advocate for appropriate academic services for their children and provides them with behavioral modification strategies for both home and school. I am especially interested in fostering collaborative efforts that build strategic alliances between parents, church, school, and community to help at risk youth reach their fullest potential. In the future, I would love to see our Parent Education Resource Ministry expand to other states and offer a full range of family and individual counseling, mentoring, tutorial assistance, etc. It is primarily for this reason that I ask for your help to become a licensed professional Counselor because of my study in your master's program at XXXX. I look forward to the opportunity to do extensive research in the field of disadvantaged youth and the education system as part of my course work. Participating in the Counseling Cohort Program will also allow me to continue my personal obligations as a parent and caregiver. I, too, had a challenging youth, especially since my mother abandoned the family when I was seven; my father was an alcoholic who struggled to provide for the family's needs. I study my learning problems in memory and often reflect on the positive impact of my first guidance Counselor, who took me under her wing and nurtured me. Her support was what I most longed for at that time in my life, in high school, and my grades started to improve. She was my hero, role model, and everything a counselor should be warm, loving, gentle, caring, and disciplined. I tell people that it is essential to have a heartbeat for what they are trying to accomplish. I have natural gifts for counseling people; youth and adults always find it easy to confide in me about the essential things going on in their lives. Overcoming my barriers and obstacles to human fruition has provided me with a foundation upon which I can help others. I put my heart and soul into my work. Much of my self-confidence and inspiration springs from my current work as the leader of our Parent Education Resource Ministry at my church, where we help to provide services for youth in the inner city. The fact that I seek to combine my activity in the church with that of a professional participant in our secular educational structure speaks to me concerning what I most love about America and Virginia: the celebration of our diversity, religious faith, and material or political identity, all at the same time. The most significant contribution I could make to society would be to help design parental support systems that will result in healthier, more positive-minded children and productive citizens. I have dedicated my life to God as an advocate for the provision of education and counseling services to those of our children who are most in need. My African heritage is significant to me, and I have even taken my daughter to Africa for first-hand exploration of our roots. This has helped my daughter to see the value of working hard at her studies. I joined the United States Military in 1986 because I wanted to break the cycle of unwed mothers/high school dropouts/living in poverty that had plagued my family. I became a Behavioral Science Specialist and worked with individuals suffering from troubling mental conditions or personality disorders. I was responsible for administering and scoring psychological, behavioral, and educational assessments and recording observations. While stationed at FT. Lee, Virginia, I volunteered at the local battled women's shelter. There, I developed plans of action and referred women and their families to agencies that could provide support and assistance for victims of domestic violence. It was at this point that I came to see my professional destiny in counseling. I want to thank you for your consideration of my application. MA Educational Counseling Personal Purpose

XXXX International University is my top choice because the program educates clinical psychologists through a curriculum based on the integration of theory, research, and practice. Clinical experience in the field is especially important to me. The campus offers small classes and one-on-one attention from professors and a more intimate educational experience. Alliant’s emphasis on social and cultural diversity within the student cohort and the PsyD education is also important for me. Another key factor is that the PsyD program has full accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA), which will provide me more opportunity in the future. In my research for a suitable graduate program, I was thrilled to learn that Professors XXXX and XXXX both taught at XXXX International University. Professor XXXX has numerous articles related to the trauma of children and adolescents. "Community Based Acute Post-Traumatic Stress Management: A Description and Evaluation of a Psychosocial Intervention Continuum," stands out among the many articles I read during my research of the program. I know I will also learn much from Professor XXXX’s knowledge of the development of psychopathology, and parent and child social perceptions. The purpose of my study is to investigate the relationship of Internet addiction (IA) with borderline personality features, childhood traumas, depression, and anxiety symptoms among adolescents. The use of the Internet is quite common all around the world, especially among teenagers and has increased exponentially over the past decade. Adolescents spend their entire lives connected online, from schoolwork, socializing, shopping, playing games, and entertainment. This online connectivity can become obsessive and problematic. It can become a characteristic symptom of excessive Internet use and associated as a behavioral addiction that has been called a computer addiction, compulsive Internet use, pathological or problematic Internet use (PIU). Video games and social media overuse in adolescence has become an increasingly studied area over the last decade. In recent years, researchers have suggested that Internet addiction may be comorbid with psychological symptoms such as mood, depression, and anxiety symptoms. In my dissertation research, I would like to investigate how child trauma and borderline personality disorder features in adolescence can have a correlation with Internet addiction. My hypothesis is that childhood trauma, particularly childhood physical neglect, and emotional and sexual abuse have a significant effect on borderline personality disorder that can be associated with risk of excessive Internet use. From my research, the essential features of borderline personality disorder have some differences between adolescents and adults. The adolescents have more likely “acute” symptoms such as impulsive, self-damaging behavior, inappropriate anger, fear of abandonment, identity disturbance, feeling of emptiness, and dependency on specific relationships to maintain a sensed identity. Borderline Personality Disorder in adolescence has a high psychiatric comorbidity and low psychosocial functioning. Childhood traumas were also found to be related to substance addiction as well as behavioral addictions such as gambling. However, from my research, there are few studies that investigated the association between childhood traumas and Internet addiction. In my research, I have also found a relationship between Internet addiction and impulsivity which is commonly seen among those with borderline personality disorder. The link between borderline personality disorder and addiction is not surprising because both have negative emotionality and affective instability, and both are impulsive. In my future research, I want to carefully evaluate the variables of the individuals who were traumatized in childhood and may have an elevated risk of borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety symptoms and have Internet addiction psychopathology. There are only a few studies that directly evaluate the association between Internet addiction and borderline personality disorder. Traumatic childhood experiences, depression, anxiety, and gender may have important effects on Internet addiction risk and borderline personality disorder, so I want to consider borderline personality disorder together with these variables. Since adolescents with features of borderline personality disorder may have negative emotions, instability, depression, anxiety, fear of abandonment, identity disturbance, which may relate with child trauma, they might find easier to interact online with others anonymously rather than the engage contact in real life. The reason for this finding may be that adolescents with trauma, negative emotions, such as anxiety or depression, may use the Internet to relieve these feelings both internally and externally. The Internet may provide an appropriate place for adolescents with features of borderline personality disorder or child trauma to dissociate from the real world, to help manage their negative emotions. I also can investigate whether any coping styles such as avoidant or emotion-focused coping or possible psychological defense mechanism moderate in the relationship between impulsivity, negative emotions, instability, and Internet addiction. To investigate my hypothesis, we can use Internet addiction scale (IAS), Childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ-28), Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory, Childhood Interview for DSM-4 borderline personality disorder, which is the first interview-based measure of adolescents Borderline Personality Disorder And shows good reliability and validity. Internet addiction is the complicated, actual, and dynamic topic of the day. I am interested in the Child and Family (CFT) track in the PsyD program. My end goal is to become a licensed clinical psychologist for children, adolescents, and couples. I am especially interested in children. My friends, family, and colleagues have noted my ability to listen, exhibit empathy, connect emotionally, and encourage--necessary characteristics to work with children. The opportunity to work 50 percent in the field will allow me to focus and deeply learn how to function as a clinical psychologist. I chose the CFT track because of my experience as a teacher and counseling volunteer. Children are the most vulnerable part of our society and often suffer from anxiety, depression, and other mental issues. We need more professional experts who can help with these issues to facilitate better lives. A child's life is far too scripted nowadays with school, sports, friends, extracurricular activities, and family. The adolescent period has a reputation for being fragile, less resilient, and more engulfed. In one report, the Child Mind Institute found that diagnosed anxiety disorder only gets treatment in about 20% of young people. It is hard to quantify behaviors related to anxiety and depression like non-suicidal self-harm, and they are intentionally secretive. Being a teenager today is an exhausting full-time job that includes schoolwork, managing a social-media identity, concern about career, and friends. Parents can easily lose contact with children and enter unproductive conflicts. It is hard for many parents to understand how much of a teenager's emotional life is lived within the small screens on their phones. For adolescents it is hard to see their own flaws or vulnerability, and for parents, the idea that their child has depression or anxiety or is self-harming can feel like a failure on their parts. When in this crisis, it is not enough to treat just the child, we should consider the whole family dynamic. My purpose in this track is to understand how to work with children who have issues with addiction, depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, abuses, childhood trauma, other mental health issues.  I want to become a source of strength, hope, empowerment to recover, repair, heal their life and relationship with family and society as whole by exploring and identifying from all sources of wisdom in science and therapy to support their path to recovery. PsyD Child & Family Psychology Multicultural Purpose

Entering a rigorous PsyD program is a decision based upon many factors, not the least of which is that I feel I will quickly exhaust every path of opportunity and challenge at my current academic level.  More importantly though is my desire to fulfill a dream that began long before I ever entered higher education: the desire to help other at all costs, particularly those struggling with the assorted difficulties that stem from socio-economically depressed and crime-ridden communities. To date, not one day, nor one task was ever more personally or professional satisfying in my nine plus years in the Navy than when I was serving the needs of others, ensuring that sexual assault victims got the help they needed, instructing others in equal opportunity and sexual harassment issues, and mentoring junior military personnel. Through my individual experiences, formal education, and pursuit of a graduate degree in Human Relations, I have seen the areas I most want to investigate further in my PsyD education, specifically how to bring about sustainable change in the lives of individuals within socio-economically depressed and crime-ridden communities.  There is a distinct need to help at-risk families – as units and individuals – who struggle for stability and peace in their lives.  I have a personal stake in the investigation of schizophrenia, and the effects this disease has upon immediate family members.  Too often family members are on the front lines of dealing with this condition and are often ill equipped. Earning a PsyD will enable me to bring my goals, ambitions – my dreams – to fruition, namely serving immigrant, and minority populations within socio-economically depressed communities as a clinical psychologist, ideally in my own private practice.  People’s individual perceptions of their surroundings are the basis of their happiness and those around them.  By helping people find viable solutions to those issues, it will give those in need the tools to make positive, sustainable change.  Community wide change starts within the individual. In conjunction with my solid academic foundation in Human Relations, I bring with me to the student body over nine years of professional experiences working and interacting within ethnically and culturally diverse, multidisciplinary groups of individuals.  With my fluency in English, Spanish, and American Hispanic/Latino experience, I will be sensitive to the unique needs of minority and immigrant populations.  My military experiences in nine countries spread across four continents have shown me the hardships facing families within emerging nations. To help others is my passion, and my calling.  Never will I let the hardships and challenges I worked so hard to overcome ever be in vain.  Earning my PsyD will enable me to help others break cycles of abuse, despair and rekindle people’s belief in themselves, that they are truly worthy and deserving of happiness. Thank you for your time and consideration. PsyD Latino Clinical-Community Personal Purpose

I am a fiercely independent, highly responsible Vietnamese woman who wants very much to dedicate her life to pharmacy. I have a deep and abiding sense of dignity for myself, and others and I am convinced that this will serve me well as a pharmacy professional at the service of her community. Even though I immigrated to America only six years ago, I will soon have an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of XXXX. My first language is Vietnamese, and I grew up in a conservative and sexist culture. My siblings and I were often sent to my grandfather’s house where I learned little more than how to cook and sew. I always asked my grandmother why I cannot join my brother and his friends in the yard shooting down pears from trees and dissecting flies. She told me it was because I was a girl. My independent spirit, however, rebelled, and this, in turn, resulted in a great deal of physical punishment at the hands of various family members. Nevertheless, I refused to be molded by the thinking that girls should not explore nature or ask questions. I was like a fish who managed to avoid getting wet. I was not formally introduced to Chemistry until junior high school; but I quickly excelled at it. I never missed a single Chemistry class; and while most of my female friends distained the laboratory, it was the center of my world. I suppose it appealed to my tomboy nature. I especially prize my time spent in the laboratory. By the time that I went to high school, Biology had officially become my second love, particularly human genetic codes. I decided at that time that I wanted to devote my life to the profession that stands at the crossroads of my two major interests, chemistry, and biology: Pharmacy. I followed my parents to the United States in 2005, despite my profound reservations concerning their ability to successfully adapt; and it has been difficult, primarily because of the language barrier. My own experience here in America, however, has been quite positive. Attending XXXX Community College (XCC) gave me a chance to meet many friends and adapt to the American lifestyle. I became friendlier, more open to communicating with people and felt increasingly free to express my ideas to others. My life in the USA has enabled me to become independent, working and pursuing my degree at the same time. I very much love the international colors of higher education in America, and this is why I am currently employed by the English as a Second Language Laboratory at SCCC. This position fulfills my dream of being able to support myself and help my parents while I can help others, in this case people who have difficulty with English and need computer-based support. I have also worked as a Mathematics Tutor in the Math and Science Laboratory. This job helped me to refresh my knowledge in mathematics while receiving the joy of meeting and helping people from different countries. In my junior year at UW, to gain additional laboratory experience, I accepted a position in the laboratory of environmental scientist Dr. XXXX. Working in this extremely impressive, high-tech environment has helped me to become a much more critical thinker and more independent scientist. I have learned how to organize and prioritize multiple tasks and to work very effectively under the pressure of deadlines.  I have done extensive research into Phyto detoxification of 2,4,6 –Trinitrotoluene (TNT) and hexa-hydro-1,3,5-trinitro -1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in transgenic plants and the relationship between Endophytes and crop growth. Since my senior year, and my elective class in microbiology and the human immune system, I have been especially fascinated by antibiotics and this goes a long way to explain my dedication to pharmacy. I have dreams and visions of helping my people back in Vietnam, at some point in my future, as a Doctor of Pharmacy. I am most attracted to issues of public education and changing perspectives, while I will always be engaged with the literature concerned with lowering the cost of life-saving medicine and making it more accessible to those that need it most. PharmD Personal Statement Example Editing Service #pharmd #editingservice #personalstatement #pharmacy

Born and raised in Indonesia, my grandfather is from China, and he taught me Mandarin when I was a child. Now, increasingly, as I recover my ability to understand Mandarin especially while in China, I think of him. I am also well on my way to learning to speak Mandarin fluently. This part is critical since I seek to build a special expertise in my field, Child, and Educational Psychology, focused on the marginalized and/or special needs children of China as well as my native Indonesia. We moved to Seattle, WA in 2007 and then to North Carolina in 2016. The fact that North Carolina is our new home is one of the principal reasons why XXXX University is my first choice for doctoral study. I hope to earn the PHD in Clinical Psychology in the Child & Family track. I feel that the research and publication areas of your outstanding faculty at XXXX are the most closely aligned with my own long-term aspirations for both practice and research in Clinical Psychology – especially with respect to helping children with autism and ADHD. I am particularly excited about the prospect of studying under Dr. Puffer because her work centers around the development and evaluation of integrated, community-based interventions to promote child mental health in low-resource settings. The interests that I share with Dr. Puffer led me to my professional relationship with World Vision Indonesia, studying the impact of contextual education and life-skills intervention in improving learning outcomes. Currently, I am serving as an International Development Consultant studying the effectiveness of early childhood development intervention in rural China. I could not be more dedicated to staying abreast of technology enhanced or assisted research and intervention in early childhood, especially in Indonesia and China. I care very deeply about the well-being of children, particularly those from families with scarce resources. I seek a full immersion in the literature of Child and Family Psychology generally speaking, with my most developed concentration in special needs children. I could not be more excited about the prospect of participating in as many practicums and conferences in my area as the opportunity presents. I look forward to acquiring an advanced understanding of the role of culture in measurement, communication, adaptation, and intervention design, in addition to the full gambit of strategies for the promotion of child well-being and good-parenting practices. Coming from a country full of ethnic and cultural diversity, I relish working with families from all cultural backgrounds. This is especially important as far as cultural values play a crucial role in shaping interventions. I am already heavily engaged in research in the areas of assessment instruments, developmental milestones, teacher observation, caregiver survey, and early learning environmental scale tailored to the Indonesian context - measuring the quality of child development services and parenting practices in rural Indonesia, to improve child developmental outcomes. The Autism spectrum, ASD, ADHD, and neurodevelopmental disorders occupy my intellectual and professional center stage in a search for practical applications based on research concerning the well-being of children with special needs and their families, mapping and evaluating services for autism/ADHD in low-resource settings in Indonesia, China, or other developing nations. Through my experience as an applied researcher in humanitarian educational settings, I came to appreciate increasingly the importance of research for producing evidence-based interventions which at the end lead to achieving our goal: improving the well-being of children and families, especially in the case of disadvantaged populations. I look forward to contributing to the great diversity of experience driving the innovative research taking place at Duke. I have extensive experience working in unique settings, including refugee camps, post-conflict settings, post-disaster settings, and other rural and remote settings in developing countries. Some of the countries I’ve traveled to for project fieldwork include Indonesia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Thailand, Jordan, Vanuatu, Philippines, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and China. And, while I have not yet been there, I am also extensively involved and networking with non-profit organizations in Kenya, Malawi, Swaziland, Burundi, Vietnam, Korea, Mongolia, India, Myanmar, and Laos. I have extensive experience working closely with young children (from infants to adolescents) and their families. I am an experienced grant proposal writer and a scholarship recipient for academic excellence. I seek to put my diverse experiences, cross-cultural research interests, leadership qualities and elevated level of determination to on behalf of underserved populations globally, working with humanitarian organizations. There is a great need for well-trained psychologists to support the effort of NGOs to serve children with special needs in developing countries, especially in remote/rural areas, the poor, refugees, etc. By earning the PHD, I will get the top-notch training and experience that I need to achieve my goals. I also look forward to teaching Child Psychology at some point in Indonesia, to increase the quality of expertise that serves children with special needs in my home country. I want to help bridge gaps and connect universities in the Global South with their counterparts in the 1st and 2nd, promoting multinational, cross-cultural research. Jasper, my nephew (then three, now six) was diagnosed with both autism and ADHD and his parents had little confidence in the validity of the diagnosis, especially since it was based on a one-visit assessment. Naturally, I started reading broadly in this area to be able to support his parents from an informed perspective, resulting in my elevated level of fluency in the literature of evidence-based evaluation and treatment for autism and ADHD, and particularly with respect to cultural issues and in the context of the Developing World. I look forward to building my own non-profit organization focused on both Indonesia and China and devoted to the well-being of children with special needs. I also hope to design and operate inclusive schools that serve special populations in creative ways. I thank you for considering my application to the global Child and Family Psychology community at XXXX. PHD Clinical Psychology Child & Family Sample

I am writing this Statement on behalf of my application to the Psychology Program at XXXX, University where I hope to attain a master's degree. I also attended XXXX as an undergraduate and I came to deeply admire the faculty and enjoy the campus environment. I also appreciate the strength of XXXX’s Psychology Department, and I have a special passion for school counseling. As a first-generation Mexican immigrant from a poor family, I have faced first-hand many of the obstacles facing at-risk students today, and I strongly believe that this background will help me to become a very empathetic and effective school counselor, especially for Latino and other minority/immigrant children. Growing up in Mexico and California, I had an exceedingly difficult life. After immigrating to the United States, my family suffered further financial hardship. We could not afford to buy or rent a house and so we lived in a trailer. My father was a volatile alcoholic who abused my mother, my sisters, and me physically and emotionally for many years. My grandfather also sexually abused me when I was incredibly young. Sometimes the pain of these experiences left me so drained that it was hard to find any kind of happiness. I was filled with hatred toward my family, friends, and even strangers. In time, I realized that I needed to find some way to cope with these experiences, the memories, struggling to understand why people did these kinds of horrible things and how it was possible to recover from them. It was not until I began studying psychology that I was able to make rapid progress at putting my past behind me and devoting myself to the future. After high school, I entered the work force because I did not have the funds for higher education. I took a job at McDonald’s and worked my way up to corporate manager. My responsibilities included hiring, training, setting employee schedules, inventory and overseeing end-of-the-month closings. But after getting married and having a child, I realized that I needed more out of life. My work was a means to an end and not my passion. I wanted to find a career that was more fulfilling. I also wanted to set an example for my daughter and demonstrate to her that you can accomplish anything you set out to do. So, I quit my job and applied to college. I enrolled at XXXX, Northridge and became the first person in my family to attain a university degree. At times, school was a struggle and language were a barrier. Sometimes, the old demons from my childhood got in my way. As a result, my grades occasionally suffered, but I was determined to persevere and succeed. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know, particularly in psychology, my major. Coming to better understand the complexities of human nature was not easy. With each course, I came to better understand the relationships between cognition, emotions, and actions—and how they were multi-layered. With the help of my professors and my studies, I gained a better understanding of my father. I learned he was a typical example of narcissistic personality disorder. Although this did not excuse his abusive behavior, it was a revelation for me that provided me with some relief—at least I was not alone. Doing volunteer work has also fueled my interest in psychology. At the time, I was a full-time student, plus a wife and a mother, but I still wanted to make the time to help others. I have worked at two schools, XXXX Elementary and XXXX Elementary, and at the local Boys and Girls Club. I also volunteered twice a week at a neighborhood shelter. I worked with a woman named Laura, for example, who had recently left an incredibly stressful situation and was living at the shelter. It was highly rewarding for me to help her cope with the difficulties she faced. Volunteering not only allowed me to assist others, but I also gained a great deal in return. Meeting and working with people from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances has given me much broader insight into human behavior. Recently, I completed my college education and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Neither of my parents attended my graduation ceremony. Although that was extremely painful, it helped me to appreciate how much I had accomplished on my own, without my family’s help. I knew that I could not stop now and decided to continue my education. In the future, I plan to become an elementary school counselor, advising children with behavioral problems, learning disabilities and family struggles. The greatest contribution I could make would be to help young people who are struggling to deal with and overcome domestic abuse. I strongly believe that sharing my knowledge with them, what I have learned, the strength that I have found, hope, optimism, the light at the end of the tunnel, will help them to better understand their own problems, put them in perspective, and help them find a way out of the darkness through education and community involvement, just as I have. MA Masters Latina School Counselor Personal Purpose