Undergraduate / Temple University -personal and professional accomplishments [3]

Prompt: Imagine you have graduated from Temple University. You are preparing to attend your 10-year reunion, and the alumni office has asked you to write a one-page essay about your personal and professional accomplishments since graduation. What would yours say?

As I looked at the envelope, my heart stopped when I saw the familiar seal, I took a sharp gulp of air and breathed out. I do not know why after ten years, even after graduating with good grades, I still get the jitters whenever I see the T symbolizing Temple University. I took some gulp of air to calm down my nerves and opened the envelope. A huge grin adorned my face as I read the letter, I was invited to a ten year reunion party!

It is amazing how time flies, how a few years and an environment can completely change you as an individual. I still remember vividly, the insecurity and uncertainty I felt before applying to such a well-known university of Philadelphia. I had always been a person with low self-esteem and when my cousin told me to apply in Temple, I was unsure and hesitant. As I researched more and more about Temple I could not help but fall irrevocably in love with the campus, but I was torn between two miniatures of myself. One told me not to apply, and that I will end up with a broken heart, but the other one, the stronger part of me told me to pursue and take the risk, at least doing something was better than doing nothing. I applied just a few days before the deadline and crossed my fingers hoping and wishing for the best.

I remember the day I got the acceptance letter, for a moment I looked transfixed, not believing, not registering what I had seen. I was in utter disbelief. Then all of a sudden a rush of emotions hit me like a tornado and I screamed "I am Temple made!

After that, time had gone by like the speed of light, and I was going to my first class as a freshman. The next four years were the best years of my life. Temple University had given me the best academic knowledge in Public Health and had also molded me into the confident and optimistic individual that I am today. It had taught me I was able to do anything if I put my heart to it and I could go beyond my comfort zone, and do something as outrageous as applying for my masters to an Ivy League University!

After my graduation from Temple University I worked as a research assistant but I had also started master's degree in University of Pennsylvania. I completed my masters and now I work as a federal environmentalist.

Now after ten years, as I look back I feel an immense gratitude towards Temple University and the Professors, for the achievements I have made today and I will make in the future.

Undergraduate / "Who can say where the road goes, where the day goes, only time"; Hardship/Obstacle [3]

Have you experienced a hardship or obstacle in your life that has affected your academic performance or is there any other information that you would like our admissions staff to know as part of your application?

"Who can say where the road goes, where the day goes, only time." The lyrics buzz in my ears as I listen to Enya's song "Only time".

Time, only, had told the confused and uncertain sixteen years old me three years ago, what I wanted to do, what my passion was and where I would be. Three years ago, I had completed my O level examination, in Bangladesh, and was struggling to not indulge myself in self-pity and from getting lost in the mayhem of the society because of our financial breakdown.

Six months before taking my O Level examination, my father, an economist, had become unemployed. This came to us as a shock and distressed us. We were a family of six. How were our school bills to be paid? How were we going to pay our house bills? How were we going to survive? Such thoughts hunted the teenage me, but my mother, a general practitioner, who used to only do day shift duties stepped forward and started working day and night to earn more money.

Bangladesh is a poor and developing country where a general practitioner, like my mother's income is very low compared to other countries. However, it was enough to lead an almost normal life. Except that my two younger siblings had to be taken out of school and homeschooled by my father, we had to stop doing things we loved like travelling and also we had to become more conscious and wise of where we spent our money.

This continued for a year and a half until finally a break came. My physician mother was offered a well-paid job in Oman, it not only provided us financial stability but also gave us a chance to escape from the chaos of Bangladesh. Peace and tranquility of mind overwhelmed us but it also came with some drawbacks, because the city where we lived in had no UK educational system based schools therefore I had to discontinue my A Level studies.

After nine months of staying in Oman, I went back to Bangladesh and stayed there for six months of vacation and occasionally did charity works. I discovered my true passion there that is volunteering to help the less fortunate, it filled my heart with an indescribable happiness. I came back to Oman determined to apply for public health major.

"Who knows? Only time." As the song comes to a pause I realize time and patience are the only two elements that can answer many of life's questions.