#2B Three Significant Events

The first landmark event that had an impact on my current career goals is not really a specific event; rather, it's a chain of events that let up to one event. When i was in 8th grade, I had a teacher named Dr. Kocis. She had a southern accident, probably from Louisiana. For whatever reason, I couldn't figure how to solve the simplest equations, like, solve for x in x + 5 = 7. I went through the gauntlet of those terrible parent-teacher conferences, usually held once a month, about how I was struggling in math. Dr. kocis even said I wasn't capable of doing the math and that I would probably never understand with my current way of thinking. It's not that i didn't try; I studied endlessly. I survived high school geometry and algebra 2, but then when I got to pre-calculus and had the teacher mentioned in a previous post, I can only describe it as everything 'clicking.' After that I had a fantastic AP calculus teacher, ms. watkins, who encouraged us to really sink our teeth into all the cool things that calculus enables us to accomplish. I whooped the AP test, got an award at graduation, and eventually ran into Dr. Kocis at church. I could have rubbed it in her face, how well I ended up doing in Math, but I just thanked her for sticking with me all that time.

The second event occurred when I was a freshman in college. I had earned a full NROTC scholarship at Villanova University and felt really good about myself. For a while, I did really well at Villanova and really came to like the school. However, things started to go south at one point. Long story short, I lost the ROTC scholarship, and if there was no scholarship, there was no Villanova. I felt so ashamed about what happened, and for a long while I let it consume me. Eventually, I shed all these negative feelings and let my mistakes inspire me to redeem myself. In short, I forgave myself. I came home and attended George Mason and have ever since. What happened devastated me for so long but without it I couldn't have gotten to where I am now.

When i was in high school, I was in a program at PVI called Peer Mentoring. There's a great program there called Options, where students with learning disabilities (Down's Syndrome, Autism) attended 'mainstream' classes with Peer Mentors. They went to many of the same classes as the 'average' student population, they went to the same lunch periods as us, sat at the same tables as us, and so on. I was paired with a young man named Bret. Bret didn't have Down's, and he may not even be autistic, but his social skills were limited. He would have a hard time looking you in the eye or engaging in conversation. I knew there was an incredible personality inside him that just needed a little encouragement, so I worked with him exclusively for two years. I can hardly describe to you the progress he's made -- and still makes -- since the first day I met him. He eventually asked me to be his confirmation sponsor; I was incredibly honored that he would choose me as his 'faith advisor.' Bret has remainded a very close friend of mine. It turns out he has taught me more about this crazy thing called life than I could ever teach him.