My Unique Experience

In the movie Back to the Future, one of the characters says “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.” Even though it is a movie quote, I live by it, and I have proof that it applies to me. I went to Mission Early College High School, and my life changed. An Early College High School is a high school where you go and take high school classes and college classes at the same time, so that at the end of the four years you receive both your high school diploma and Associates degree (two years of college) at the same time. There is an Early College High School in every district in El Paso, but I went in 2006, part of the first class. Three years later, I received my Associate’s degree in May 2009 before finishing high school! So that following year, I was a senior in high school and taking college classes at UTEP, where I can earn my Bachelor’s degree next.  In 2010, I graduated high school so now I was officially on my own. I got a job at UTEP as an academic advisor, and I got to learn more about college in general. In May 2011, I got my Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at 19 years old! People always ask me how I do it, and say I must be super smart. The truth is I’m not a super genius. I worked hard in school and put in my effort, even in classes I didn’t really like.  I did this for two reasons: the first being because I knew it would pay off. For example, there was an essay I had to write and the professor didn’t give guidelines to it- just the topic. I worked hard at it, and used his guidance to complete the assignment. I got an A on that paper, but I knew that after this, any essay he assigned would be a piece of cake. The second reason I worked hard was because it was the right thing to do. My major was psychology and I loved the topics, but I had troubles with it too. I didn’t cheat on any assignments- I didn’t want to. This was the subject that is used in my career; my area of expertise, so if I was to cheat- I wouldn’t know anything about the subject! Those were the classes where I paid extra attention, so that I can be successful later on. When people ask for my advice and how I did it, this is what I tell them. I had a bad grade or two, and I did get stressed out, but it didn’t stop me nor keep me down. So my message to college peers is that movie quote. If you have the passion and motivation, then you can overcome any obstacles that stand in the way. My passion and motivation is providing guidance and helping others. My future clients will put their trust me, and I know I will be successful if I work hard.