Personal Statement

During my time at the University, I have had the opportunity to follow my passion for helping others through a variety of organizations and activities both on campus, and in the community. This passion for service has grown during my time at Missouri State, but it began long before my experience as a Bear.

As a senior in high school, I was involved with a course that taught us about what it meant to be an ethical citizen. The task from this course that truly ignited my passion for service was my experience facilitating the collection of over 1,000 pairs of shoes for Stomp Out Hunger. I developed a plan and recruited a team of students who would carry out the plan I developed from start to finish. In this experience, I saw how using my strengths to serve others could genuinely make a difference in my community, further, knowing my efforts could also help families in need who might be all across the world lit a fire inside me.

That fire has continued to grow over the past few years as I have taken many opportunities to use my strengths to give back to others. In my time as an undergraduate, I was privileged enough to be involved with so many diverse groups of people that have made a true difference on and off our campus. Because of these many different experiences, I am continuing my education as a graduate student in Child Forensic Psychology while I work at a local domestic violence shelter. I know that long after graduation I will continue to search out ways to use my skills to impact others lives in a positive way, which is why I have chosen a career field that will allow me to do just that.