Scholarship /
"Dream specialist" - Scholarship essay, experience at OIT [3]
How will your education and experience at OIT help you fulfill your future goals?When I try to visualize my life, it reminds me that old favorite book always by your bedside. The pages with a yellowish color showing some signs of wear as you read it repeatedly. However, like a perpetual source of inspiration, with every new reading you find yourself immerse in a new learning adventure, discovering things that you overlooked before or just being amazed of the wonders that it contains.
In my life, I already have accomplished many goals, but I still have a long way to go. The road has been very difficult to travel in. I am coming from a Third World, communist country where you cannot take anything for granted, not even the freedom. That is why I immigrated to the United States looking for "the American dream". Although, the reality was that I found myself being reborn at the age of 30 years old. Like an infant, I was unable to talk as I spoke not English at all. I did not know how to walk because I did not have a car neither I know how to drive one. Isolated without knowing anyone, homesick as I left all my family behind, and in a new environment very different to me, I was in despair. During the first few months, I only cried until I realized that the only way to achieve the real American dream was with a high spirit of determination, sacrifice, dedication and hard work.
Needless to say, I have overcome those barriers and I have been successful in all my endeavors. Now, I have two beautiful children that are my strength when I feel weak, and always keep my world up. Professionally, I have a B.A in Spanish and I have maintained a steady work history. For almost 5 years, I worked as a Refugee Case Worker and later for a few more years, I worked as a Childcare Referral Specialist along with some part time jobs as Spanish Interpreter for Healthcare settings and as Proofreader and Translator for a Publishing House. In performing those jobs, I was able to interact with a multicultural population, which provided me with a lot of insights and knowledge about cultural differences. All these jobs have been very rewarding as I enjoy helping people. The work with the refugees was very special and I am so happy of being able to help many of them to become self-sufficient and to achieve the independence they were looking for when they decided to immigrate.
Although, I still craving for my big dream to come true. That will be to become a "dream specialist". I began to read about the sleep medicine sometime ago and with every step, I got more fascinated about the neuroscience and all its intrinsic. The sleep medicine is still an emerging field that opens the opportunity for an exciting learning adventure, and that is why I decided to pursue a new career as a Polysomnographic Technologist. Searching the web, from all of the schools I found that OIT is the school I needed in order for me to accomplish my new goal. OIT offers me the convenience to take online classes in the comfort of my home while enjoying and care for my two little children. At the same time, it provides me with the opportunity to have hands on experience thru the clinical practicum, and once graduated, I can sit for the RPSGT board examination which will enable me to find a qualify job in a sleep laboratory or center.
In fact, I already had a job interview with a possibility of a future job in a new center that will be inaugurated next year in my community.
Nevertheless, my education and my experience at OIT will definitely have a great impact on how I can fulfill my goal. I also would be grateful and honored to be considered for this scholarship. I just do not want to give up my dream for something meaningless as money.