Scholarship / 'far from traditional road to college' - SOP for Communication Studies Grad Program [2]

A 2-4 page statement of purpose that includes the student's personal philosophy regarding the value and goals of higher education.

My road to college has been far from traditional. Although I went to college immediately following my graduation from high school, I allowed myself to be distracted by outside influences, i.e., alcohol, and as a result was unsuccessful in remaining in school. For the next nine years, until I was 27, I worked various low-level jobs to support myself, eventually ending up as an exotic dancer because of the money it afforded. Although I was making plenty of money upon which to live, my addiction to alcohol and drugs grew worse until I finally needed to seek help in order to save my life. Since I have entered recovery, returning to college has been one of the major blessings in my life and through it I have rediscovered a purpose in my life.

It took quite a bit of effort for the University of South Dakota to accept me as a student based upon my previous performance in college and, once admitted, I was placed on academic probation until I had proven myself capable of achieving good academic standing. However, my years outside of college had given me a determination not to fail again and I was soon removed from academic probation and placed on the dean's list where I remain today. As a result of these experiences, both in and out of college, I have come to believe that higher education is not something that should be taken lightly, but instead needs to be entered knowing the responsibilities and possibilities college entails. It is with this attitude that I am seeking admittance into the University of South Dakota's Graduate School.

When I returned to college, I already had a goal in mind: I wanted to be a librarian at a university and it was for this reason that I chose English as my major. However, it was through a desire to work on my fear of speaking in public that I ended up taking an interpersonal communication class and decided to make communication studies my minor. I discovered that many of the same theorists whom I was passionate about in studying English also were relevant and groundbreaking in communication studies as well including Judith Butler, Judith Halberstam, and Michel Foucault. Two classes which especially got me interested in exploring communication studies were Communication Symbols and Society and Popular Culture and Communication, both of which introduced me to the critical side of communication studies. However, it was not until I had a conversation with one of my professors, Dr. Shane Semmler, that I realized that I could combine this new interest with my ultimate goal of becoming a research librarian at a university. This will provide me the opportunity not only to help students with their research, but also to perform my own research. I decided to pursue a master's degree in both communication studies and library science.

The areas of communication studies that intrigue me include communication as it relates to gender, feminism, and queer theory. Several classes I have taken with Dr. Jill Tyler have provided excellent opportunities to explore these nodal points within the politics of difference in communication and I look forward to working with her again as well Dr. Semmler and the other faculty members. Dr. Kelly McKay-Semmler's work with interethnic communication among college students especially intrigues me and I am curious if this could be applied to relationships between the LGBTQIA community and the rest of society, especially among college students. Both my involvement in the 10% Society on campus as well as numerous classes regarding gender and feminism have spurred my interest. In some of these areas I have already done some work, having written papers regarding the roles of women as they are presented in advertisements and movies, but I want to do much more investigation and would like to see how these three areas intersect and problematize each other. A specialization in General Communication Studies offered by the graduate program would be an ideal way to study and expand upon these areas.