Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “To be yourself in a world that is trying to make you something else is a great accomplishment”. A question such as “who am l”? Really gives me the opportunity to differentiate and express who I really am and who I can be. I am not a complex person who thinks the world is against me, nor am I overly sophisticated “know-it-all” who doesn’t take time to pay attention to my surroundings. I can’t say that I am like every other person because there are certain things that make me a unique individual. What I can say is that I am progressing towards a brighter future.
I’ve always been known for having a bubbly and energetic personality. I love to smile thus making others smile along with me. Being helpful has been a trait of mine since I was young. Lending a helping hand, surely brings great joy to me; inevitably, I work for the State of Rhode Island as a Certified Nursing Assistant. Previously working in the Emergency Department at Roger Williams Medical Center for 15 years until I was laid off in June of 2013. As a Certified Nursing Assistant, Emergency Medical Technician-Cardiac, and an Instructor.
My future goals and accomplishments are very important to me. I don’t want to just be able to say “I graduated from college in 2017”, I want to be able to say that “I graduated from college in 2017 AND achieved all my accomplishments”. January 2016 I will be entering my junior year at CCRI. I am aspiring to earn my AA degree with a concentration in Social Work, specializing in mental health and substance abuse issues. Choosing the occupation as a Social Worker has been set in stone in my mind for the last few years.
The one thing I have always known I’d like to do with my life is to help people, essentially making a difference in people’s lives is the most important aspect of a future career to me than any other. With my determined drive and enthusiastic, ambitious personality, I will strive to make it happen. However, I always try to make enough leisure time for family, friends, and activities. My favorite activity is going to the beach looking for sea glass. I find it to be very relaxing, and always exciting to see the “gems” | find. I also enjoy spending quality time with family and friends.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that the family I have is getting older. So any time I spend with them making memories is meaningful to me. I also enjoy going to the gym to keep fit. I try to include sports and activities besides my full-time job, attending college, and homework in my daily life because believe it is important to be a well-rounded person. My background explains a lot of whom I am and the values that | have developed. Having a Portuguese and Italian family who always strives for the best in life has had a great influence on me.
Given that I was taken out of my comfort element and had to help raise my younger brother and run a business at the young age of 20 after the tragic death of my father. It is rare for me to show weakness. It was important for me at the time to do what I had to do for my family. Therefore, forgoing attending college. It wasn’t until 30 years later. After I had raised my own family, and then divorced that I decided to do something for me, so in 2013 | contacted the admissions’ office at CCRI to see what Thad to do to begin college at the age of 48.
The first step was the “Accuplacer”. Then, meet with the financial aid office. Sadly, I didn’t qualify for any grants or scholarships because I made “too much” money. I’ve received about $16,000. 00 thus far from FASA which will all have to be paid back. I chose CCRI because the cost of tuition was affordable and the professor to student ratio was comparable to other colleges. More importantly chose CCRI because of the many campus locations I could attend as well as learning via the web. I’ve taken classes at both the Warwick and Providence campus as well as web classes.
There are not many colleges in the state of Rl with these options. I am currently working full-time, attending college both full and part-time depending on the semester, and caring for my mother whom I had to move into my home in 2014 from Florida after the death of her companion of 25 years. I am a hard worker and very compassionate with my goals in life. “Who am l”? It is a question I have been trying to answer my entire life. It seems to be a never ending answer because I find myself always striving to be more than I am.
