In life I have noticed leadership to be a key attribute of mine. This was not a quality I would seek to obtain, it was more like one bestowed upon me. Growing up I was the second oldest and only daughter of four children. Though we were rich in spirit, financial hardships made it difficult and at times impossible to fulfill the basic needs and wants of most kids. With the odds stacked against us, I began at a young age to realize that I had to take charge, I had to make a change, I had to lead. This exemplifies who I am today, because leadership to me was about obtaining independence and assuring my brothers and I that progress would come with a clear vision and hard work. This epiphanic moment happened for me around the age of fourteen. I …show more content…
This placed us in a position to live a very restricted lifestyle . To help my parents, at the age of 14 I obtained not one, but two jobs. I served as a Peer Educator at Community Health Action, and I also became a Police Athletic League Counselor for my local community. These experiences taught me how to save money and gave me the power to purchase things for myself, as well as, for my family. I recognized then, I wanted a career so that when I decided to have a family of my own we wouldn 't have to face the financial burdens that plagued my youth. I enrolled in Community College and worked throughout my 4 years there. Trying to adapt to the school-work-life balance was not an easy task. This was my first year as a college student, and my grades were extremely poor due to juggling a full-time job, and a full time school schedule. I ended up failing sociology twice and being placed on academic probation. I overcame this obstacle by decreasing my school workload, and moved around my work schedule to make more time for studying. This gave me an opportunity to improve my grades, and utilize the resources available at the school, such as the tutoring programs and the