Category: Graduation

The day you are going to get your degree is usually the day of celebrations. But once the graduation parties are over it’s time to take what you’ve learned and become a productive member of society.

Here’s most horrible and difficult question started following you, ‘so “You’ve graduated. now what?’ This time period is very sensitive for students as most of them don’t realise the impact this will have on them.

Life transitions can be stressful and triggering for anyone — even people who don’t have a pre-existing mental illness. Graduating from universities and entering “the real world” is perhaps one of the most jarring life transitions a young adult can face.

Mental health problems, with the period from 20 to 25 being a particularly susceptible developmental time in a person’s life. Leaving university successfully is a key life transition, which can be extremely stressful for some students. For a number of students, pre-existing mental health problems may be aggravated during this transition. These problems may persist or indeed worsen and can have an impact on their future lives.

Many students experience frustration and doubt, but sometimes those thoughts gain an intense momentum, bringing students to a place where they seriously consider ending their lives.

In the first week of post-graduation, students felt great. By week 3, though, something changed as they have a pervasive feeling of loss.

Within two months, the phase of depression might be started and students feel that something is going wrong in their lives. At that time, they are not clearly understand that what is happening with them, and feeling of unclear future goals and ambitions engulfed them.

Student do not know that their post-graduation emotional distress is not uncommon. Although it’s not an official diagnosis, “post-graduation depression” is commonly used to describe the extreme sadness and impaired functioning that recent grads report after they leave behind the world they created in college.

However, one area that mostly felt less prepared is managing mental health post-graduation, as many universities fall behind on offering support that can be implemented beyond university life.

Some universities are good at offering career support to students and continues to provide an online service for graduates. However, for those graduates, who are yet to choose a career path, in terms of practical and emotional support there is little to no provision.

Students might felt that they are not in a position to apply for any corporate roles because they could not provide employers with enough knowledge or enthusiasm for their industry to perform to their expected standards.

However, this lack of confidence confined them to applying for unrewarding local jobs that they didn’t feel reflected what they had learnt during their academic studies, subsequently further diminishing their self-esteem and the sense of achievement they associated with getting their degres.

The students believed that universities should do more to acknowledge that many of their graduates do struggle and should subsequently offer more support to students to better prepare them for the “real world”.

With tools such as online access to university mental health resources, similar to the graduate careers portal or through practical information given alongside their course of study, on things such as banking or housing markets, graduates could be better prepared for “adult life”, enabling them to feel more informed and confident when the time comes to make important decisions.

How Do You Know if You’re Depressed?

Depression can be a cycle of dark thoughts and feelings of worthlessness. Soul-searching and self-awareness may not always be possible when you’re depressed, but it is important that you try.

Symptoms for depression differ from person to person. The way one person displays signs of depression is not necessarily the way symptoms emerge in others.

• Changes in sleep habits, whether sleeping more or — more frequently — difficulty sleeping.
• Appetite changes, including either a loss of appetite or overeating
• Feelings of stress and apprehension
• Irritability
• Trouble concentrating
• Fearfulness
• Sweating and dizziness
• Shortness of breath
• Irregular heartbeat
• Muscle pain and tension
• Headaches

If you feel comfortable speaking with a friend or relative about your concerns, have someone help you research treatment options and accompany you to your healthcare provider.

Pull Yourself out of Depression

Here are some ways that can help you to overcome issues related to yur mental heath.

• Anyone who has new challenges could benefit from talking to someone. This includes if you have family or relationship issues, stress or anxiety about your work.

• In addition to eating well, sleeping, and practicing other self-care, there are also a number of hobbies that can reduce stress. You might want to consider involving yourself in a hobby that is not only enjoyable, but that can help reduce your overall stress levels.

• Scheduling a weekly session with your friends could help get you out from difficult times.

• Life transitions can be a tough adjustment to your personal schedule and routines. Getting used to the rhythm of a new lifestyle and work style can make it easy to put fitness, sleep, and healthy eating on the backburner. However,

• Maintaining essential areas including new lifestyle (which can make it easy to put fitness, sleep, and healthy eating) could helping you retain your sanity and feel clear-headed, even on your most anxious days.

• Trained and licensed mental health professionals can provide support in helping you to find relief from your symptoms. Psychotherapy can help individuals identify what issues are contributing to their symptoms of depression and how best to address these issues.

• Exercise has countless physical health benefits such as strengthening your heart, lowering blood pressure, reducing body fat, and improving strength. Exercise has also been shown to have numerous mental health benefits including reducing stress, anxiety, and depression.

You should take proper sleep as it could affects your psychological state and mental health. Sometimes when we feel worthless or guilty we have a hard time saying no, or setting boundaries in our best interest. Proper and healthy nutrition could also play a vital role to come out of mental health issues. In order to get temporary relief from stress and depression, Students should avoid use of drugs and alcohol.

Today more than ever, people are watching what they say and are paying attention to who is around them when they speak. Before mentioning something that might sound controversial to others, it must be carefully crafted so as not to hurt anyones feelings. In many cases, it might seem easier to avoid the topic altogether; the last thing anyone wants is to be exposed for expressing their opinion because it offended someone. But what kind of message does this send to youth, if they are taught to hold back their opinions and to only express their thoughts in a way that adheres to the people around them? More importantly, what impact does this have on preparing students for life after graduation? With the prevalence of social media in today’s society, kids hold the power of creating an online attack against someone if they find something subjectively offensive or uncomfortable. Because of this, university professors are walking on eggshells and they’re forced to cater their teaching to the most sensitive student. To avoid public outcry, argumentative topics are being avoided and diverse perspectives are not being discussed. In turn, students are bound to close minded thinking and intellectual homogeneity rather than learning critical thinking skills that are necessary for conflict management and self regulation. Therefore, universities should encourage emotionally discomforting topics rather than avoid them, to equip students to face real world situations.

A child’s ability to emotionally self-regulate suffers when they are shielded from adversity by their parents. Emotional self-regulation is the ability to manage one’s emotions and behaviour in response to upsetting stimuli, which is a valuable skill to learn in early stages of development (Kalavana et al. 2010). There have been many improvements made from the past, however the message kids are receiving today is consistent: the world is a dangerous place, but adults will do whatever it takes to protect you from harm. This has a substantial impact on a child’s development. It’s important to note that childhood has changed drastically over the past few generations; there is less unsupervised play, less expectations for kids to take care of themselves, and if a child is upset by something, it has become the norm for kids to complain to their parents and have their parents handle it for them. Subsequently, children aren’t learning how to control their own reactions, and instead, their tendency to resort to an emotional outburst is being reinforced (Voisin et al. 2019). A common theme among modern parents is the idea of ‘helicopter’ parenting.

Helicopter parenting causes children to learn less from their experiences, and hinders their academic performance. This is a parent that focuses on making sure their child succeeds and avoids failure or rejection at all costs, often solving the child’s problems at work, school, and the playground (Ashdown & Faherty, 2015). For example, consider a student that puts little effort into a school project, and receives a bad grade. If they have helicopter parents, they learn over time that if they complain to their parents, in an effort to protect their child’s self esteem the parent might speak with the teacher to improve the grade. In doing this, the child misses the opportunity to learn how to cope with the frustration they feel from receiving a bad grade. Instead, they use their parents to fix their problems, and miss out on a meaningful lesson. In other words, children need to learn that if they don’t put an effort into their work, they won’t receive the reward. In line with this, Voisin et al (2019) study found emotional regulation to be associated with academic aptitude. Therefore, not only does helicopter parenting eliminate children’s opportunities to manage their emotions, it affects their achievements in school. Skipping over this lesson produces a young adult that is entitled, fragile and ill prepared for life’s adversities which has implications in university and beyond.

Social media plays a crucial role in contributing to the fragility of youth and this is affecting what can be said in the classroom. Rates of mental illness in young adults are rising (Holmes & Silvestri, 2016), which in part could be attributed to an increase of awareness and better diagnosis. However, psychological distress among university students in particular has seen an increase of reports by 49% compared to five years ago (Holmes & Silvestri, 2016). Interestingly, the increase in reports of emotional crises coincides with the emergence of social media platforms (Thorstad & Wolff, 2019). While this does not prove direct causation, it has been shown that social media can have a negative effect on subjective well-being, self esteem and body image on young adults (Verduyn et al. 2017; Mills et al. 2018; McNamara, 2019). Moreover, technology has made it considerably easier to connect with one another, while also simultaneously changing how people go about sharing moral judgements and political opinions. Young people are more engaged with, current events and news stories For these reasons, it is important to examine its impacts the impacts of social media in a classroom setting.

Specifically, social media is causing a fundamental shift of power between teachers and students, drastically changing the approach teachers take in educating students. University students are beginning to realize the influence they possess in being a part of certain online communities. For instance, if a comment is raised by a professor that strikes a student as off-putting or offensive, they can immediately report about it on social media and stir up an online mob against them, regardless of the context or the professors intentions of the comment. This was evident in an incident at Wilfred Laurier where a teaching assistant was fired for showing her class 2 video clips on gender identity and expression (National Post, 2017). The T.A. claims she was trying to facilitate a discussion on the matter, by presenting both sides of an argument. However, as a result of a mis-representative post to social media and an anonymous complaint to the school board, she was reprimanded for violating the school’s sexual violence policy. Instances like this affect student-teacher relationships in an unfortunate way. That is, students learn that if they find something to be remotely controversial, they have the power to hold the teacher accountable by depicting them as toxic or problematic. Thus, educators fear what could happen to their reputation and career should they accidentally offend a someone. Students are more fragile, and this certainly has impacted how university faculty interact with them.

In fact, universities are developing students with extra-thin skin which negatively affects their ability to handle uncomfortable situations post graduation. Students will inevitably encounter controversial or insensitive remarks. While it is right to raise questions and initiate discussions on these sensitive topics, they are stifled before even reaching the classroom, as students and teachers fear the potential backlash they may suffer should they say something that someone else finds upsetting. What’s worse, is that universities are fostering this new climate, and this has an effect on what subjects are being taught, even as a means for promoting debate and discussion (Burch et al. 2018). The problem is that this culture reinforces students to believe that there is nothing to learn from opinions that make them uncomfortable. Yet, after graduation they are bound to come across ideas of which they disagree with, only they won’t know how to properly address this conflict. Consider the repercussions this might have for a students future career.

Good conflict management skills lead to longer, more successful professional careers. It is not unusual for co-workers to have differences in work goals, ethics, and attitudes. Nonetheless, these differences often create disagreements that permanently affect co-worker relationships (Harris, 2016). Depending on how these conflicts are managed, can determine one’s feelings towards their work (Skogstad et al. 2018). For example, when others opinions, values and ideas are dismissed as offensive or aggressive, this disrupts the potential for positive compromise and mutual respect. Whereas conflict management leads to creativity and positive reciprocal understanding (Zhu & Anagondahalli, 2017). The latter, contributes to higher workplace enjoyment, and longer lasting careers (Skogstad et al. 2018). Therefore, Universities are doing students an intellectual disservice by shielding them from uncomfortable ideas and not allowing conflict management skills to develop. When students experience a clash of opinions in classroom settings rather than shutting them out, they learn priceless conflict management skills to benefit their future careers.

Furthermore, students’ emotional reasoning shields them from experiencing different perspectives in class discussions, which hinders intellectual progress. Emotional reasoning is defined as allowing ones feelings to guide their interpretations of reality; in other words, if you feel a certain way, it must be true (Burch et al. 2018). However, our subjective feelings are not foolproof guides and can often lead to irrational reactions and beliefs (Singer & Benassi, 1981). Moreover, this form of reasoning has alarming implications in a classroom setting. It is important to note, that there is merit to one’s subjective feelings of being offended, in particular if it pertains to mental illness related trauma. Nonetheless, this awareness is causing an over correction on the matter and campuses have embraced emotional reasoning from students to the point that it is negatively affecting what students are learning. That is, claims of being offended have shifted beyond subjective feelings. They now carry a public charge that the speaker has committed an objective wrong-doing which warrants immediate correction or else face punishment from authority. Students recognize claiming to be offended as an unbeatable “trump card”. Namely, they learn that their emotional reasoning can be used as a weapon, reinforcing an upward trend of hypersensitivity (Burch et al. 2018). For example, should a professor raise discussion about an emotionally uncomfortable topic, a students complaint that they were offended by this topic goes uncontested and the professor undergoes investigation putting their career and reputation at risk. This negatively affects how professors approach their students. In light of these incidents, professors must now cater their lessons to the most sensitive student. Regardless of how the majority of students feel about a discussion, so long as one student feels offended, they can take action to reprimand the professor. As a result, faculty perceive the easiest way to stay out of trouble is to avoid potentially upsetting material altogether. This restricts all students from experiencing diverse viewpoints, and limits professors to teaching generally agreeable topics.

This intellectual homogeneity has a negative impact on students critical thinking ability. Critical thinking is the process of actively analyzing, and evaluating information gathered from observation or experience, and is associated with higher academic achievement across multiple subjects (Longo, 2018). To progress one’s knowledge of the world they must be exposed to multiple perspectives (Vogl et al. 2019), as intellectual diversity is integral to the development of critical thinking skills (Stanovich & Toplak, 2019). When students are consistently limited to only hearing one perspective on a specific topic, this encourages close minded thinking and leaves no room for class arguments to promote others viewpoints. Furthermore, Rohmah’s (2012) research found disagreements among peers in a classroom setting to be the most important factor in facilitating learning. Therefore, not only is it harmful to shield students from emotionally uncomfortable topics, it is also necessary for students to experience them in order to promote learning.

It could be argued, on the other hand, that there exists certain topics that when brought up trigger negative emotional responses to the point that reactivates post traumatic stress and anxiety. In one study, Webb & Widseth (1991) discussed the fact that a variety of university students can become emotionally overwhelmed in revisiting subjects that open past emotional wounds. They claim these students require psychotherapeutic help. Additionally, the tendency to resort to emotional reasoning has been associated with negative emotions from past traumatic events, which can inhibit concentration (Engelhard et al. 2015). For these reasons, it is possible that encouraging uncomfortable topics in discussions can inflict mental damage and as a result hinders students ability to learn. Exposing students to sensitive topics who are harbouring serious memories of trauma and anxiety is completely unethical and they should seek necessary treatment.

Having said that, helping people avoid their fears is a misguided approach to improvement. Instead of working to avoid a normal life, classroom discussions provide the opportunity for habituation to occur in a safe environment as opposed to the potential threats they can pose off campus and later in life. For example, an in class discussion on abuse won’t likely result in actual abuse, it is a chance to alter the associations that are causing discomfort. Consider a study involving breast cancer patients. Despite the psychological distress caused by fear of recurrence, patients exposed to this fear by discussion showed significant reduction in depressive, anxious and post-traumatic symptoms (Cheli et al. 2019). Moreover, when students are exposed to emotionally uncomfortable topics in class and nothing bad happens as a result, their fear is no longer being reinforced. Over time a new association is formed without fear and this association extinguishes the majority of previous anxieties and distress. This is an example of exposure therapy, in which the amygdala abolishes old connections associated with fear, and replaces them with new neural connections that associate them with safety and normalcy (Durosky et al. 2018). In this way, students are able to encounter their fears and anxieties in an environment that poses no real threat, as a means to overcome what may be holding them back from learning.

In light of the negative affects that restricting speech poses on students ability to experience new perspectives and learn critical thinking, there are available strategies to help students manage their emotions. In addition to teaching students to be mindful of others opinions and self-esteem, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) educates students on how to thrive in a world that is full of potential offenses.

Shielding students from words, ideas and discussions is harmful for students learning, inhibits the development of critical thinking, and inadequately prepares them for the workplace. Instead, universities should raise awareness of the importance to have balance between freedom of speech and protecting students from feeling unwelcome. Rather than trying to force the world to conform to their desires, students should be encouraged to master their habits of thought. Considering the rise of mental illness, implementing cognitive behavioural therapy techniques in educational institutions is a viable solution to aid in controlling emotional reasoning and promote critical thinking. Furthermore, this form of thinking advocates for preparing students how to thrive in a world full of potentially discomforting emotional situations. Failure to address these issues continues the trend towards intellectual homogeneity, and prevents advancements in our knowledge of the world.

References

1. Ashdown, B.K. & Faherty, A.N. (2015). Excessive hovering: Helicopter parenting and its consequences. PsycCritiques, 60(42) Counters
2. Burch, G.F., Batchelor, J.H., Burch, J.J., Gibson, S., Kimball, B. (2018). Microagression, anxiety, trigger warnings, emotional reasoning, mental filtering and intellectual homogeneity on campus: A study of what students think. Journal of Education for Business, 95(5), 233-241.
3. Cheli, S., Caligiani, L., Martella, F., De Bartolo, P., Mancini, F. & Fioretto, L. (2019). Mindfulness and metacognition in facing with fear of recurrence: A proof‐of‐concept study with breast‐cancer women. Psycho-Oncology, 28(3), 600-606.
4. Durosky, A., Zhu, X., Suarez-Jimenez, B., Lazarov, A., Helpman, L., Papini, S., Lowell, A., Lindquist, M.A., Markowitz, J.C., Schneier, F., Wager, T.D. & Neria, Y. (2018). Exposure-based therapy changes amygdala and hippocampus resting-state functional connectivity in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 974-984.
5. Engelhard, I.M., Meesters, C.G., Vincken, M.J. & Verduijn, N.J. (2015). Emotional reasoning in acutely traumatized children and adolescents: An exploratory study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(10), 2966-2974.
6. Holmes, A. & Silvestri, R. (2016). Rates of mental illness and associated academic impacts in Ontario’s college students. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 31(1), 27-46.
7. Kalavana, T.V., Maes, S., DeGucht, V. (2010). Interpersonal and self-regualtion determinants of healthy and unhealthy eating behaviour in adolescents. Journal of Health Psychology, 15(1), 44-52.
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15. Webb, R.E. & Widseth, J.C. (1991). Students we don’t refer: ‘Holding’ the unheld. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 5(2), 19-42.
16. Zhu, L. & Anagondahalli, D. (2017). Effects of academic entitlement on conflict management: Implications of a consumer culture for the student–teacher relationship. Communication Reports, 30(1), 14-25.

Thank you everyone for coming to the graduation of the 2022 seniors of High School. Today I am here to celebrate our journey as a cohort. I firstly want to acknowledge how fortunate we have been to have had resources readily available to aid our academic growth.

All of the lessons we have learnt – both in and outside of class, all the books we read, essays we wrote, nights we spent cramming for a test the next day, the relationships we began, ended and mended, and all of the delightful and dreadful experiences that we have had throughout our schooling education. It has all led up to this day that we never thought would come so fast. Our year 12 graduation.

As I reflect on the class of 2022, I think about the activists, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, artists, mathematicians, athletes, scientists, leaders, and so much more. Among our class of 2022, we have individuals who are able to come together to do more than they could ever do apart. These past 5 years have been both memorable and life changing. All of use here have changed and grown as individuals through our experiences here at school.

It has been a great run, class of 2022. Although some of us have been vocally cynical about high school, m, When I look back on the last five years of high school here, I cannot deny it, I have enjoyed it – a lot. No, I won’t miss the lack of sleep, the mountains of homework we have had, or the busy hallways when changing classes. I won’t miss the freezing cold breaks during winter, when I would rather have a shorter break and get to go home earlier. There are plenty of things I won’t miss, but there are so many things I will miss.

One thing we could probably all agree on is that we did not get to our graduation day by solely ourselves. We have all had help from countless other people, whether it was our friends, parents, teachers or others, somewhere along the way we received the help we needed. And it is these people who we need to express our gratitude to, they’ve been here for us all, taught us countless lessons to help us grow into who we are today.

The road that lies ahead after high school will not be easy, there will be challenges and obstacles, however even when you feel like you could not possibly go on any longer – you can. There may be moments when you believe that you are alone, and that you have no way of getting out. But remember, you are never alone in this journey, we are all venturing out on this journey together. And remember, you have made it through the last five years of high school to get here, don’t stop now. When reaching our goals in the future it will not be easy, and that does not mean you give up and take the easier option. Push yourself and know you can do it.

Conclusion

Finally, although I may never cross paths with some of you ever again and I may be lifelong friends with somebody listening to this. I wish every single one of you success and happiness in every endeavour you choose to pursue. I look forward to the day working with some classmates of the Heathfield high school 2022 graduates. I know that we have so much to offer to the world as a generation. We will all do on to do great things and I could not be more excited for the next chapter of all our lives.

Do you know why the caged bird sings? Maya Angelou published the book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” in 1970 at the age of 42 after growing up during Segregation in the United States. The essay aims to inform and explain to the audience the importance of graduating. Angelou uses descriptive imagery, foreshadowing, tones, ethos, and pathos to express her feelings about maturing and the emotions about graduating at the time. Angelou’s essay is directed towards African Americans during the 1940s and segregation, along with those who just might be interested in her life.

The essay is informative and impersonal to start off. Angelou takes time to introduce the audience to the circumstances of the current events, without exposing her role. By attacking reachable emotions, Angelou builds the audience’s enthusiasm and emotional involvement. Emotions that are expressed are those that might be felt by everyone, including herself, but not specifically. The emotions included are pride and excitement. Further in the essay, Angelou reveals her own emotions, as well as her own role in the narrative. She expresses her own feelings by describing how she would look (“I was going to be lovely.”). Angelou reveals her roles by stating that she herself is one of the many within the graduating class.

Angelou also expresses her emotions by stating the awfulness she felt from the inequality. (“We were maids and farmers, and handymen….It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to sit quietly and listen to charges brought against my color with no chances of defense.”) Due to segregation and inequality, Maya Angelou felt as if she had no say so, in what happened next in her life. Society norms had already determined her fate for her, and as Angelou thinks deeper, her thoughts become darker. Her deep dark thoughts and feelings about death help the audience understand her inner bitterness about being subjected to her life.

The purpose, which is to inform the importance of graduating and describe her emotions to the audience, is explored in the beginning as well as throughout the essay. The essay dedicated a small portion of her purpose. She states that her work had earned her a top place and she’d be among the first to graduate. Angelou even states her achievements of having no absences and no tardiness. Just knowing that Angelou strives hard during school, goes to show to the audience how much it meant to her to be able to attend school, and now graduate.

Throughout the essay, Angelou also uses specific word choices. Although, some of the audiences might be familiar with the time period the essay was written, others who aren’t could get a strong feeling from the use of “Negro” in the essay. There is a major difference between the use of the word Negro and African American. Negro puts the time period into effect, whereas African American is a more lighthearted term.

There are many other rhetorical devices used throughout the essay. Imagery is one that is used a fair amount. The details from the imagery help to convey what Angelou is feeling. In the beginning, Angelou describes the color dresses the graduating class had to wear, and how her mother “launched out” on hers. The imagery and the detail description of the dress add on to how important the event of graduating is for Angelou. She even goes as far as into detail of the “lemony cloth” and the puff on the sleeves.

Imagery is also used to describe her timeliness of waiting for the day to come. Angelou illustrates the days became longer and more noticeable. For the audience, this gives the sense that Angelou waited and counted the days down. She also describes the color of the sky, which has now become strong and sure colors, which can be how the “winning team” (the graduates) felt as they begin to gather. The imagery of the colors only adds to the freedom of the “open” fields, contradicting the little to no freedom of choices the graduating class has.

In the essay, pathos and this are used to provide hope to the graduating class from the valedictorian. The valedictorian’s speech gives the emotion that the graduates can do anything and that they’ll be able to overcome any challenge before them. Pathos is continuously used when phrases such as “outrageous fortune”, are placed within the valedictorian’s speech to provoke motivation. Since Henry Reed was valedictorian, his classmates would have trusted him at that very moment during his speech addressing the graduates. Reed’s attitude is hopeful. The speech has already been undermined and it aims to set up the graduating class to be believers.

The previous speech was given by Edward Donleavy. Just like the valedictorian, he gave a speech about all the potential the current graduating class had, but his audience is beyond just the graduates. Donleavy talks about the academic opportunities that the graduates may have, along with the main point of his speech, athletic opportunities. The speech is delivered with no disregard and drills the unwanted acceptance that the best achievement of the graduating class would be to become an athlete or a service worker. The entire speech relies on ethos to help persuade the audience, before him, to re-elect him, and therefore he needs them to believe his claims about the Nergro community. Donleavy’s tone for his speech is condescending and as a result the audience, Maya Angelou, may not have enjoyed the speech very much on her special day.

Angelou uses careful phrases to tear Edward Donleavy apart. Angelou describes vividly, how all her excitement and anticipation for that day that had been built up had been completely drained. (“The man’s dead words fell like bricks around the auditorium and too many settled in my belly.”)

After Henry Reed’s speech, the graduates are led in the Negro national anthem. A song that is full of pathos. Reed had managed to bring back the energy that Angelou had lost saving her graduation day. Before Reed’s speech and the song, Angelou felt it was all for nothing. She felt awful about her situation, but afterward, she felt as if she was on top and brought positivity back.

Furthermore, Angelou’s redefined love for herself and her skin color, relates to allusion within Reed’s speech. Angelou was able to broaden existential questions to direct towards the black community. Juxtaposition is also used when the introduction to the National Negro Anthem help Angelou when she becomes more aware that she is in fact black and that the old literature does not address her situation, nor many others situation in segregated America.

Allusion is another rhetorical device used throughout Angelou’s essay. In the essay, Angelou uses allusion to refer to Nat Turner, George Washington, and Harriet Tubman to give examples of African Americans who were able to have notable achievements. Society during segregation and before, slavery, had biases about the roles Black Americans would and could play within the society. Providing the examples of those Black Americans that were lucky in being successful shows to the audience that it can be done.

Another rhetorical device used by Angelou in the essay is foreshadowing. She makes comparisons to the white school, and states “with a present inner of worse things to come”. Angelou’s mood varies along with the choice of her words and the length of the sentences. If things were becoming depressing, the sentences were sarcastic and short in length. At any point where things were being to excite her, the sentences were descriptive and long.

In the end, despite the hardships of her day during graduation, Maya Angelou stood out front he social norms of being a service worker or an athlete, she became a writer. Maya Angelou’s essay aims to describe to the reader the importance and the emotions of graduating during Segregation when she was a child. The essay uses ethos, pathos, descriptive imagery and tones to effectively convey a message.

Some kids have known that they would become doctors ever since they picked up their first toy medical kit. Others have had a striking catalytic episode that changed their career goals forever. The origins of my own desire have been less dramatic, but equally sound. I still remember when I was a kid, during a kid’s fancy-dress competition when the anchor asked me the question “What would you like to be when you grow up” and I answered with the clear conviction that I wanted to be a doctor. As a child, being a doctor appealed to me because doctors seemed helpful, smart, responsible, and – in my own simple way which I can’t describe – “cool”. In XXX, where I grew up, doctors were well respected and had an aura about them. I used to think they were magicians; with one visit to the doctor and with a few magic pills you would stop coughing in a couple of days. It seemed like they could do just about anything.

As I grew older, the field of science continued to appeal to me. The human body, how it works, and the different determinants that can affect one’s health or a community as a whole have always been intriguing to me and that’s why I pursued a degree in medicine for my undergraduate studies. I completed my Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree in XXXX and continued my pursuit of more knowledge about the human body by getting a post-graduation Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree in SSSS from XXXX. My connection with the cardiovascular system started during my post-graduation studies when I taught the ‘Human Physiology’ class including lab classes to undergraduate students. I taught undergraduate students for nearly 3 years and during these years I immensely developed an interest in the cardiovascular system and diseases affecting the cardiovascular system. I found the subject matter fascinating and later, I reaffirmed my affinity for cardiovascular systems by doing my thesis in this area titled “ZZZZZ”.

In my quest for a career that would satisfy my love for one on one interactions with patients, community, and on an even larger scale the world as well as my passion for research, I came across the field of public health and it was love at first sight. Through my undergraduate as well as postgraduate coursework, undergraduate internship work, and research experience I came to realize that a career in public health was the best path for me to outreach my community and the world. Public health merges all of my interests into one magical puzzle. To deepen my understanding of the concepts of Public Health, I enrolled in the Master’s program at PPPP and graduated with a GPA of 345 in 345 Epidemiology.

The coursework provided me with an important introduction to the concepts regarding public health and epidemiology. However, I feel it is necessary to take more advanced coursework based on an epidemiological perspective, in order to develop a more substantial knowledge and to gather effective tools for conducting epidemiological studies that contribute to disease prevention. In the Epidemiology Ph.D. program, I am looking forward to studying epidemiological methodologies in depth through coursework, and being actively involved in research programs. My research interest lies in cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, cancer, and maternal and child health.

As mentioned above, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have always been intriguing to me. During my post-graduation (MD) studies, a senior of mine who was like a mentor to me had suffered from sudden cardiac arrest in his early 30s. A few years later, one of my close relatives suffered from a stroke in his 40s leading to paralysis. These incidents drew my interest further toward cardiovascular diseases especially learning about what causes the occurrence of cardiac arrest as well as stroke in the younger population. What are the risk factors that make people susceptible to CVD? How age affects these population groups? Does it have anything to do with brain function and its anatomy? What about medication, drug use, and tobacco? I would like to focus my research on the risk factors associated with sudden cardiac death and stroke at a younger age, and the methods of preventing the occurrence of these cardiovascular diseases.

Infectious disease is another fascinating research area for me. My interest in infectious disease started long before I entered my post-graduation studies. During my undergraduate internship, while working as a medical intern in a government hospital I would see a lot of cases of infectious diseases including tuberculosis, HIV, etc. Seeing a such large number of infectious disease cases I always wondered how we could effectively control the spread and prevent infectious diseases in developing countries. Some people may ask what kind of satisfaction I can get from working in the health sector. My answer is always that by pursuing a career in public health I will gain answers to my questions about the epidemiology of infectious diseases and chronic diseases. It is through the studies and research in this field that I will be able to conduct research and surveillance in the field of infectious diseases and outbreak control, including communicable disease prevention. Through this research, I intend to uncover the facts behind why some people are more susceptible to disease than others even when they are exposed to the same environmental conditions and infectious agents. What are the factors that predispose people to certain illnesses? Does it have anything to do with their socioeconomic status, immigration, or nutrition? I am looking forward to bringing those answers and more to light.

To investigate the above questions (regarding both cardiovascular diseases as well as infectious diseases), the Ph.D. program in epidemiology at the University of XXXX School of Public Health will be the ideal program for me in terms of strengthening my academic background in epidemiology and providing me with exposure to a variety of advanced epidemiological methodologies to solve my above questions based on real data. I am confident that this program will help me reach my full potential, develop and enhance the knowledge in skills necessary to thrive in this field, and successfully construct, execute and assess programs that will help both local and international communities. I am especially intrigued by the research of Dr. YYYY, which spans topics as diverse as cardiac arrhythmias, aging, medication effects, and drug safety, as well as genetic associations with cardiovascular diseases. I am also impressed by the work of Dr. MMMM, who does her research on HPV-related cancers. I am interested in seeking the mentorship and guidance of the above-mentioned professors.

Through my medical (MBBS and MD) and MPH coursework, my research as well as my internship experience during both undergraduate and MPH I have gained comprehensive knowledge, diverse perspective, and insights into problem-solving. I believe that I have the excitement, commitment, and desire to excel in this program. I would regard getting admission to the University of XXXX not only as an honor but also as a mandate for me to work for the public good.

Professionalism is a dynamic and relative concept that cannot be quantified but rather defined by attributes such as altruism, honor, and integrity (McLauchlan, Finn & Macnaughton, 2009). Furthermore, undergraduate professionalism has its own complexities being difficult to fully evaluate and problematic when attempting to measure. Professionalism is something that is embedded in an individual’s identity, it is grown through morals and is not something that can be taught and therefore can be difficult to reinforce. Some examples of professionalism regarding undergraduates include but are not limited to; abstinence from phone use, not breaching confidentiality, and being respectful of patients’ ethnicity and culture. Conversely, examples of workplace professionalism include coming to work well groomed, being conscientious of how you compose yourself, and keeping competency-based skills up to date.

To fully understand professionalism, we must first understand the meaning of the word profession. For example, paramedicine became a profession in NSW in 2018 by AHPRA, therefore, changing the dynamics of what it means to be “professional” in regards to the degree and its career counterparts (APHRA, 2018). Lastly, it is imperative that students learn from their mistakes from untoward incidents thus allowing them to grow and expand their knowledge. It is imperative that students learn how to conduct themselves in a professional manner before engaging in the industry as failing to do so would result in myriad ramifications. The meaning of professionalism is often observed in its absence such as when rules are broken or complaints are made but by this point often the damage has already been done. In accordance with the healthcare leadership alliance (LHA), professionalism is defined as the ability to cohesively couple personal and health conduct, allowing both ethical and professional standards to guide practice (Garman, Evans, Krause & Anfossi, 2006).

Professionalism in university is paramount to success given the ever-increasing standards and relentless governing principles in the health industry. Thus leading to the gradual development of an industry-ready professional (Gambescia & Sahl, 2015). Professionalism in medical professions is especially paramount as trust is at the forefront of health careers such as paramedicine and the paramedicine undergraduate degree as a whole. Some evidence suggests that students who lack professional traits will be more likely to be subjected to negative behavior post-grad or later in their careers, although more research is needed (McLachlan et al. 2009). Professionalism is difficult to define as it is ever-changing and relative to the situation and therefore it is important that students come into the degree with a baseline understanding of what it means to be professional and the consequences of disregarding this principle. The measurement of such a qualitative concept can be difficult and therefore a clear understanding of how professionalism can be measured must be outlined. Some examples of this include a list of ‘rules’ that undergraduate students must follow to be compliant, and a list of ‘instant fail criterion’ or consequences for not complying with the guidelines thus having disciplinary action pursued.

Professionalism can be measured using explicit behaviors or lack thereof using a specific criterion to outline the expectations of the students. Some educators view professionalism as an embedded skill and are best left to the “hidden curriculum” for students to navigate themselves (Jackson, 1990). Phelps’ has developed three fundamental principles to constitute the meaning of professionalism: “responsibility, respect and risk-taking” also known as the three R’s model of professionalism (Phelps, 2006). A student must take responsibility for their actions, show respect to patients and preceptors and raise difficult questions to facilitate their student learning. Furthermore, professionalism can be measured using a satisfactory/ unsatisfactory feedback evaluation from preceptors who facilitate student learning whilst at the various placement locations. This could be achieved using a student feedback form in which the preceptor can give comments on where the student behaved appropriately and where there was a breach of professionalism. Although prevention is better than cure and ideally professionalism would be displayed throughout the entirety of the placement as opposed to engaging in self-serving interests. Professionalism can be demonstrated in myriad ways through both actions and behaviors thus creating a clear line between appropriate and inappropriate behavior.

Communication and learning play a key role in professionalism and are paramount for a successful career in the medical industry and its associated counterparts. A study conducted in 2015 found that the three domains for professionalism were weakest at the university level. The solution to this problem was to routinely examine major academic documents to ensure professionalism was well articulated (Gambescia & Sahl, 2015). Assumptions are most commonly formed within the first few minutes of meeting people (Day-Calder, 2016). Day-Calder gives some valuable insight into some examples of appropriate professional conduct as follows. “Never breach patient confidentiality, don’t friend people in your care, and do not post pictures of patients.” Such examples can guide undergraduate students whilst on their placement ensuring future employment and registration. Clearly stating these virtues is not the complete picture but is merely an impetus for student growth (Spicer, 2011). The result of these small acts of professionalism creates a vector to underpin patient trust. Conversely, a study conducted in 2009 demonstrates that students who displayed negative behaviors were often seen as professional on other placements. Therefore, it can be said that staff members can be subjective and negative behavior is not always consistent (McLauchlan., 2009). Professionalism is essential in the context of preparation for entry into the profession. The status of being a professional is not a right but a privilege given to individuals by society based on past and present presumptions.

The maintenance of such a notion is imperative and is dependent upon the public knowledge of professionalism. To gain this professional status medical practitioners must gain not only patients but also society’s trust. To obtain this status professionalism must be taught early and reinforced regularly (Cruess & Cruess, 1997). It is often asked why professionalism is important and why it is so extensively emphasized in university curriculum and there is great variation in answers given therefore it will be defined accordingly (Dalton & Phelps, 2013). It is imperative that students learn to conduct themselves in a professional manner before industry participants as the ramifications could negatively impact themselves, the industry, and the patients involved. One governing factor is paramedics’ registration which keeps the individual accountable and therefore keeps the patient safe. There are several frameworks in place to maintain clinical governance and professionalism in the paramedic profession. Similarly, professionalism is evoked from a young age and must be reinforced with strict guidelines in the undergraduate study whether that be clearly outlining the expectations or having consequences for breaching such guidelines as both the student and educational facility must maintain their integrity and thus professionalism in itself. It can be argued that professionalism must be taught and engrained before starting in the workforce and this notion is especially relevant regarding undergraduate study as with placement comes many opportunities and potential employers can see the future workforce. Therefore, in university professionalism should be at the forefront of placement and the degree as a whole so students can be work ready following graduation.

Student professionalism is a dynamic and relative concept that cannot be quantified and therefore is very difficult to measure and even more difficult to teach. Professionalism in the health industry is imperative with the exponential rise in consumerism and ever-growing health outcomes. Advanced health professional academics have developed ways to instill professionalism in students for clinical training. It is incumbent upon health science degrees such as paramedicine to instill professionalism in their associated students as it is expected for the academic formation and legal entry into the professions. Student professionalism is difficult to measure due to its ever-changing nature although the thorough checking of academic documents, reporting of supervisors on the student’s progress, and application of due discipline are vital for success. There is a clear contrast between appropriate and inappropriate student conduct although some grey areas do exist especially so for those who have just entered into tertiary study. Some examples of this would include abstinence from phone use, being well-dressed and groomed, and speaking professionally to staff and patients alike. Lastly, it is of utmost importance that students learn how to conduct themselves in a professional manner before graduation and entry into the workforce as without professionalism it would be near impossible to gain employment. Therefore, it can be said that undergraduate professionalism is at the forefront of success in the workforce and therefore must be instilled early in tertiary education.

All the inventions that were made in the world until today are results of the analysis, deep dive, and execution of those results in a trial and error method. Data science does the same old thing in a new-fashioned way using programming and algorithms to predict and analyze certain things, deep dive and give some insights about the future. As the former changed how the world operates, the latter is starting to change the world and how it operates similarly. Data science is the future of this world, as most of the sectors in the world are sitting on unscathed data ready to be analyzed and put back into their system for better outputs in their sectors as per their requirements.

Doing analysis and predicting/planning the perfect/nearest possible outcome is the one thing that interests me a lot. My job profile in which I am currently working deals with the same data analysis to provide better services for the customer. During my tenure at Amazon as a “Transaction risk analyst” which deals with analyzing customer transactions for any fraudulent activity. I have been excelling in the role, receiving numerous awards and accolades for my work. This has influenced me to permanently transition my career path from mechanical engineering to data science.

Being a mechanical engineering graduate, during my graduation days, I was intrigued a lot by computers being more effective than humans in designing, planning, predicting, and automation using computer programming languages. This has increased my inclination towards Machine learning. C programming and CAD/CAM subjects have increased my interest further deeper into computers during my graduation phase. After completion of the degree to pursue my career in analytics and to expand my knowledge in the field of data science. Joined Amazon, the world’s best company where it has all the machine learning departments under one roof like Amazon AWS, ALEXA, and many more. This helped me to get more insights into data science utilization and implementation.

Data science is an ever-changing field and one needs to be updated and experienced to be on par with the industry standards. To gain more specific knowledge apart from my current job, out of my self-interest done a prerequisite certification course in “Data science specialization with R & PYTHON”, to keep myself certified and equipped with all the knowledge and skills required for the desired student, who want to pursue post-graduation in the field of data science. Masters in Data Science will give me in-depth knowledge, and the required skills in a specialized way in the field of data science. I plan to invest the gained knowledge and put it to optimal use. My ideal job includes creativity, investigative, and innovative work. I am confident that a Master’s in data science will give me the necessary drive to such a career and an opportunity to do well in my desired field.

The University of Hertfordshire offers the best degree in data science and analytics with a placement year. Master’s degree is tailored in such a manner, that it fully equips me with all the knowledge and skills required. The research of the computer science department was rated as world-leading, and the course is part of the same computer science department of the university, which shows the expertise of the department. In all, it is a comprehensive university that furnishes an education that will serve me well in my career and prepare me for a lifetime of learning I am sure that my strong motivation, my work exposure, and my analytical aptitude will help me to measure up to the rigors of graduate study. Finally, I take this opportunity to thank you for enabling me to express myself and I look forward to my admission into the graduate program of your esteemed university.

In 2002, The No Child Left Behind act was passed, which required students to take standardized testing, to measure the quality of the schools within each district. This act was set in place with the idea to provide equal educational opportunities to all students. However, as this idea sounds reasonable, since the initiation of No Child Left Behind, it has been contended that high stakes testing prompts a higher dropout rate which has increased by 15 percent. These standardized tests have led to becoming the key component of education. This is because standardized testing no longer gauges just a student’s success, but it measures teacher quality, funding, and academic weaknesses. High-stake standardized tests have negatively affected teacher and students, by causing uneasiness, stress and dread to the point where the outcomes on these exams decide both parties are performing at the best of their abilities.

Standardized testing originally was set forth to evaluate if students were receiving a significant amount of instruction in core academic areas. Standardized testing was first introduced in the 1900’s being used for college acceptances. The SAT, a common test that many know came around in the 30’s but it wasn’t until 2002, when the expansion of standardized testing took effect. Standardized testing began to measure much more such as intelligence, academic performance, and career opportunities. Within this expansion, institutions were held accountable for students success on these high-stake tests. To guarantee this accountability, tests were formed as a requirement for students, which they had to passed in order to be promoted and to graduate. This new law held institutions responsible for meeting the adequate yearly progress and if they didn’t comply with these new requirements, the states presented the possibility of the institution losing its federal money.

It has been shown by researchers that instead of these standardized tests being used to measure student’s success, it has been use as a means of promised funding. The No Child Left Behind Act used these high-take tests as incentives for the higher score performing school to receive more funding for their intuitions, such as tickets to sporting events or receiving food. In addition to more funding, the act promises instructors promotions or bonuses for the classes that had the highest scores. Although, this act’s incentives may seem favorable it caused major consequences for employees and students. With funding and job placement on the line, teacher’s dissatisfaction rates tend to increase, which results in the quality of student learning to decreased.

Standardized testing has resulted in instructors being progressively slanted to ‘educate to the test.’ Before the act was passed, instructors would teach the following curriculum set by the local districts and states. However, in order to achieve these higher scores, instructors are more focused on teaching to the test. For instance, teachers narrowed their curriculums to be focused around reading, writing, and mathematics, while reducing their amount spent on subjects such as social studies or arts.

“Strategies such as suspension, expulsion, and reclassification are being used in some schools to prevent at risk students from taking the high-stakes test (Amrein & Berliner, 2003). A number of students may be encouraged to drop out or transfer to another school so that schools can achieve a high rating (Bushweller, 2004)”. These tests are only gauging around student’s academic success and placing importance on boosting performance.

Standardized tests currently assume a huge job in deciding the achievement and showing capacities of educators. Accordingly, instructors put forth a valiant effort to guarantee that their students are ‘making the evaluations’ on testing, regardless of whether accentuating material that is on state administered tests. Students are frequently shown test-taking techniques, for example, how to fill in bubble sheets and approaches to recollect test-taking clues to help their test scores. Students might be getting higher scores on tests; however, these expanding scores don’t really show that students are adapting progressively material; in many cases, they are becoming familiar with how to step through examinations and score well on them.

Considering the impact and stress that is put on accomplishment on the scores from these evaluations, students have started to enable these scores to affect their lives and their view of themselves dependent on their prosperity or disappointment on these tests. Because of the way that students need such a great amount of information regarding estimating the capacity of standardized testing, the individuals who have reliably bombed the state administered test enable themselves to have sentiments of weakness and nervousness about their scholastic abilities. Since these standardized tests have taken place, it has been reported by numerous instructors that students felt that regardless of how hard they attempt, they will in any case do ineffectively on these standardized tests.

Standardized testing is influencing student’s commitment and enthusiasm for school and their convictions in their own capacities. Feelings going from dread to fatigue are experienced by students who were confronted by high-stakes testing. These levels of anxiety and stress have led to students feeling the need to drop out of school due to their performance. These specific points of views and convictions are significant in seeing how testing have contrarily influence student’s self-viability.

There has been discussion about the emphasis placed on the time spent on standardized testing and the negative consequences related when over testing students. This excessive amount of testing can lead to unhealthy stress on students. In a report from the Center for American Progress, Lazarín (2014) found that students in grades 3 through 8, as compared with students in earlier and later grades, spend the most time on testing during the school year, averaging around 15 to 16 hours. On average, students in grades 3 through 8 are taking 10 exams throughout the school year, as compared to around 6 exams for students in grades K-2 and 9-12 (Lazarín, 2014). Teachers have even concerned about the excessive amount of time spent on standardized test, because of the lost in instructional time. A third-grade teacher is quoted as saying: “The prepping for the test takes a lot of time. Instead of possibly doing projects or more hands-on learning, we really focused on the testing format and preparing our students to be comfortable taking the test. The prepping starts at the beginning of the year and ends in April” (Teoh, Coggins, Guan, & Hiler, 2014). This amount of stress results in direct consequences for students such as grade retention.

State administered tests can regularly be the cause for students to get kept down in school. Therefore, students who are kept down endure scholastically, socially, and inwardly, and are subsequently bound to drop out of school than those students who are elevated to the following evaluation level notwithstanding scholarly shortcomings. For instance, it has been linked that students who score low on these standardized tests, are more likely to drop out of school. In a study conducted by Harvard University,” students in the bottom 10% of achievement were about 33% more likely to drop out of school in the states that required students to pass an exam in order to graduate” (Manalo, Taylor, et al. “Troubles with Standardized Testing.” Civic Issues, 1 Apr. 2013, sites.psu.edu/cimanalo/2013/04/01/troubles-with-standardized-testing/). When students don’t score well on these tests, it leads to self-doubt, which results in no determination to continue their education. If standardized testing was absent, these so called “low-achievers” would appear to be doing better and would be working on continuing their education instead of dropping out.

There are several factors that impact a child’s decision to drop out of school. Research says that a few of these reasons consist of (a) academic failure, (b) economic stance, (c) language barrier, (d) failing multiple grade levels, (e) family situations, and (f) addictions to name a few” (Kaufman, McMillan, & Whitener, 1995). At the point when students are confronting these issues, they are commonly pointers that can be seen by teachers to show potential dropout. Based on research, despite the issues that students may face, the number one explanation why students drop out of school is identified with scholastic disappointment. “Approximately one third of high school seniors are not graduating, of that third about 6% are dropping out in the first two years of high school and about 11% are dropping out in the last two years of high school; which would place America’s graduation rates at about 66-71%” (Barton, 2005).

Because of this self-doubt, critics have commonly reported the effectiveness of these standardized test. Often, a question that has been raised, is if the test encourages superficial thinking rather than deep evaluation. Therefore, students are only being measured based off recall and prior knowledge, rather than their ability to problem- solve and process new information. These skills are crucial in being a part of student’s progressing academic ability. Another problem commonly asked was if the test-makers had specific background, which would lead to bias questions. This refers to certain students performing better on questions because they are familiar with the background instead of the students who are culturally inclined. With that being said, is it fair to allow theses students to be presented as “low-achievers” and be chastised because of their score?

After reviewing graduation rates, it has been shown that the No Child Left Behind Act is likely the reasoning behind students being push out of the education system. Before 2002, 68 out of 100 school districts were on the verge to rising graduation rates. However, after the act’s passage, 73 out of the 100 school districts have plummeting graduation rates. By making a student go through all these pushout methods such as suspending, or transferring students causes them to become dissatisfied and take the easy route of dropping out.

In conclusion, The No Child Left Behind Act was passed in 2002, which required students to take exams used to measure a student’s success and distribute funding to intuitions in order to provide equal educational opportunities to all students. However, as it does sound like a promising idea, recent years have shown how ineffective these tests have become. These tests were supposed to support students, to provide them with the resources they needed to be academically successful. However, these high-risks tests are serving as determinants of students and teachers. Based on my reasonings mention earlier, I don’t believe that standardized testing should carry some weight in determining a student’s future. These tests were put in place with good intentions, but have we gone too far on putting too much emphasis on them relating to a student’s success? I believe that we need discover way to end the school pushout and keep more students in school. Test makers ought to find ways to modify standardized testing or find other better alternative ways entirely to measure a student’s success. If policymakers take this approach it will allow them to identify all the potential problems with standardized testing and how it influences learning and productivity.

Work’s Cited

1. Chevalier, Denise A. No Child Left Behind: The Impact of Exit-Level Standardized Testing on Dropout Rates and College Readiness, Capella University, Ann Arbor, 2011. ProQuest, https://login.proxy189.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/899253751?accountid=15152.
2. Curley, Caitlin. How Standardized Testing Pushes Out Students. GenFKD, http://www.genfkd.org/standardized-testing-pushes-students.
3. Haladyna, Thomas, Nancy Haas, and Jeanette Allison. ‘Continuing Tensions in Standardized Testing.’ Childhood Education, vol. 74, no. 5, 1998, pp. 262-273. ProQuest, https://login.proxy189.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/210398877?accountid=15152.
4. Harris, Phillip, et al. The Myths of Standardized Tests : Why They Don’t Tell You What You Think They Do, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://search.proquest.com/legacydocview/EBC/730744?accountid=15152.
5. ‘Issue: Standardized Testing: Home Edition].’ Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext), Oct 22, 1992, pp. 2. ProQuest, https://login.proxy189.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/281888768?accountid=15152.
6. Simpson, Christina. “Effects of Standardized Testing on Student’s Well Being.” May 2016, https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/eap/files/c._simpson_effects_of_testing_on_well_being_5_16.pdf.
7. Taylor Manalo-Taylor Manalo-Lauren Mayer-Catherine Roberts- Taylor Manalo Post- Taylor Manalo Post https://sites.psu.edu/cimanalo/2013/04/01/troubles-with-standardized-testing/
8. Warren, John R., and Krista N. Jenkins. ‘High School Exit Examinations and High School Dropout in Texas and Florida, 1971-2000: A Magazine of Theory and Practice.’ Sociology of Education, vol. 78, no. 2, 2005, pp. 122-143. ProQuest, https://login.proxy189.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/216500680?accountid=15152.

If we look around in the world of Science, there are many potentials to be explored and challenges to be faced. Thank you for providing me the opportunity to express my feelings regarding my undergraduate study in the Netherlands for my further education.

Introduction of my Educational background:

In the year of 2000, I was born in Bangladesh. I am the eldest son of my family. I finished my Secondary education at a Govt. Boys High School. Afterwards, I admitted myself to Bhawal Badre Alam Govt. College from which I passed my higher secondary education in 2018. I find myself as a very enthusiastic, extrovert, self-motivated person who loves to communicate with people. I am very adamant about making my dreams come true. I don’t snap under pressure. I love taking challenges and I would be very happy to see myself in a new country with opportunities to explore. I love reading books and watching movies. I listen to music in my pastime. My habit of reading books made me a better person & respective towards others.

Why do I choose to study in the Netherlands :

The Netherlands is one of the most peaceful countries in the world. It is blooming in education and technology day by day. The Netherlands is an increasingly popular destination for students from around the world. The Netherlands is quite a popular destination for travel generally in the European Union. Netherlands universities are increasingly well-reputed; the number of universities included in major global university rankings has risen significantly over the past years, particularly compared with the other European countries, which have fallen in many rankings. Financial support is an important factor in the decision to study abroad and the Netherlands government is offering many funding opportunities. For studying abroad all over the world Netherlands is ranked 7th. It has almost 82,000 international students.

Why do I choose Saxion University of Applied Sciences:

Saxion University of Applied Sciences was founded in 1988. Currently, there are over 27,000 students and international students from 89 different countries. It is one of the top-ranked universities in the Netherlands. It also has a rich ranking in all European universities. Saxion University of Applied Sciences Department of Information and Communication Technology- Software Engineering will offer me the right place to explore my potential. It has a very good reputation overall. The facilities provided especially the research facilities attracted me to study here for my Bachelor of Science Graduation.

Study Plan:

In my 4 years of bachelor’s degree, I will develop my skills. In the first year, I will work hard to learn Dutch culture and language. I will be very attentive towards my core courses. In my 4 years of bachelor’s degree, I intend to take part in international contests. I would love to win an international championship for my university.

After completing my Bachelor of Science, I plan to complete my Master’s and PhD from here. I would like to work with multinational companies.

My plan after graduation:

After my graduation, I plan to find a job as a university teacher or as an IT developer in the Netherlands or my home country. I would very much want to work in the Netherlands Software development companies. The architecture of this country is getting better every day and I would like to contribute the best I can.

I am a very enthusiastic person who hopes to achieve good things in life. I hope that you will acknowledge my interests and will give me a chance to study at your quality institute.

Since childhood, I have been fond of solving mathematics problems and I have been very good at mathematics throughout my entire education. Moreover, I was glad that I had Maths during my Engineering program too. However, I came to know about chemistry as a sub-unit in science and technology when I was in class 6th. Since then, Chemistry has become another major interest for me in addition to Maths. I learned detailed chemistry during my standard 10th which covered different minerals, metals, and many simple chemical reactions. Furthermore, in class 12th, chemistry was a separate subject that covered thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, organic and inorganic reactions the separation of petroleum crude in fractional distillation columns, and many more. However, we had gone through these topics very briefly but our faculty guided us that if we want to enhance our knowledge in this field, Chemical Engineering would be the best option to learn and amplify your skills in the field of chemistry. With the thought to enhance and explore my interest in this field, I opted for Chemical Engineering for graduation and I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for the board exams. Moreover, I was on cloud 9 as I qualified for the state board exam of class 10 and 12 with 81.5% and 73.67% respectively.

Furthermore, during the vacation of class 12th, I went through various courses covered in Chemical Engineering and I came to know courses such as Thermodynamics, Reaction Kinetics, Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, and various separation methods such as Reverse Osmosis (RO) to sewage treatment was in a detailed manner. After this literature survey, I came to know that I had a wrong perception of chemical engineering. It is usually a common thought among the students that Chemistry will be the major part of Chemical Engineering. After this survey, I could differentiate the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. I came to know that Chemistry and Chemical Engineering are different but Chemistry is the base and foundation for Chemical Engineering. I found it satisfactory for me to explore my knowledge and improve my technical skills in the field of Chemical Engineering such as Pharmaceutical, Fertilizer, Oil and Natural gas, and many more, and to learn the production process of urea, the manufacturing process of medicine, and to learn how petroleum products are separated and purified from the crude which is obtained from the earth crust. Therefore, I decided to pursue my graduation in Chemical Engineering from Aditya Silver Oak Institute of Technology (ASOIT) which is affiliated with Gujarat Technology University (GTU) and approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

During my graduation, I was an Institute topper throughout my engineering program and I was fascinated with silver and gold medals in the 1st and 2nd years of my graduation. In the journey toward my graduation, I took various major courses such as Instrumentation and process control (I &PC), Fluid Flow Operations (FFO), Mass transfer operation (MTO), Heat transfer (HT), Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics (CET) and many more. Furthermore, I am inquisitive to learn Transport Phenomena (TP) in my final semester because it is the addition of three major subjects which is most useful in the field. I secured an 8.82 CGPA until the 6th semester of graduation. Moreover, after getting a good academic score, I decided to get my hands dirty on the field too. So, I started a summer internship for one month in 2019 at KRISHAK BHARTI COOPERATIVE LIMITED (KRIBHCO) which is Gujarat’s top Fertilizer producing company where I learned the entire production process of Urea in addition to Ammonia production I also explored many Demineralized plants (DM) in the field.

Along with the academics, my institute also organized a 2-day industrial visit to Adani port, which is located at Mundra, Gujarat where I learned about the production and refining of Fortune oil and the generation of energy from the thermal power plant. Moreover, I have done various mini projects in the group under Problem-Based Learning (PBL) proposed by our Institute. As India is a highly populated country, the usage of Plastic is sufficiently high. However, it is known that plastic is dangerous as it cannot be decomposed completely. Therefore, we decided to help society with the project entitled MANUFACTURING OF BLOCKS USING PLASTIC which was about the production of blocks for pathways and parking areas by using plastic which will help to reduce pollution. Furthermore, during the 7th semester, I did a project on PAPER MANUFACTURING USING hyacinths in a group. Moreover, we took this topic to reduce pollution and to be useful for society. Here, hyacinth is a plant that grows on water bodies and decreases the oxygen-dissolved components in water which affects aquatic life. In addition, from the literature survey, we came to know that hyacinth contains cellulosic material which is useful for manufacturing paper. However, it was the alternative way for paper production and there is no need to have deforestation. So it also saves the environment. Moreover, we have decided to continue with this project in the last semester and will consult the paper manufacturing industries to convince them to implement this process which will be a few steps to save the environment.

Apart from academics, I was continuously engaged in different kinds of sports such as athletics, cricket, and badminton. Likewise, my institute organizes sports week in February and I always wait for it. I used to enjoy a lot during this period and explore many sports in one place only. Moreover, it will be a great pleasure for me to share my hobbies such as music, and athletics which make me relax and increase my concentration on my studies. Since teaching someone is an activity which I can consider to be one of the most enthusiastic activities, on the occasion of Teacher’s Day which is celebrated on 5th September every year across India, I always used to take one lecture on different subjects. Moreover, I thought that only education skills are not enough in the development of one’s life so I decided to attend the workshop on personality development at Nirma University which helped me to improve my gestures with professional people and communication skills too. Before I started my graduation, I joined the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) where I got certified with a Diploma in Multilingual Computer Programming with an A grade I learned some computer programming languages which also helped me to enrich my knowledge in the field of Information and Technology.

Having a good foundation in my graduation in Thermodynamics, Fluid mechanics, Advanced Separation Techniques, and Chemical Reaction Engineering, I decided to enhance my knowledge with practical skills in these subjects because while working in any industry it is emergent to know the properties of the fluid with its varied conditions which are dependent on the Thermodynamics. However, distillation is the heart of the chemical industry and it is necessary to know in depth of every separation process. Moreover, a reactor plays an important part in every reaction for the formation of distinct products so I wanted to learn in detail and to design the optimum nonideal reactors which help to increase in company’s profit.

Hence, I decided to pursue my master’s from abroad in chemical engineering to heighten my knowledge in such core subjects. Along with the acquaintance, I also want to explore different cultures and work with different people which will directly improve my vocational as well as teamwork skills. Furthermore, I decided to pursue my further studies in Canada because it is one of the most serene places and the safest country to live and study in the world. So I started searching on the internet about the universities and I came across a course at the University of Calgary that seems to be an extension to the course which I have undergone in my graduation. This course-based program of Master in Chemical Engineering is in addition to petroleum engineering so I was on cloud 9 because I can also enhance my knowledge in the downstream. After all, I will study the basics of downstream in my 8th semester and I am very curious to learn it in greater depth about the course based on unit operations. Moreover, the University of Calgary is among the top universities in Canada and it will be a pleasure for me to get admitted to the university.

After completing my Master’s from your prestigious university, I will apply for a job in the top companies of my country, especially in my state where I will get a chance to utilize my knowledge of master’s studies and I have confidence that the knowledge which I will receive from your university will help me to enhance knowledge, nurture my skills especially in terms of practical exposure so that I can further transfer it for the betterment of industry and the betterment of overall growth of me and my country as well.

Hence I decided to excel in my knowledge and growth at your esteemed university with all my positive gestures.