Life Has Been My Work as a

¶ … life has been my work as a volunteer camp counselor. I participated in the YMCA program as a way to serve my required volunteer hours to graduate. While it started out as a requirement, it soon became something that I enjoyed and I found that I was good at it. That experience led me to choose the field I want to work in. I am going to work in the field of sports management.

My summers at the YMCA camp gave me the opportunity to mediate children in various sport activities. Whether it was baseball, basketball, or other activities I felt I was contributing something to their lives by introducing them to the concepts of sportsmanship, and team playing. It was rewarding for me to help resolve issues that would come up. Sports management is a field that in my opinion needs some integrity pumped into it.

With million dollar contracts, sports stars violating laws and getting arrested, and other things that the media has brought to the public eye, sports have gone from being an All American icon to something people gossip about. I plan to help bring the integrity back to the field of sports management. I will develop my career, based on a higher-level education and the values and principles that I hold dear. I believe sports management is the key to revitalizing the respect that was once held for sports and their stars.

I look forward to the travel, the high level negotiating and the ability to reach for the stars that this field will provide for me. I have always been involved in sports in one capacity or another but my time as a YMCA sports counselor gave me a peek into the world of managing players. The biggest influence in my life in all areas including my career goals is my mother.

My mother has taught me by her own example, that it is possible to lead one's life with integrity, values and success. She is a believer in higher education and has pushed me to do my best in everything I try in life. My mother is my biggest cheerleader, but it is not a blind support. She works hard as a parent, and a friend to guide me through these vital adult decision years.

She is proud of my accomplishments and she has always been there to nudge me to reach just a little further each time, so that I continue to grow and achieve my goals. Watching her, as she raised me, gave me the foundation for having high morals and standards for myself. These traits have served me well as a contributor to mankind and my mother is the person I credit with instilling them in me.

One of the things she taught me is to be proud of who I am and to use that pride to help others be proud of who they are. My mother taught me to be proud of My African-American heritage. Being an African-American today creates a sense of self. Racism is out there. There is no denying it. I was taught at a young age I can give in to its ugliness or I can prove it wrong by my actions.

Because I am African-American I experienced a wide variety of experiences growing up. Not only did I hear racial slurs from people I never met, I also experienced the wonder of being able to.