Admission Letter

Earning a college degree was one of my biggest accomplishment. Getting to this point in my life has been a significant milestone that marks my long journey of suffering. Seemingly being led by fate to my career since I was a small kid, I have managed to go through a lot. I was born in Lima, Peru. I did not have an opportunity to meet my father since I was raised by my mother single-handedly. I was determined to excel despite my early adulthood being rocked with poverty. I was the youngest of the three kids my mom had. Life then became too much unbearable, and we, therefore, decided to move to the United States when I was fourteen years of age. There, I joined J.F Kennedy High School in Paterson where I gradually changed to a good English-speaker from an exclusive Spanish-speaker. And in no time I was a fluent Latin speaker and a dabbler in Quechua and Russian.

Life was beginning to take shape in high school. I even served several leadership roles starting from as low as the discussion group leader to being the overall student leader. During my vacations, I worked with other international students, who helped me gather knowledge on different cultures. As a high school student, I was not sure of what I wanted in life. I, therefore, took part in various activities ranging from taking linguistics classes to volunteering during my free time. This acted as a booster to my linguistic curiosities and as a pathway to becoming a responsible person. I was soon to mature further to become a private Spanish tutor to a group of students as a volunteer. This gave me a real understanding of the depths of adversity and diversity. Everything was going on well until the unexpected happened to me; I was kicked out of the school. I was accused of being immature in a school that did not condone immaturity. I cannot deny this since I did not have a father figure in my life after all.

I was confused and did not know what to do after this. I tried to do various things to keep myself busy, but nothing seemed to work at that time. During the next year, I decided to enroll in an adult school. I joined the school with more zeal than I ever had before. This time, I tried different business activities outside school that gave me some little money for my upkeep. I started selling old books when I was not in school. This worked. I was lucky to be able to balance between non-academic and academics goals and thus achieved good grades in the adult school. This served as an invaluable contribution to my evolving understanding of equality and justice. In no time I got my GED. I was making progress. Things seemed to be moving on smoothly with my GED at hand already.

Compounded by my determination, I decided to apply for admission in a local College. My application went through and after a short period of preparation, I started my studies. Life at college was pretty nice. But on the eleventh month of being in college, I had to drop out. The girl I had befriended a year ago was pregnant and therefore as a responsible father; I was supposed to take accountability. I decided to try out several other jobs, but all I could afford was a petty salary. I was frustrated since the jobs were menial and low-paying. I had tried all kinds of jobs; ranging from being a receptionist, a clerk, and even a housecleaner. There is nothing that can be described as humiliating as scrubbing someone else’s lavatory to get some few dollars to sustain a family. Being a father, I felt a heightened feeling of responsibility and therefore I had no option other than work and work.

Due to my absolute struggle as well as self will towards earning a degree, I had to work hard to put life back on track. I, therefore, decided to join Passaic County Community College as a full-time student. I was able to pay for my fees and feed the family through a flexible shift job that I had acquired at a retail warehouse. The environment at the community college was welcoming and conducive for my studies. The experience I had there made me feel like the world was finally opening up to me. Encouraged by my surroundings, I was able to excel in academics. I had to work hard to succeed. I had to take advantage of the opportunities that laid ahead.

I made a plan that enabled me to work for a minimum of 35-hours in a week for four years. This put me through school making sure I did not succumb to the temptation of getting a student loan. I managed to pay for my tuition up front using the cash that remained of my earnings after providing for my family. I was leading a life I had never imagined I would; being an immigrant from Peru who had decided to work diligently towards his school fees and providing for his family. My family played a significant role in instilling in me a sense of responsibility and work ethics at my part time job. My boss was very much impressed by my determination.

These experiences served as an invaluable contribution to my success in the different areas. Whether establishing unique connections in management, or monitoring teams while doing their work in, I was reminded that leadership and responsibility call for more than theoretical knowledge but passion and commitment.

My lifelong enthusiasm for history made me develop an undying desire in the cultural. Their experiences never cease to amaze me. It is through their contributions that we get fascinating pieces of literature. It is through such works that we can see the difference between the past and the modern day lives. We can see how different things were done in the past and how they have changed over time. I have had an opportunity to read different works by different authors relating to the topic. I have read works by Barbara Tuchman. I have been influenced by her technical accuracy and beautiful prose. Research by Natalie Davis has inspired me by the way she brings old sources back to life. And finally, philosophies by Michel Foucault have improved my competence in philosophy. They remain core in my ground and my biases.

As part of my dreams, I hope to successfully complete a degree course at Rutgers University. I feel strongly that getting involved in the different activities in life has provided me with an unparalleled opportunity to develop hands-on skills in personal relationship and leadership, skills that would undoubtedly be of immeasurable importance throughout my career. These have bolstered confidence in my ability to solve problems, organize and lead. These are the skills I aspire to develop further in my career through attaining a degree course at Rutgers University. My experiences have provided me with a sense of responsibility that I will confidently carry on to Rutgers University and my legal profession as a whole.