A. Educational History
When starting off college I knew exactly what my major would be, Special Education. My mom was a teacher and my boyfriend’s mom at the time was a teacher as well. I just knew moving in that direction I would have a support system. So I started my journey at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Wittenberg had captured my heart and I was ready to learn. After completing my first year at Wittenberg I decided to move back home to be closer to my family but also was having complications with depression. That time was really hard for me because I felt as if I was giving up on my dreams. But I took a vow to myself that I would not slack when it came to going to school in Saint Louis, Missouri. I enrolled into general education courses at a community college.
While being at home I had time to think about where I would like to go that was closer to home that would give me the same five star education that Wittenberg University offered their students. So I sat out on a hunt to find the most amazing school. When looking up schools I started in Missouri because I knew that I wanted to at least be close to home. Missouri State was one of the first schools that popped up when scrolling through Missouri Schools. That week I came to campus to visit a few friends who had come here right after high school. After that week with my friends I as sold that Missouri State was the place for me.
As I started classes at MSU I was still pursuing a major in Special Education. I was still sold out that Special Education was for me until I took Teachers in Mathematics. Teachers in Mathematics was a class geared to being able to explain how to solve math problems in a classroom setting. I not only was struggling but I felt as if I had lost my drive. That day after dropping the class I took a step back to reevaluate why I wanted to be a Special Education major. I came to the conclusion that I was not doing it for myself but to please other people. After deciding that after two years special education was not for me I began to talk to my advisor and seek out different majors that allowed me to work with children but on a different level. As we began to look Social Work came to mind and I enrolled in Social Work 101 to get a fill of what an actual Social Worker is and what do they do. After taking SWK101 I was sold that this was the major for me. I applied for the program and started to pursue a degree in Social Work.
Fast forwarding to today I am not sure if I am pursuing the right degree once again. It really dawned on me after attending mission Sunday at James River Church. This Sunday they had described all of the great things that they were doing overseas how it was impacting the children who were less fortunate. I am a spiritual person and I felt as if God was calling me in another direction at this point of life. So continuing to pursue a degree in Social Work would not be beneficial at this time but I knew I had to do something after being in school for nearly five years with so much knowledge up under my belt with nothing to show for it. After talking to some people I decided that maybe it would be best to pursue a Bachelor of General Studies Degree. The Bachelor of General Studies degree allows me to have two to three areas of infusive and not just be stricken to one area. If I was to receive my Bachelors of General Studies my two areas of infusive would be English and Social Work. These two areas would allow me to be able to teach English while I am doing mission work overseas and social work will allow me to strategize in how to approach different populations when providing them with resources for their area of need. Mission work is what I believed God has called me to do in this season. A Bachelors in Social work would not be beneficial for me right now because I do not know if I want to be a Social Worker for the rest of my life. I am looking into going back and getting my masters after graduating undergrad in something that has to deal with different cultures around the world and possibly learn two different languages that I may be able to communicate with different people around the world. I am also looking in to possibly going to seminary school so that I may be well seasoned in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ because that is the ultimate goal when going overseas to do mission work. Another goal is to be able to work in ministry for the rest of my life full time. The bachelor of General studies will allow me to apply for certain jobs that I would not be able to apply for without having a degree. Being in college has taught me that it is not only about the degree that you have but the heart that you put behind it. My heart is some were overseas helping children to learn how to speak English and know the word of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
My goal for the rest of my life is to help people who are poverty stricken and cannot afford the proper resources to better themselves. I do not know where God is taking me at this moment but I know that he has a plan for me and I am ready to walk it out. So being able to pursue a Bachelors of General studies will allow me move forward with my life and start a new chapter of my life by helping others.