Statement of intent sample

Occasionally, I would have to correct them but for the most part this was really effective. Suddenly I didn’t have to force them to open up their textbooks, instead the textbooks became useful tools for them to fact-check, tools they could use to prove themselves right, a place to find answers. It was amazing! This eventually grew to a really useful way to get them running their own study sessions before exams. Some of the boys got competitive, trying to be able to recount more info. One of the girls got involved and brought notes. So now she had proof when the guys tried to challenge her. These boys were a very high energy, challenging group. But by valuing their input and getting them invested in the process we were able to see some pretty great improvements. It helped them to push each other and challenge each other. It also got them to care about the process. They didn’t have to take my word for it that textbooks were useful because they had used them first hand as a tool. It was a dynamic and adaptable format so we could breeze by the things that the students were comfortable with or really spend time and focus if most of the group was stuck. 

  Initially this was a group that didn’t see the point. They often asked “miss when am I going to need this in real life” I had to get creative I always had to have tangible examples up my sleeve. I have a feeling when they look back on their study sessions at Microskills they’ll find the soft skills they developed more useful than say balancing chemical equations. But by being able to buy into the fact that knowledge and information are tools you can use I think they will be able to create a lot more opportunities for themselves! By seeing that information is helpful not just for a grade, but to grow conversations and facilitate actual understanding. I love seeing the shift in student’s perceptions when they start to realize how something seemingly unrelated to their life actually can be profoundly impactful.;

Reading is the ultimate act of empathy and communication and it’s great to shift their perceptions regarding language’s ability to communicate and transcend time and location. Watching them learn how to use learning tools was really motivating. I hope this helped them grow their desire for understanding. I hope they will find their educational careers a place not separate from ;real life; but part of their whole curious lives. I hope they learn to question things and attempt to understand things not for grades sake or because it;s a means to an end but because it will help them make better decisions and therefore live happier more satisfying lives. The idea wasn;t to get them to memorize a set of facts. The idea was to get them to be agents of their own understanding and use those facts to make connections.;;

Sample statement of intent for graduate school

Experience with Diversity

The most valuable experiences I;ve had in learning to convey information have come from my work was at a charity called I Challenge Diabetes. I started out as a volunteer in 2012 and have been involved in a variety of roles. In a small charity all staff are required to wear many hats but one of the things that is my specialty is designing activities and programming relating to outdoor education and diabetes management. The skills required to get kids and teens to engage with diabetes education are similar to those required to effectively engage students in a classroom setting. I have been involved as a coach for our Exercise and Excellence programs, as a leader on backpacking trips and guided hikes, currently I am program coordinator and head of volunteer management.;

Normally in order to structure our events we think about the goals of the program, and what skills we want the participants to learn. The games and discussions we;ll follow to facilitate participant growth and understanding is structured to support these objectives. One program in particular we ran in partnership with DSkate Hockey which is an elite hockey camp specifically for Type 1 diabetics. Type 1 diabetes can be a difficult disease to manage particularly surrounding the many adjustments made to insulin dosage and the increased blood sugar checks required in sport. Our goal at ICD is always to give students the tools and skills to manage their diabetes safely while training at a high level; we focus on increasing self-efficacy and self-esteem while offering support for practical diabetes specific challenges. We worked in partnership with DSkate and a team of Medtronic nurses and health care providers to provide fun, safe and engaging programing. The Dskate team often surprised us which made it difficult to stick to our plans.;;

Personal statement for graduate school example

; One day we had a visit from the Hockey Hall of Fame so that the kids could see the trophy. Due to some unforeseeable scheduling mishaps the trophies arrived pretty late. All of the children sat in the chairs waiting to see the trophies and getting more and more reckless. As support staff left to check on the trophy status I was handed a microphone, I stood facing 55 kids, all of which were getting pretty impatient. I had to improvise quickly.;;

;Who is the most important player on a hockey team? ;I asked them. (To this day I am both proud of this and also a little embarrassed because it;s so clich;.) The kids quickly raised their hands jumping in with their favorite players and reasons why they were the most valuable. The Conn Smythe trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable hockey player in the NHL. If the star forward is the most valuable why have goalies earned this award? If goalies are the most valuable why have defenseman been awarded this honor? Why doesn;t the goalie always win? It;s not the position that;s important, rather the effort of the individual combined with good support from other resources.;

The most valuable player still needs a team; hockey is not a one on one sport. Neither is diabetes. Focus on process, to focus on giving students tools that they can use to build their own connections. Mostly I relied on listening and asking questions. What do you think? Why? Has anyone else experienced anything like that? Had a different experience? If they could develop good critical thinking skills they would be less likely to default to being typecast and similarly would be less likely to be unfair to their colleagues. I did once have a student say to me ;how would you know about that. Miss you;re white.; I dealt with this by explaining that I am more than my melanin count. I don;t want to pretend that your skin tone doesn;t inherently come with a lot of assumptions, on both sides of the issue that does exist. But I am not my skin color. I treat people with respect and I expect that in return. Systemic bias and issues therein are a reality.;

Letter of intent sample

I am shamelessly idealistic in the sense that I hope everyone no matter your gender, sexual orientation; ethnic heritage, position or challenges in life can treat everyone with a base level of respect. I wish that for the future, it;s something I try to instill in my nieces, something I model and something I care very deeply about. Imagining issues complexly can complicate things. I hope that opposing views don;t ever have to limit our capacity to learn. But it;s important to consider that there is always another opinion. Differentiation in education doesn;t necessarily refer to different learning styles, but I think different needs, I think I;ve found that regardless of learning style or learning environment there is a fundamental need to feel safe and valued. We are all entitled to our views and we will all be better off we are able to explain and more importantly to listen!;

Empathy is something that I try to weave into every single aspect of my life. I think a little compassion and a little listening can go a long way. I often try to think about the best way to truly make people feel heard. I terms of how exactly I tend to implement this specifically I would say I intend to continue to value diversity, respect, listening and empathy. Often diversity as an issue comes with sensitivity and should be taken on a case by case basis. This is a practical challenge I would love to learn more about through your graduate program. How can we design classrooms so that everyone feels safe and valued? Common sense is not that common as the saying goes, but the fact is we do not all share the same common. Instead I hope to make listening and respect a must have. Let;s be different, let’s disagree, but let’s do it an intellectual and respectful way.;;