Undergraduate / "the footsteps of my parents" - Personal ESSAY! U of M [7]

When my family and I first moved to the United States from Eritrea, I had to make a lot of adjustments. Although I was only a young child, it was difficult for me to be separated from my friends and extended family. Everything was new, yet some things were still the same, like the immense support and love my parents had for me.No matter what our circumstances were, my parents worked hard to raise me right and give me a good education. Their dedication, support, and love taught me about the value of money, the meaning of work ethic, giving back to your community, and above all, the importance of education.

I did my best to show my parents just how grateful I was to them by working hard in school, taking up extra curricular activities, and helping around the house. My freshmen year I joined my schools competition cheerleading team and earned my spot in the Junior Varsity squad. Being the only freshmen on the team with no experience I had a lot of catching up to do. I wanted to earn the respect of my teammates so I worked twice as hard, being the first one on the mat and the last one to leave. With my positive attitude and hard work, I helped my team place third in state. After the season was over I was determined to become even better. Over the summer I joined a couple of cheerleading programs in hopes of improving. Once school started again I tried out for Varsity and even though I didn't make it, I continued to work hard and was later moved up to Varsity.

Money was never something that came easy in my family. My parents would only buy things that were vital, but because I helped my parents read the bills and do the taxes it helped me understand the value of money. I was nominated by one of my teachers to attend the People to People Leadership program in Washington D.C. I knew my parents couldn't afford it so i raised money by selling candy bars and doing other odd jobs.

Following in the footsteps of my parents, I work hard in everything I do. I must admit, though, that I had not appreciated the importance of education prior to my junior year, because it was around this time I noticed the many people suffering as they tried to join the work force. This inspired me to turn my attention, my passion, and my work ethic toward my schooling, and it paid off as I got the grades for which I worked so hard.

That summer I also volunteered at Fairview Riverside Hospital where I developed an affinity for the medical field as a whole. One of the patients that was there spoke very little English. When I found out that she could speak Tigrinya I was able to translate for her what the therapist wanted her to do. I also ran into two other situations like this when I was escorting visitors. I found a great sense of joy and pride in being able to help people who had trouble understanding English.

Through my volunteering experience, I learned to value the language and customs I grew up with because I realized just how essential these concepts have been to my growth as an individual. I want to combine my two passions ; working in the medical field and helping immigrants who have trouble understanding the language.

I feel that my personal experiences, background, passion, work ethic, and my strong will to succeed will also help cultivate a more culturally diverse environment, where I can contribute unique and distinctive perspective both in my college career and my life.