¶ … Transferring and Objectives You Hope to Achieve: Since my ultimate career goal is to gain the knowledge, experience and qualifying skills to be hired by a flourishing corporation in their finance department -- eventually following in my mother's footsteps as a chief financial officer -- I am eager to transfer from Pepperdine to the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.

The Marshall School of Business consistently rates high according to the ranking by U.S. News & World Report -- and by BusinessWeek, Bloomberg's respected publication -- and the business school's undergraduate accounting program, which I am also very interested in, has high ratings as well. My desire to get an education in finance first led me from Pennsylvania to the University of Pacific, and thereafter to Pepperdine University.

But after a semester at Pepperdine, I know I need a stronger challenge in a university with leading edge educational opportunities, and I am absolutely certain that the Marshall School of Business is the answer to my desire to be challenged.

I function at an elevated level when I am confronted with steep learning curves that I know will enhance my ability to solve problems and successfully attack heady material. This has been true my whole adult life. In fact when I first entered college my dream was to pursue a career as a doctor, with the notion that I love tough challenges and I would like to make a contribution to society. But typical of young people just entering their educational career, I had a change of heart and had a strong desire to get into the business milieu.

My mother, which I mentioned earlier, was one of my strongest, most impressive role models, and her good judgment in business led her to become a CFO; I asked her questions even as a young man and saw that she was very fulfilled in her business career. No doubt, this had a salubrious impact on my life, and it still does to this day. I have consistently worked very hard at everything I have done academically and socially, and my effort has been recognized at many levels.

At Hempfield High School in Landisville, Pennsylvania, I made the National Honor Society, and received "Superior Honors" in my GPA classification all four years. I also made the Society of Academic Excellence in Foreign Languages as a fluent Spanish speaking student (albeit my native language is English).

I have shown strong leadership skills throughout my education, and have reached out to become involved in meaningful social activities on many levels. I was a member of the...

I had enough financial skills in high school to become the financial advisor to the Varsity Club at Hempfield.
Because I cared about people who were struggling to survive, and people were located in underserved communities, I got involved with the "Free of Famine" organization. I was also a volunteer in the Crispus Attucks Soup Kitchen in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. My youth group at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lancaster, Pennsylvania was active in the community and supported projects that helped others.

My interest in animals and the maintenance of good animal health led me to get involved with the veterinary program at the Harrisburg Pike Animal Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I assisted veterinarians with vaccinations and surgery. I worked at the front desk, answered the phone, and became knowledgeable enough to speak intelligently about the specific care domestic pets require.

Never afraid to get my hands dirty, I got into the basic bottom line of boarding animals by bathing dogs, walking dogs (to give them a break from the boring existence of kennel life), cleaning cat pans, and administering medications when I was called upon to perform those tasks.

Briefly describe a non-academic pursuit that best illustrates who you are and why it's important to you.

As a child, I always dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player. Because I knew what a huge challenge this would be, I practiced constantly (in particular when winter was over and the heavy snow had melted on the soccer fields). I worked tirelessly to improve my game, in pickup matches and during organized practices. I would practice dribbling the soccer ball in my back yard, or at a park, whether there was anyone to play with me or not.

Basically, when you put the time and effort into a program that appeals to you as I did for years, whether you know it or not, you are learning the value of hard work. You are developing a staunch, steadfast work ethic, and I certainly did. I took my work ethic to a level beyond what anyone I knew or watched during my high school career. And that work ethic paid off when I got to college, because I am the kind of person who buckles down immediately upon getting an assignment in a class. I'm focused on success, and my life has gone in that direction during the last few years.

Presently I am the team captain of the Pepperdine Men's Soccer Club, and I was also the captain of the soccer team and the track team in high school. The energy and skill I put into my participation in soccer has rubbed…