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My college experience has allowed me to learn about my strengths and weaknesses in and out of the classroom but most of all, I learned that I have a passion to help others who are going through or have a loved one who is going through a serious illness.

I am truly grateful for the professors and faculty who dedicate their time in helping all students achieve their dreams. They have taught me that a fulfilling college education is more than a diploma or getting a job offer. A truly enriching educational career is building oneself to be better equipped to make a difference for our community.

I have taken a proactive approach in making the most out of my time at the Beach. For the first two years of college I worked as a research assistance on two community based research projects through Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP).

Even if I face challenges whether it be tomorrow, next year, or in five years, I will continue to keep going and learn from my mistakes. I will find and create my definition of happiness.

Coming from a Social Science background, I wasn’t accustomed to studying sciences such as Anatomy and Physiology. Over the course of a year, I endured the discomfort and eventually mastered the material, while adopting a more scientific frame of thinking.

While I was a Resident Assistant I was given the opportunity to study abroad in Europe. Although it was far away from home I decided to take a semester to see what another part of the world is like. From that experience I caught what some call “the travel bug” and have flown to other parts of the US and Asia. Any chance I get to travel somewhere, I will…

I got involved with as many organizations as possible to maximize my time at ��֦��Ƶ. I even became an officer for the Rotaract Leadership club on campus the summer before my freshmen year and have been an officer ever since.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that there is goodness on this planet, but I want to make it easy to remember.

My goal is to help students reach their fullest potential. I prayed for a cheerleader when I was growing up, so when I become a high school or community college counselor, my students will have the biggest cheerleader in their corner!

Moving through the years I learned so much about what family and friends mean. Especially being so far away from my home and family in Illinois.

As that old saying goes, “life happens while you’re making plans.” No one could have told me at age nineteen when I got my first part-time teller position that I would end up being a branch manager at a financial institution. It has not been easy juggling being a mother of two sons, working a demanding full-time job, and attending college.