I have been competitive ever since I was a child. There has never been a time that I have not put my all into everything that I have done. I grew up in the projects in Charlotte, North Carolina. I made a vow to myself and my family that I would excel in academics and become someone great in life. I am proud to say that my competitiveness played a major role in my success.
In this day and age a high school diploma is not sufficient to survive. I believe that everyone should pursue a secondary education. After seeing my mother struggle to care for my brother and I without a college degree, I promised myself that I would get an education and a good job to keep me from living paycheck to paycheck. This is why I am at Elizabeth City State University. I wanted to further my education to make myself more marketable in the corporate world. I am a sophomore majoring in mathematics with a minor in secondary education. While I am here, I plan to put all of my effort into getting good grades and getting involved with clubs within my major and within the school. I am currently a member of the Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing Education and Research (CERSER) Program. This program has helped me to become more well rounded in research and prepare me for certain tasks such as giving oral presentations and networking with people.
In the 2007-2008 academic school year my research team, led by Dr. Johnson, studied how Math Sprint Competitions helped the students learn new material quickly and retain the old material in order to help raise test scores. This helped the students excel on the Standard of Learning (SOL) exams. We gathered this information by collecting the names of the children who attended Camelot Elementary from their 3rd through 5th grade for the years 2002 through 2007. After doing this we collected their test scores and put them into Matlab to create regression plots comparing each group of childrens' 3rd grade year to their 5th grade year. We also went to Camelot to see a math sprint take place. They continued this math sprint throughout the school year and the test scores were raise once again. This research will help me out in the future, because when I start teaching I might want to hold competitions to help raise my students’ scores. After graduating with honors, I desire to teach for four years to fund my graduate school education. After graduate school, I want to become a financial advisor for a major business or corporation.
As I strive to do my very best, I am always thankful for he opportunities that I have been given. I am also thankful for my obstacles and tribulations because they have made me stronger and given me purpose. As a competitor, I dismiss excuses, because they are the crutches of the uncommitted and I welcome challenges. |
