My Career In The Military

This past December, I graduated from Tidewater Community College with an associate degree in general studies and was promoted to Petty Officer Second Class in the United States Navy. I never expected to become a community college graduate. I never imagined I would join the military, either. Up to this point, my educational and career journey has been thoroughly non-traditional—marked by twists and turns, changes of heart, and changes of plans. Going forward, however, the path is much clearer. I have spent the last three years executing a plan I made at the lowest point in my life. Hopefully, the next step of this plan will lead me to the Columbia University School of General Studies.

For most of my life, I scoffed at the idea of attending

I chose to enlist in the military, and specifically the Navy, for several reasons. First and foremost, I needed a change. The military gave me an opportunity to reset my life and to escape the distractions of my hometown. Military service also offered the additional benefits of bolstering my resume and admissions competitiveness for the next step of my plan. There were a variety of other paths I could have chosen to produce similar outcomes. The common denominator of these paths was time, and I had wasted enough of it already. The Navy gave me the opportunity to work towards my ultimate goal while doing work worth doing. When time spent does not feel like time wasted, I find it easier to stay focused and

In the fall of 2013, I took an Introduction to Microeconomics course at Bridgewater State University and found it to be significantly underwhelming. While researching the topic on my own, I came across an open courseware version of the class provided by MIT. The course included filmed lectures during actual classes, as well as supplementary material like notes, problem sets, and tests. I followed along and was blown away by the difference between the course at MIT and BSU. The first MIT lecture covered more material than the entire Economics 101 course at BSU. This experience was eye-opening and was one of the first influences that pushed me towards making a dramatic change. Of course, Columbia University is one of the finest academic institutions in the world, and more than satisfies my desire to be in a competitive and rigorous academic