Teaching Assistant Statement of interest One of the most arduous yet rewarding experience I have had in my life is my education. Truman State University's education has allowed me the ability to critically think and analyze an issue from a variety of perspectives due to the school's liberal arts agenda. The ability to discuss ideas and theories with people inside and outside academia is a gift. I want to continue to refine this gift, not only for myself but the following generation. I want to foster an appreciation for learning within them. Qualifications During the spring of my junior year, I was enrolled in a McNair Scholars course where my fellow peers and I read Limbo. This book tells the stories of individuals transitioning from their …show more content…
During Truman's McNair Program, scholars participate in two summer research internships, a three-week internship during the summer between a student's sophomore and junior year. The second part of the internship is a total of ten weeks during the summer between junior and senior year. Additionally, during the spring semester of Junior year, scholars participate in a McNair graduate preparation course. During all these opportunities, scholars are either composing or refining their research. During the first summer internship with McNair, I learned the basics of research, like what is a literature review, how an abstract is constructed, what is a methodology section, etc. In addition, I gained insight on how to tailor my writing for a research-driven audience. My research underwent multiple revisions during the McNair graduate preparation course. I changed my proposal topic two times during the spring course alone. It was initially difficult to construct multiple research proposals amidst my other schoolwork but the experience taught me how important diligence is with research. Research is not something an individual can ignore and suddenly smoothly resume after not doing work for a few days. Research requires constant reading and consulting with one's self and others in order to ensure the final product is the best it can possibly be. This is something I kept in mind during my the second part of my McNair summer