Fueling My Passion by Christina

Fueling My Passion by Christina - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

Working full-time while attending graduate school full-time is not for the faint of heart, but to do so and graduate summa cum laude is a huge accomplishment. It is also my proudest academic moment. Not only was I the first person in all generations of my family to attend college, but I was the first to go to graduate school. I worked as a litigation manager for a health care company and traveled all over the United States, lugging my textbooks and research materials with me as I plodded through airports and business. My trusty, archaic laptop and I used old dial-up connections across the country in order to complete my MBA.

After two and half grueling years of working during the day and attending graduate school at night, I not only achieved my goal, but did it with honors. Now, after more than 20 years in the business world, I am taking that proudest moment to fuel my passion for providing academia to rural areas. I resigned from the mainstream business world to seek a career that filled my soul versus my bank account. I left the big city and moved to rural Alabama to help my aging parents and pursue a doctoral in business. As a former business leader and now a leader in my small community, I plan on showing students that hard work and education are crucial keys to success. I am that success story. I am a grassroots leader whose own efforts in pursuing her undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral education will be actionable proof that hard work brings success.