My Educational Goals For College

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” (Steve Jobs) Education is extremely important to me personally which is why it is important that I outline my educational goals and plan, my career choices, and how this scholarship can help provide me with the help I need to achieve the education required by the career that I have chosen so I can do what I love. As Steve Jobs said in the quote above, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” I know that with my education
I can make a difference in my field while loving what I do at the same time.

Primary, Nelson Mandela said that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” My educational goals for the rest of college are to first obtain a 3.5 minimum GPA in order to increase my chances of getting into graduate school.
I also have set this goal because I believe that it is important to get the most out of the education we pay for and while a 3.5 is not a 4.0 it is still an impressive GPA that I want to work to achieve. My second educational goal is to experience that most out of my classes. While I continue to study Criminal Justice, I want to engage in my classes by asking questions, following along with the lectures, taking good notes, and participating in discussions. Through this goal I will be better committed in class and will be able to learn more. My third and final goal concerning education is to make meaningful connections. College is great because there is a plethora of different people from all walks of life. As a result of the Criminal Justice classes I have already taken I have met many professionals who work in the field, these connections will be extremely rewarding in the future because they are connections and references I can use later on when I am ready to start my career. Having goals in general can be extremely motivational, my educational goals keep me focused and motivated to my end goal of
graduation.

Following my educational goals, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said that “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” My educational plan includes the following; first, I plan on graduating from my current college Salt Lake Community College with an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice. Next, I plan of pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree from Utah Valley University in Forensic Phycology. For my Master’s Degree, I plan on attending Arizona State University online for a degree in criminology. Finally, with the combination of these three degrees’ and the uniqueness of each school they are obtained from, I plan to obtain Washington States P.H.D in Criminology, Law Enforcement Administration and Criminal Justice. With the combination of these achievements myself and my former Criminal Justice professors have calculated that this plan will give me the best chance of becoming an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. While my plan is inevitably going to change, having a plan even a flexible one helps serve as a pathway.

Of course, it is important to mention in depth my career goal and why I have chosen this path. Denis Waitley stated, “Chase your passion not your pension.” When I first learned about this quote I was taking an advanced business class my senior year of high school. As the director of the class stood in the front talking about how business can change lives and create success I thought for sure I had found my passion. However, after my first semester of college I began to read about cold cases and serial killers, I started watching every crime show I could in my free time, and I started to teach myself about the Criminal Justice system. That was when I discovered that my true passion was studying crime. After officially changing my major I began to take my first Criminal Justice classes and the passion grew even bigger. Now, my plan is to work in Law Enforcement dealing with forensics and criminology. With the educational plan, I outlined earlier I hope to increase my chances of becoming an FBI agent. My overwhelming need to help people in a unique way has motivated me to study the minds of criminals to help prevent crime and promote public safety.

Finally, Maya Angelou thought ““You can only become truly accomplished at something you love.
Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.” While my goal is to become truly accomplished at something I love as mentioned in the quote, I am in need of financial support in order to pay for my higher education to the future. This scholarship would help me because I come from a one-parent home where my mom is the sole and only provider as far as finances go. My dad passed away when I was eleven and ever since my mom has worked tirelessly in order to support her two children and help them save for college. While her efforts are extraordinary they just are not enough to pay for an associate, bachelors, masters and P.H.D. However, with the help of this scholarship we would be even closer to making my goals happen. I deserve this scholarship because it could not go to a more motivated and dedicated student. I believe that this scholarship would be put to the best use possible if awarded to me and it would be helping me on my way to making a real difference in the Criminal Justice System. With the award money from this scholarship I will be able to pay my tuition to finish my associates degree and put myself closer to my career goals and further myself in my educational
plan.

In Conclusion, in this essay I have showcased many aspects of my personality specifically, my determination, dedication, and organization. I have demonstrated this through my summary of my educational goals and plan, as well as my career choice, and finally why I believe I deserve this scholarship. Lastly, my favorite author J.K Rowling said “It is our choices... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”