Alyse Felton, Sarah Heitz, Vanessa Valyan, Andrea Lavilles, Ben Murdock, Yuritzy Hernandez, Ariana Quinonez, Shelby Mefford, Jessica De La Rosa,

Transcription

1 Alyse Felton, Sarah Heitz, Vanessa Valyan, Andrea Lavilles, Ben Murdock, Yuritzy Hernandez, Ariana Quinonez, Shelby Mefford, Jessica De La Rosa, Katie Ontjes, Tammi Chaparro, Ana Lia Ochoa, Monica Santos, Maggie Resendez

2 Sample Personal Essay I am currently enrolled in my third semester as a full time graduate student in the Master of Science Degree in Counseling. Upon successful completion of this program, I will earn an M.S. in School Counseling with the California Pupil Personnel Services credential, allowing me to practice as a school psychologist in California. My goal to pursue a career in the field of education has been a part of my plans since my early teen years. From my first summer job to my current position, the majority of my work and volunteer experience has involved counseling and children. To know that I can make a positive impact on a child s life is rewarding for me. I was enticed to choose school psychology as my career by its varied and challenging nature within an educational setting. The responsibilities of the profession involve, but are not limited to, counseling, testing and assessment, behavioral intervention, and classroom observation. A school psychologist never knows exactly what the day will include, much like my current position as a counseling assistant at Castle Park Middle School in Chula Vista. From this experience I know that spontaneity and high energy are vital for my growth and satisfaction within my career. As an undergraduate I dedicated my best efforts toward my education and as a result, I graduated with high honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara earning a B.A. in Communications. I soon attained full time employment with the San Diego Center for Children, where I continue to volunteer on various weekends and holidays. This facility is a residential treatment program for children with severe emotional disturbances resulting from abuse, neglect, homelessness, or abandonment. My main responsibilities are to aid children in learning and carrying out daily living skills, counsel them in their relations with peers and adults, serve as a responsible role model, and to work closely with other members of the treatment team, such as therapists and social workers implementing the Center s programs. All of this has proven to be an invaluable learning experience. Complementing this experience is my current position as a counseling assistant. My responsibility is to provide various psychological and educational services to students who need additional assistance to succeed in school and in the community. My day is usually filled with activities such as group, individual and crisis counseling, conflict resolution, behavioral observation, and assessments. I also assist in training and coordinating 25 students to become peer counselors. I feel very fortunate to be involved in Castle Park s counseling

3 program. I am proud of my work there and feel it is excellent preparation for my future role as a school psychologist. Volunteer work has also been an activity that I like to include in my life. As I previously mentioned, I currently volunteer at the San Diego Center for Children. During my senior year of college I served as a volunteer, mentoring gifted children through my university s honors program. Helping a child realize his or her own potential gives me a strong sense of accomplishment. Both of these experiences have been emotionally rewarding. I hope that by sharing my activities and goals, I have been able to give you a glimpse into the person I am and what I hope to achieve. I have included what I have felt to be the most significant influences on my career choice. I expect graduate school to continue to be a journey which I embark upon with great enthusiasm. Sample Resumes

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7 Strong Sample Letter of Recommendation May 15, 2013 To Whom It May Concern, I am writing a strong letter of recommendation for, an applicant to your program, whom I came to know in my Senior Seminar in Developmental Psychology course in Fall He also enrolled in one other course of mine (Adolescent Psychology). I will comment on his academic performance and a few of his positive characteristics. In our department of 1400 students, I see about 400 students per year. Students who complete my course usually to fulfill a requirement. earned A in senior seminar, and he earned an A on his well written, well informed papers. has a GPA of 3.2. In the senior seminar, he stood out from other students early in the quarter. He ended up having to give an hour long presentation by himself in the third week of the class on bullying and aggression among adolescents, which was the best presentation of the quarter. He was voted by the other students as having the best presentation. It was well informed, insightful, engaging, professional, and balanced well. He was willing to share personal anecdotes that led other students to open and share their stories in a well designed manner. He led an excellent discussion, and showed an interesting video of teens that he interviewed. He also showed compassion for others and was able to build rapport well with the other students. Other students came up to him after his presentation because they wanted advice about bullying and about leading a presentation, and he made them feel comfortable doing so. I have observed that he gives excellent impromptu short presentations as well. In the senior seminar class, I observed that he gets along well with not only college students and professor such as me, but also preschoolers. When we visited the school, the preschoolers immediately chose him first as the person they wanted to work with on a project. One girl got upset that she didn t get to play with him. I asked him why he was so popular, and he said, Maybe my smile. He made sure he smiled from the moment he walked in, and the kids responded well to it. ( reported to me later that the students taught him much that day when he observed events such as a boy helping a girl who was upset.) I know that he was been employed with the City of Chino since 2006 in teen programming at a teen center, where tutoring and counseling and various activities are offered in order to provide safe venue for students to stay safe off the streets. In this position, he honed multiple skills including tutoring, designed and ran activities, and mentoring adolescents. I believe that his analytical (or traditional intelligence) is surpassed by his practical intelligence. I believe he has a strong understanding of the world many of his teens are in, and I sense that he is able to mentor them well.

8 Overall, I consider him to be professional, insightful, observant, and good with people. has told me that he wants to pursue a masters degree in family therapy. He is interested in working with adolescents. I have no doubt that he will achieve his goals and be an asset to any program he chooses, and I wish him well in the future. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via or phone at: JFUQUA@CSUPOMONA.EDU or at Sincerely, Juliana Fuqua, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Dept. of Psychology & Sociology, Cal Poly Pomona Weak Sample Letter of Recommendation December 10, To Whom It May Concern, This is the first time I have had the pleasure of writing a letter of recommendation for someone who has been accepted to your USC graduate school MSW program, but wasn t able to attend until this year. It is my pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for for your program. I came to know when she enrolled in my course in Fall was a student in my Research Methods and Early Childhood course. In the research methods course, students form teams and engage in student initiated empirical research projects. Teaching this small class provides me with a unique vantage point to observe the strengths and weaknesses of many of my students. I observed many strengths in. I consider her to be among the top 10% of my students at Cal Poly. Academically, demonstrated that she had a solid grasp of the course principles and applications. She did a great job with each phase of her research project from developing an interesting hypothesis to giving a final report of her results. She had a greater understanding of course principles than many students in class, including her team partner. Outside of class, I understand that she demonstrated excellent skills in her internship, but I

9 will let other letter writers comment on that. In terms of her personality, I found her to have strong skills communicating and working with others. She maintains a positive attitude and high energy nature often in class and in communication with me. has talked with me about her interest in pursuing a graduate degree. I know that she is very interested in graduate work, and I think she will be an asset to any program she chooses to pursue. I imagine in the more distant future she may decide to pursue a Ph.D. She demonstrated great skills in my class, and I think she will use those skills well in her future. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via at JFUQUA@CSUPOMONA.EDU. Sincerely, Juliana Fuqua, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Psychology and Sociology Other Places to Look for Scholarships Scholarship & Grant Opportunities cpp/scholarship.html

10 PRESIDENT'S STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP FOR CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS The purpose of the President's Student Scholarship for Conference Presentations is to support undergraduate and graduate students who participate in research and encourage presentation of research results at regional and national conferences. The work to be presented must have been completed while the student was a Cal Poly Pomona student (including summer programs at Cal Poly Pomona and other institutions). Scholarships are limited to the range of $100 $1,000 per student. Conference travel must take place between September 26, 2013 and September 25, Students are eligible for one scholarship per academic year. Modest funding for Cal Poly Pomona faculty mentors to accompany the student presenters is also available. The funding for faculty is limited to conference registration fees. /viewform KELLOGG UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARS PROGRAM (KUSP) KUSP provides student scholarships of up to $1,000 to support mentored research or creative activities in a student s chosen field. The goal is to support undergraduate research engagement of underrepresented students, and to encourage persistence to degree, and pursuit of graduate education. KUSP is open to all first generation college students, economically disadvantaged students, and returning military veterans. A minimum Cal Poly Pomona GPA of 2.7 is required. KELLOGG FUTURE MINI GRANT PROGRAM cpp/kusp_scholarship_application_2014.pdf Faculty mentors may apply for grants of up to $1,000 to support scholarly and creative activities with undergraduate students. Funds may be applied to various essential needs such as supplies, minor equipment, software, research travel, and preparation of reports and presentations. cpp/future_mini_grant_application_2014.pdf C.L.A.S.S. Department Scholarship (College of Letters Arts and Social Science) For information about CLASS scholarships, contact Associate Dean Dr. Daniel Lewis: dklewis@csupomona.edu

11 Sally Casanova Pre Doctoral Scholarship Due: Check for application by mid December. Applications are due in early As a Sally Casanova Scholar, you will receive funding for activities such as: participation in a summer research internship program at a doctoral granting institution to receive exposure to the world of research in your chosen field visits to doctoral granting institutions to explore opportunities for doctoral study travel to a national symposium or professional meeting in your chosen field, other related activities such as membership in professional organizations and journal subscriptions graduate school application and test fees The Leadership Alliance: Developing underrepresented students into role models /Default.aspx