I do not expect to receive anything as I mentor, but I seek to impact others’ lives. Specifically, I hope to inspire students to realize their limitless potential and to dream big. Nowadays, students face more pressure to perform at a high academic level and reach unrealistic expectations; consequently, many feel lost because many abandon their innate gifts and passions for artificial goals and interests to please others. In my case, I was one of the students before. Yet, after being mentored by professors, friends, and other peers, I have broken free from this torture by realizing how vital many different professions are in the world. Because of this, I became unafraid of deviating from the expected paths set upon me by my parents and peers. As a result, I desire to mentor and support students to help them realize success is not defined by specific professions or achievements but by whatever they pursue and accomplish. I want to remind students they have the freedom of choice to shape their life however they want because everyone has a unique set of skills, experience, and knowledge to fulfill a specific need in the world that no one else can do. Ultimately, I envision myself nurturing the next generation of students who do not abide and settle for predetermined and artificial goals but are trailblazers setting an example for others to follow.

Many students aspire to become doctors, scientists, and engineers, so they seek to enroll in the world’s best universities to make these dreams a reality. Despite the vast resources and courses these prestigious institutions have, the best school in the world is life. Unlike academia, life does not care whether a person has a high school diploma or bachelors degree. Life refines, teaches, and tests individuals whether they are ready for it or not. During my time in college, life taught me an important lesson about failure: failure should not be feared but instead sought after. During the start of spring break, I got a notification: “Biology Final - Graded.” My hands were shaking as I scrolled through my laptop to check my score. When the screen loaded, I realized I failed, and I shockingly got the lowest score out of the entire class. Many thoughts were screaming through my mind, but one thought was evidently clear: Was this happening to me – a former academic high school scholar failing an exam in college? Every college student has felt this nightmare at least once in college. In my case, I felt these emotions after failing my biology exam. I began doubting my ability to excel in college because I quickly realized college was entirely different from high school. Unlike my time in high school, I could not procrastinate exams in college because the material and the exams were more rigorous and demanding. Seeing my low grade, I knew I had to change something radically, but I did not know where to start. As I scrambled for a starting point, I realized my failure was my answer. After many tears, I discovered my academic flaws. I never asked for help when the material was challenging, remained adamant about my old study habits being sufficient, and believed I was the only person failing. After this realization, I began improving these points. I started asking questions during lectures and attending my professor’s office hours whenever material was challenging to improve my grades. I sought tips and advice from TAs and other upperclassmen to develop new study habits. As I continued to better myself, many peers stated my efforts were overkill for the class, but I ignored them. When the next exam came, the fruits of my labor arrived when I outscored all of them by achieving the highest score in the class. During this revelation, I also found my passion and potential career from an alarming problem. In the same class, I noticed other students failing, but they did not know how to manage and overcome it. Furthermore, as a student instructor, I witnessed more students from different levels and courses facing the same situation; however, instead of learning from it, they lamented over the problem. After being tired of seeing students lose sight of their limitless potential, I committed myself to education and began aspiring to become an educator. Many fear failure because they mistakenly believe a horrific consequence will arise to punish them. Although failures can be challenging to accept, these situations don’t occur without a purpose. Through my experience, I learned failures are the foundation of success because it refines individuals to be more aware of their weaknesses to improve. This lesson has reshaped how I approach any difficult situation in school and life. After this class, I excelled and conquered more challenging upper-divisional courses and became more fearless in pursuing uncomfortable opportunities that would continue developing me as a person.

I aspire to become an educator who develops and nurtures the next generation of students. I believe this profession aligns with my personal mission of student success and wellness, and enhances my natural gifts of communication and teaching. As an educator, I hope to enlighten students about their limitless potential and unveil the unrealistic expectations that have been traumatizing them. My taste of teaching was awakened when a student who I tutored sent me a thank you letter, which expressed how much I impacted their academic success and how much this person would miss my lecture-style sessions. At this moment, I felt overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, and realized how important teaching was. However, I was shocked to witness many students who crumbled from simple mistakes, like a failed quiz, test, or assignment, because of the lack of proper mentorship and support. After seeing this urgent issue, I was moved to make a difference because I believe every person is capable of displaying intellect. All they need is proper development and guidance to help them flourish in whatever they choose to do. I know this is true because I am living proof. Coming into college, I was not confident in my abilities to succeed because of my overdependence on my peers in high school. Yet, after being mentored and nurtured by professors and mentors, I have developed into a high achieving student who has excelled at the college level. I hope to share this wisdom to awaken other students to grow confident in themselves and their ability to make their dreams a reality.

I want people to remember me for my commitment to student success and wellness. Since my undergraduate years, I have witnessed many students lose confidence in themselves and their capabilities after a simple mistake, like a failing test, quiz, or homework. Unfortunately, many students at all levels of education determine their potential success solely based on their academic performance, and when they don’t hit this unrealistic mark, they crumble. To save future students from this torture, I aspire to become an educator to change this unhealthy mentality held by many students. I believe I have been gifted with the experience and knowledge to enlighten students about adapting from failure because I have experienced these stressful situations and overcome them. Being an educator, I will be able to prepare, nurture, and develop students for the various challenges they will face in school and life. Using my life as an example, I hope students grow confident in their abilities to succeed in school by recognizing their limitless potential. Students obtain a large amount of knowledge about a series of subjects in education, but unfortunately, many cannot address and adapt from failure and other school-related problems. As a result, I seek a graduate degree to supplement my knowledge and skills to become an effective educator and example for students. Gaining an advanced degree, I become qualified to teach high school and community college students. Also, the rigorous curriculum of this graduate degree would prepare me to advise students: how to approach a challenging class, how to handle failure, and how to navigate college. Ultimately, students need not only passionate educators but also supportive mentors to nurture and develop them to become successful in their education.