Do not over look me as a candidate for graduate school admissions due to my low GPA. While attending CSUN I did not understand the long lasting effects of what a low GPA would do to me in the future. I was a young man with not a lot of college guidance as I was the first of my family to graduate from a four-year university. At the time I felt as long as I was passing courses I was succeeding in my goal of becoming the first of my family to walk across that stage.
During my four and a half year adventure, I was very much overwhelmed at times, but it is no excuse for my lack of achievement in the classroom. While in college I held a 40hr per week job as a school bus driver, which required me to be at work at 5:30 am. I had to help my family and put myself through college as I grew up in a single parent household, where I was the man of the house. I was also very involved in the social fraternity Tau Kappa Alpha. I held numerous positions in the house such as Social chair, Athletic chair, and finally Vice president my senior year. I was very passionate about sports and my community during my time in the fraternity. I can even say at times it was more important to me than achieving high success in the classroom.
Looking back on that time, I realized that although it is beneficial to have passion in life; it is even more important to have balance. Since graduating from CSUN, I have been able to prove through my work history and professional development that I can balance a full time work load while raising a family, coaching a basketball team, and working in Africa all at the same time. I have received numerous awards in my career such as, the 2007 and 2008 "Certificate of Excellence" award among Retail Banking for being in the top 2% of sales managers in the U.S. Winning awards like that proves that I have the work ethic and determination to excel. More recently I changed career fields to the oil and gas industry. I came in with no previous experience or education and within two years I have excelled in the field and have been called on to train others.
For this reason, my undergraduate GPA is a not good indicator of my intellectual ability. I would respectfully ask that the admission committee consider this when reviewing my application.
During my four and a half year adventure, I was very much overwhelmed at times, but it is no excuse for my lack of achievement in the classroom. While in college I held a 40hr per week job as a school bus driver, which required me to be at work at 5:30 am. I had to help my family and put myself through college as I grew up in a single parent household, where I was the man of the house. I was also very involved in the social fraternity Tau Kappa Alpha. I held numerous positions in the house such as Social chair, Athletic chair, and finally Vice president my senior year. I was very passionate about sports and my community during my time in the fraternity. I can even say at times it was more important to me than achieving high success in the classroom.
Looking back on that time, I realized that although it is beneficial to have passion in life; it is even more important to have balance. Since graduating from CSUN, I have been able to prove through my work history and professional development that I can balance a full time work load while raising a family, coaching a basketball team, and working in Africa all at the same time. I have received numerous awards in my career such as, the 2007 and 2008 "Certificate of Excellence" award among Retail Banking for being in the top 2% of sales managers in the U.S. Winning awards like that proves that I have the work ethic and determination to excel. More recently I changed career fields to the oil and gas industry. I came in with no previous experience or education and within two years I have excelled in the field and have been called on to train others.
For this reason, my undergraduate GPA is a not good indicator of my intellectual ability. I would respectfully ask that the admission committee consider this when reviewing my application.
