Personal+Statement

Personal statement

I come from a family that really valued reading and education. However, I always did so well in school that my family started to take it for granted that I would be "good," and always get straight A's. I remember in junior year I received 3rd place statewide for a paper that I wrote on Jane Addams for my AP American lit/American history class. Neither of my parents were able to come with me to the award ceremony because they were both working. For that paper I had visited Fairfield University's central library to do my research, and I think that the recognition that I received for that paper might have been the seed which later grew into an idea for me to become a college professor.

My first year in college, 1986, when Ronald Reagan was still president, I read the Autobiography of Malcolm X on my own. I don't remember who or what inspired me to pick up that particular book, but it changed my life. Malcolm's X voice is crystal clear in the autobiography, and his militancy and charisma shine through in a powerful way. Sonia Sanchez says in Orlando Bagwell's documentary on My career dream is to become an expert in the connections between California history and California literature. A doctoral degree in a unique program developed through the history and English departments of the University of California, Davis will give me the background and the credibility to start on this journey. Currently I am an English professor at the College of the Sequoias where I enjoy teaching writing and literature, but I have this burning desire to focus more clearly. Ever since I was little, attending California State University, Fresno has been a dream of mine. Born and raised in the San Joaquin Valley, I feel a sense of community.