What leadership roles and/or volunteer experiences have you had?

 I have served as a mentor in the mentoring program under the College of Education called "Terp Pals."  I have served as a Resident Assistant in Ellicott Hall for 3 semesters by providing events for, encouraging, and leading freshman residents on campus, as well as supporting the rest of my staff and supervisor.  I volunteered as a conversation partner for a month in Cuenca, Ecuador last summer (2010).

What is your favorite campus setting and why?

 My favorite campus setting is the residence hall.  This setting provides a unique opportunity for students to form deep relationships with one another based on common interests and mutual academic and life skills support.  This is the learning ground of the college life- students learn to adjust to sharing living space with others and gain crucial social skills that come from resolving conflict and respecting others' social boundaries.  They have available to them many resources- each other, their Resident Assistant, and other campus organizations and programs.  They learn to make their own decisions as they experience the benefits from wise choices and the consequences of poor choices.  They experience their role as a community member in a way that allows them to have an impact on how the community forms and functions.  It is a setting I wish all could experience, because it is so enriching and enlightening to live with such a large and diverse group of people in the same general area. 

What has your scholarship meant to you or enabled you to do?

 My scholarship has enabled me to completely pay for all 4 years of college without any financial debt whatsoever.  It has also prompted me to manage my personal finances now so that I will be better prepared to manage a salary in the near future.  Since I will be graduating debt-free, I am provided with the unique opportunity to begin planning ahead for how I will manage my job income, uninhibited by past accumulated debt. 

What are your career plans/aspirations?

 My career plans and aspirations may not seem very ambitious to some, but for me are very high callings that are not to be taken lightly.  I foresee my first few years after graduation as a Spanish teacher.  I would teach middle school if I go to public school, or high school in a private school.  Though I am currently gaining teaching skills in the public school setting, I would like to return to the private school I attended and teach Spanish there.  The program could use a fresh approach, and I believe I could bring such a perspective to the school.  

After perhaps a few years of teaching, I would like to start a family.  I will then choose to stay at home and raise my children and will not work until they are grown up enough to take more responsibility for themselves.  I believe children need to know that their parents love them and are there for them, and that the primary way they will see that is that if their parents are WITH them.  My husband's job will be to provide for the family at his job and then come home to teach the children and spend time with them. My job will be to care for their physical and emotional needs during the day and discipline them as appropriate.  I see the calling to be a mother as a serious and high calling- one that I will never be perfect at- and although it may seem mundane and difficult at times, I know that in the end my children will thank me for the career sacrifices I made in order to raise them up as competent and mature people.  I am excited about this opportunity, and also anticipate using the skills I have learned teaching as I teach my own children at home and enhance their learning from school.