I am active outside the classroom by my day-to-day learning experiences. By working many hours a week, I have experienced many things and have been taught many things that I could not be totally taught in a classroom. Experience in the work world is priceless and gives me an idea of what I want to do as a career. I might learn that I don’t like working with people, or I would prefer working late nights instead of early mornings. It even gives me valuable education on how to deal with different situations--even stressful ones. Working full-time has developed very strong leadership skills within myself that I didn't know I had, which is very rewarding.

         Earning money of my own gives me the sense of pride, and also teaches me the real value of hard-earned money. After once working in a fast-food restaurant, I was even further motivated to do my absolute best in school, as I realized that is not something I would like to have to do for the rest of my life. A good career is what I have my eyes set on. Getting paid $7.25 an hour isn't something I can live off of. I have advanced quite a bit from there when it comes to where I work and how much I make, but the room for improvement motivates my work ethic and focus on my studies.

        Other than working a real job, I exercise daily and eat to nourish my body. Taking into account that I would like to study Sports Medicine, understanding my own body and how it recovers after vigorous daily exercise and trips to the gym is a first-hand learning experience preparing me to take the knowledge into the classroom.

         I hope to soon land an internship located at an Orthopedic hospital where I can then gain even more experience to bring back to Salt Lake Community College with me.