The most important life lesson I've gained through my experience at Bowie State University is time and relationship management. Attending school full-time while simultaneously working two jobs is a daunting task. This combined with managing a social life consisting of being a son, brother, boyfriend, best friend, friend, executive board member, etc. makes for an even harder task. This forced me to prioritize and ultimately try to put things in balance in order to make them work positively. I like to think I've done a successful job at tackling this obstacle because I now find myself poised for graduating December 2012 summa cum laude.
The most memorable experience I've had during my academic career at Bowie State is working under Dr. Monika Gross in the Honors Program, serving as a student mentor for incoming freshman students. Throughout my senior year, I've mentored the freshman honors class through their transition into college, helped them with any obstacles they faced, and shared my own experience and wisdom in successfully reaching graduation. This experience has truly proven to be invaluable to me because I live to help others.
No one said reaching graduation would be an easy task. During my final undergraduate semester at Bowie State, I opted to do a short film for my humanities final project. I cast some classmates to play certain roles and filmed my "perfect" project in just two days, right before the project was due. However, my camera was stolen the night I wrapped up filming. I explained this to my teacher, but sympathy was not offered. Through sheer motivation and perseverance, I was able to create a song that was either just as good or better than my initial project.
Dr. Monika Gross unquestionably had the most profound impact on me during my academic career. Serving as the director of the honors student program, she was one of my first points of contact when I enrolled here. She pushed me to stay on top of my academics and served as an invaluable resource aiding to my success. Dr. Gross not only gave me the opportunity to better myself, she put me in a position to better others around me - which is undoubtedly one of the best feelings in the world. I am truly thankful for the opportunity to epitomize what the honors student organization is about, all because of Dr. Gross.
The most helpful activity in preparing me for my future goals was interning for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in their financial services department during summer 2012. This gave me a first-hand look at how the professional environment works and how I'd fit in. I worked my best and it paid off because I've fielded an offer of employment from them after I graduate in December.
I plan to utilize my degree to work in the private industry for approximately 10-15 years before pursuing my entrepreneurial desires of owning my own business and being my own boss, not necessarily in an industry directly related to my major. I intend to pursue an MBA in economics after enduring two years of professional career experience. I also aim to successfully earn the charter of a Certified Financial Analyst (CFA).
