I am a Georgia State University senior majoring in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition and minoring in journalism. As a nontraditional student, returning to academia six years after high school, my time at GSU has challenged me and shown me what I am capable of. Juggling a minimum of 12 hours per semester, working full time, and a family has not been easy but it has been rewarding. I had the opportunity to present a paper at the 2014 Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference and advance my studies through courses with the Honors College, both of which allowed me to explore my coursework more in-depth and enrich my learning experience. As I move forward after graduation I know that the skills I have gained through my studies will allow me to succeed as a proficient writer, and possibly as a graduate student.

In addition to the valuable education I have received, attending GSU allowed me to demonstrate the importance of higher education to my daughter first hand. I have had wonderful instructors who have allowed me to bring my daughter to class with me on occasion, and who have interacted with and engaged her interest in attending college in a way that I never experienced as a child. Having the opportunity to simultaneously reignite my passion for education and spark that passion within my daughter is doubtlessly one of the best experiences of my time at Georgia State.