My life goal is to be a positive male role model for African American youth. I was born in a single-parent household. Nearly all of my immediate family merely had a high school degree. I felt no real pressure initially to succeed academically in school. I only needed to graduate high school and get a job to be like everyone else around me. If a role earned a salary of $35,000, then I would have been considered to be doing extraordinarily well for myself in such a town. However, my grandmother changed my perspective on how I should live my life.
I can remember vividly watching my elderly grandmother struggle to care for her brother, who unfortunately had Alzheimer’s. During the same period, her children, who had kids, were lodged at her residence because of financial reasons. After one would depart, another one would move in. The cycle seemed endless.
For the next six years, my grandmother, at the age of 54, would be responsible for providing care for at least one adult, two kids, and her brother. Unsurprisingly, she recounts this period as the dimmest, depressing years of her life. I described her difficult and mentally taxing situation because these events provided me with the motivation to become a remarkable individual. After watching my grandmother overcome an unbelievable amount of adversity while remaining seemingly positive and displaying an astonishing amount of perseverance, I no longer could settle. I was determined to become someone extraordinary to live up to her. I want to become someone who can inspire others, as she inspired me.
To accomplish this goal, I took to education, a different route compared to the other African American youth around me. I started enrolling in every honor, AP, or dual enrollment course that I was allowed to take. Those actions resulted in an entirely financed undergraduate. With that unchanging passion, I joined numerous on-campus organizations, worked part-time jobs and internships, and maintained a GPA above 3.9. As a result, I was nominated as the best business student from two different business departments at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. With my graduating approaching, I am applying to Loyola Marymount University because it is the next step in my quest to become someone who can inspire.
Attending Loyola Marymount University for a master’s degree in business analytics is a remarkable opportunity to attend a world-class curriculum, studying under brilliant minds such as Mr. Lontok and Dr. Wang. To become an expert in the field of marketing, I will need to be extremely proficient at analyzing data to identify every angle of a problem and moving whole projects forward with solutions. Merely resolving momentary issues is not enough to acquire a leadership position, such as an international marketing manager. A master’s degree in business analytics at Loyola Marymount University will advance my skills in using data to navigate the challenges of strategic planning and project management. A master’s degree in business analytics from Loyola Marymount University will not only help my career but further advance me in becoming a significant positive male role model for minorized youth.
Firstly, being genuinely committed to the coursework and treating my peers and professors with respect are some other ways I will provide value to the program. Another way to provide worth is by reducing my team members’ stress and workload by volunteering to take on more responsibilities during group assignments. I consider myself highly stress- resistant, maintaining confidence through life’s challenges and social pressures. Showing that I am capable and willing to handle more jobs is a beneficial way to add value to my team. Furthermore, personal experiences and connections are the unique strengths that will provide to the program. Classmates could learn lessons from my experiences and a job from my contacts.
