Welcome and thank you for visiting my online Master of Science, Administration (MSA) portfolio. Feel free to email any questions that you may have regarding my experience with the MSA program at California State University, Bakersfield. I am always eager to share my experience with others, especially when the question arises, “Was it worth it?”

Was it worth it? I believe that after reading my personal statement one will clearly know the answer. The first bit of information that I am always proud to share is that I am the first, the only, and it most likely will remain this way (until I have children), to complete any education beyond the twelfth grade. I am proud of this fact simply because I feel like the family Frontier. I was encouraged by my parents with congratulatory pats on the back when I began taking courses at Porterville College. However I think those pats grew to the feeling that perhaps I was not interested in college, and that was okay with them too, simply due to my lack of attendance and well…lack of interest in college. It did not take long to realize that I was not responsible enough to be a college student.

It was not until three years later with a life that was absolutely standing still; actually now that I think about it was moving in reverse as a matter of fact, before I began taking classes at Porterville College again, and taking them seriously. It took me four years to complete my AA in English, working often 60 + hours per week. It sounds now like it took forever, but as I look back it seems as only a few months of my life passed me by.

Fortunately the Program Coordinator and good friend of mine, in my office urged me to continue my education. Interestingly, I accepted a job at Porterville College as a switchboard operator just prior to going back to school. Since there were students all around me, remaining motivated was much easier than it might have been had I been working elsewhere. The rest is history really; she convinced me to continue my education, which took me to Chapman University. I earned my BA there in Social Science with an emphasis in Sociology and Psychology.

Once I completed my undergraduate degree, my friend was back on my heels to “keep going”. I can still hear her singing Dora’s song from “Find Nemo”; “…Just keep swim-ming, just keep swim-ming, swim-ming, swim-ming, swim-ming…” She truly has been an inspiration to me and without her I would never have made it this far.

As for the MSA program… it has had its ups and downs. There were plenty of times that I wanted to put the program on the back burner, promising myself that I would finish it later when I had time. It was my friend who urged me, no…make that threatened me, to persist. There was significant stress specifically during the time that I took Cost Benefit Analysis and Quantitative Decision Making during the same term. I do not recommend doing that, unless you are a mathematical whiz and can think outside of the box, even then…it won’t be so much fun, trust me! That term truly was a point in time of pressure in the purest form and I had an overwhelming desire to “take some time off”.

Today, I find myself closing in on the completion of my first graduate degree. I feel excitement, pride, and a sense of accomplishment. I also feel a bit queasy when I think of the student loans I must begin paying back. I am more confident now in my life than I have ever been and have learned many things from books during my academic career; however I believe that no matter how much a person learns from a book, they learn twice that from people and experience. My instructors and classmates at each institution have either shown me the way, or stood in my way and made me figure out how to negotiate and succeed, which obviously I did!

The MSA degree will benefit my future and career in endless ways.  Although I enjoy what I currently do, I realize that with the completion of my graduate work it is time to move on, ultimately to greater responsibility.  I plan to adjunct at Porterville College in addition to my current position there, until I move through the ranks into an administrative position on a community college campus.  My long term goal is to return to Porterville College at some point in my career as the college President.

The portfolio, should you choose to look at anything other than this personal statement, is full of examples of what a person can expect to learn in each of the courses that I took at CSUB as part of the MSA program. Feel free to look at samples of my work and email me with any questions that you may have.

I am grateful that you took the time to learn about me and my academic background, thank you.