PERSONAL STATEMENT

As an undergraduate, I quickly comprehended how stress is an inevitable aspect to any individual’s life and how it requires great mental strength to overcome it; however, it was not until that my niece had the misfortune event of experiencing an intense split between her parents, that I understood that even toddlers are prone to internalize the stress that has been placed on them, even though they cannot efficiently communicate on why they are even bothered by it. So, I understood that even at a very young age, a child can understand stress because one morning, she held his hand and said “Don’t leave me, daddy. If you do, I will be sad and cry”. Indeed, with the lack of communication that a young child exhibits, that could lessen their chance to properly alleviate it. Therefore, I have contemplated how this could transfer into a classroom in primary school for if children are struggling to attain their full attention to their classwork due to a personal conflict, “how” can we assist them and “what” could be done to ease their troubles? Therefore, the concept of Psychology had captured my attention from the understanding of the human mind through its functions and behaviors. Because of this, I was able to finally have definite answers to my burning questions to begin to understand children and their emotional vulnerability.                                                                                                                                                      Therefore, this has reinforced my conviction to becoming a school psychologist. So, I tried to attain any amount of outside knowledge from my university on how to better prepare without simply relying on classwork. I have understood that by surrounding myself with different backgrounds and cultures, those variables alone can affect a child or an adult by creating a sensible trust with them. But it is not enough to build bridges for just our students; we must continue to advocate for social justice as a whole to better understand our society, which is exactly what I will push for to contribute the concerns on diversity. Social justice means equal treatment and awareness for any and all backgrounds, cultures, social situations, beliefs, and ethnicities. This can be accomplished by becoming aware of one’s environment, being an active listener to one’s peers, and being empathetic to others; however, I will also teach my students that while you must try to understand, it is okay if you do not necessarily agree for people misunderstand social justice by thinking that they must always reach a mutual agreement. That is not the case. Social justice is the maturity of holding conscientiousness to your own opinions and ideas about other societies or beliefs. Ignoring it can cause one to become inconsiderate of others and themselves, which is an easier choice but often a foolish one. Furthermore, I gathered volunteering opportunities to an assortment of fields – such as daycares, hospitals, primary schools, and shelters – to make better of the different perceptions that I will encounter. For example, while working at the Ronald McDonald’s house I had the wonderful opportunity to witness how children coping with complex situations interacted with others, allowing me to effectively interact with children when they are experiencing interpersonal instability. A different opportunity that contrasted with the first was when I observed and interacted with children (e.g., 2nd graders in Special Ed.) periodically at Radcliff Elementary School in Radcliff Kentucky. This was beneficial because it granted me insight into how children from diverse settings (i.e., different SES) communicated with their peers in school. Currently, I’m in the Families, Adoption, and Diversity (FAD) Lab with Dr. Rachel Farr where we focus on family dynamics particularly among those with racial-ethnic, sexual, and minority identities as well as adoptive families. In the FAD Lab, my role primarily involves supporting Dr. Farr and her graduate students in data processing and analysis in the context of interviews of children with LGBTQ+ parents who are often racial-ethnic minorities or from rural cities where there may be lack of support for diverse identities. In this capacity as a research assistant, I have also improved my skills as a quantitative researcher by learning how to use SPSS and R. This, in addition to developing my own research projects regarding how adolescence and young adults manage their interpersonal relationships with their family members and friends regarding their parents sexual or gender identity, has helped me to grasp the first steps on becoming an independent researcher. Understanding the different ways that children socially respond to themselves and others when they are processing difficult situations and emotions are what I want to accomplish.                                                                                                   Thus, I am drawn into joining the school psychology program at the University of Kentucky because I believe that your institution embraces the need to advocate social justice and awareness through having open discussions on delicate topics while analyzing the different methods and theories associated with it; furthermore, I am interested in Dr. Hammond’s primary research on assessment and consultation in children since I am also interested on how we can help children express and manage their own vulnerability, understand how their coping strategies vary across different cultures, and how we can properly intervene to support children that may suffer from a comorbidity. This can also interconnect with the geography of the University of Kentucky as well since I believe that your program will also prepare students by promoting sensitivity to diverse populations, for trauma is inevitable in any child’s life, regardless of their race or class. Children are beginning to fully develop in a society that is constantly transitioning and we need experts that can embrace that change while having great compassion. For that, I can confidently say that I am a motivated learner ready to embrace your program. Your program heavily emphasizes the important aspects that I believe any school psychologist – and an educator in general – should acquire for your program underlines the need for one to be collaborative and to have great empathy for all.