I have been working in education almost for 10 years now. I've always delayed my masters program, always saying to myself, 'I will get to it later." Last year I finally made the commitment to get my Master's in Education. Part of my inspiration comes from one of my teacher friends that I used to work with. She was only 25 by the time she finished her masters. I was around 32 at that point and was thinking to myself, 'What am I doing with my life at this point?" A few months after that I decided that it was time for me to commit to a master's program. I am almost done with the program, but at the same time reducing the amount of debt I have incurred would help me out, this scholarship would help me lessen the burden. I work full time and attend school at the same time. The last two years have been a rollercoaster of a ride, but I have been delligent and committed and have maintained a 4.0 GPA and manage to do my work as a high school career and guidance counselor. The part of the reason why I want to pursue my Master's in Education is that I want to grow my influence and skills in being able to reach out and work with all students in helping them giving them guidance life after high school. I am passionate and committed to this work. All my life, my purpose has been around the service of others within the community. It is tiring, but I love the work I do. It is always inspiring to see the look in the eyes of my students when they decide what they want to do with their life, and seeing them take the steps to get there. I also feel like with my Master's in Education I dont have to be confined to just my school campus, but being able to reach out to those outside who need such resources can open those doors. One of my regrets in life was starting my masters program later than I anticpated. I thought I was too old by the time I started. I had the set mentality of if I wanted to get a masters degree I should do it within a year or two after getting my bachelors degree. But I look around examples around my life, where my collegues and mentors have gotten either their bachelors degree or masters degree in their 50s or 60s. This reminds me now, that it is never too late to pursue those dreams and goals in life, and in a way it reminds me that I may actually be early.

I havew been in education since 2015 going from tutoring to working for a non profit after school program to teaching history in high school to now finally being a career and college counselor here in San Jose, California. I've known since high school that I wanted to go into education. I was a decent student in high school, not terrible grades, but also not the most academically achieving one either. I also struggled very hard with math and science courses, I of course did not like these classes during high school. Ironically it was my trigonmetry teacher during my junior year who inspired me to become a teacher I received a D in his class the first semester. I was not happy with that result, because it meant that I had to retake it again my first semester of senior year. I was thinking about my second semester and what they would look like, my trigonmetry teacher Mr. Larson recommeded that I come to his class after school or during lunch to get extra tutoring and help. The fact that he continued to make time for me to help me improve and get better was inspiring to me. It made me think and reflect upon my own life, I always did notice that even for myself I was the happiest when I was helping others out. When I saw that Mr. Larson was helping me to understand the concepts of trigonemtry, it sealed and confirmed on what I wanted to pursue with my career:teaching. My journey as a teacher has been an interesting one because I found myself always in school that work with underprivleaged students, families, and neigborhood, sometimes the job in these areas can be tough, but for me I love it. It drives me to become the best version of myself and I try to influence students to believe in themselves, as I always share my story with students who either doubt or do not believe in their capabilites. This is also why I moved away from teaching history to working with students in helping them set up for life after high school. I found that in all my years of teaching that this has been the most meaningful. I am hoping through the earming of my Masters degree I can continue to make an impact in my community. I want to expand my services just beyond my school. I love the job that I do, I love interacting and talking with students about how they see themselves in the future and what they want in life. I want to be there to guide them in their first steps in acheving those goals. I've delayed my Masters education for too long, and I am almost at the finish line. I want to also accomplish something in my family's bloodline, which is getting a Masters degree, my parents have never finished college. All they were able to accomplish was graduating high school. They certainly had the capability, but lacked the resources to continue this endeavour. My brother and I will be the first in our family line to achieve this, something that my parents have always wanted. This hopefully will also be an inspiration to students that I work with to let them know that it is never too late to pursue and grow in their education and skills.