I grew up in a single parent household in which my mother raised my sister and

me by herself. She received benefits from the government, so we did not have much in
terms or material things and creature comforts growing up. At the age of 16 I started to
start working to help out, and by doing so, I put our financial needs ahead of my
academic needs. I was working and trying to finish high school, but, in the end,
something had to give.
When I graduated from George Washington High School one semester behind
schedule in January of 1997, I immediately enrolled in LaGuardia Community College in
an attempt to raise my grades which would, hopefully, enable me to transfer to Baruch
College. I knew where I wanted to go. I just did not know how to get there.
Unfortunately, I did not have the preparation and discipline needed to succeed while
working full time and enrolled in a full-time college program. After my first two
semesters, my grade point average was a very disappointing 0.86 and I was placed on
academic probation.
After this disappointing experience in college, I decided to leave school until I
could get my financial situation straightened out first, so that I could then properly focus
on my academic studies. After a two year absence from college, and with a better job, I
decided to go back and try school again. However, I struggled to pass the writing exam.
As a result, I was very upset and demoralized, and gave up on school once again.
In 2006, I realized that in order to have the type of life that I wanted, I needed to
go back and finish school. Instead of being upset or disappointed with myself, I fought
hard to pass the writing test. At the end of that semester I passed the writing test and
passed all my classes with decent grades: an A and a B. With this relatively modest
accomplishment came a great feeling of achievement and success.
For the next two years, I focused on my studies while continuing to work full
time. I was able to go from being on academic probation with a 0.86 grade point average
to being on the Honor Roll with a grade point average of 3.682, to, presently,
successfully reaching my goal of becoming an student enrolled at Baruch College.
Throughout this time, I have learned about the great importance of a good
education. I want to be successful and, hopefully, to become the CEO of a Fortune 500
company someday. My most valuable and treasured experience during my present
college education has been seeing the positive, direct results of all of my hard work and
perseverance. Being in school has reinforced my strong work ethic and belief that success
comes from industriousness and not willing to give up on one’s goals. I now have set
concrete, achievable goals for myself.
My short term goal is to graduate with honors from Baruch College with a major
in Finance. My medium-term goal is attain a great GMAT score, with the hopes of
getting in to an Ivy League MBA program. My long term goal is to one day be a captain
of industry and a positive role model in my community.
I plan to take full advantage of my education this time around. And while I wish
that I would have done it sooner, as the saying goes, “better late than never.”