Year started at WCC: Fall 2011
Started at Trio: Fall 2011
Major in liberal arts, will change major to social work after graduating with A.A.
Will graduate in 2014 with A.A.
Trio
has helped me in many ways such as, with their Trio Student Support Services. I have had tutors there at Trio and still do with Math, English,
and with Botany studies. Trioʻs academic advisor Roy Inouye had given advice
and helped me with setting up for classes that I needed for each semester. He
and staff has helped me with my taxes every year. At trio they have computers
that we can utilize with our school work. They have been open during and before
semester exams to help with our studies. They even serve free lunch there every
day. We have recently have had a food bank drive fundraising to assist the
needy with food and other items, with staff and students worked and donated
food and monetary donations. Trio has always been there for me in assisting
help in many areas. Roy has advised me for my continuing college education
before I attend UH Manoa, and has advised me on the classes I need to take for
my new major of social work for UH Manoa. Without Trio I wouldnʻt have the
needed assistance in many areas. I also use Trio for a place to study every
morning and at other times of the day, every day. I appreciate their help that
has met my needs for my college education. Trioʻs staff and the students are
Ohana for all those who go there. I now receive financial
aid and I do have a mental disability with the school accommodating with my disability.
I am a alumni of OCCC and Halawa and my offense was misdemeanors and one felony
of stealing 3 dollars from my dad, and have done time for these offenses and
has learned my lesson for a life time, and now face a better future, I am
recovering from substance abuse and have been clean and sober for nearly 10
years now.
After talking to my
doctor, psychiatrist about my at the time part-time job, in which she had said,
"since working at the State Capital advocating for supporting social
groups, you may want to go back to school and take up political science at
Windward Community College, and maybe later find a job that relates to that
current job, advocating for supporting social groups." years ago. Then, I
thought that my credits would be still be transferable from Leeward Community
College to WCC. In the Fall of 2011, I've done that, transferred my credits and
registered for classes with the help from the Financial Aid people there at
WCC. I was really excited.
In my career goals and academic interests while here at WCC, I will continue in
pursuing an A.A. in the Liberal Arts field. Then after this, I will transfer to
HPU or UH Manoa to work and earn my bachelor's degree while also changing my
major to social work. As for now, I'm leaning towards going to UH Manoa because
of their School of Social Work there.
For my strengths,
I'm responsible and gets things done with certain tasks that are important, and
will not procrastinate, but always do what ever I need to do. I will choose my
priorities first, and then do them. I'm also passionate when it comes to
helping people with disabilities of children, the elderly, homeless, families,
and health care, and things as meeting their needs, which could be financial,
physically, mentally, as well as spiritually.
I'm an optimistic
person, who see the better side of life and situations, and looks on the
positive side, and tries to working forward, and not going backwards, with
having the commitment to do this one thing that's happening at that time.
In volunteer
services I'm working as a member and volunteer for the Ko’olau Clubhouse in
Kaneohe that is a psychosocial rehabilitated program for young adults and
adults with severe mental illness. This gives me support for my own recovery
from mental illness, drugs and alcohol, and now have been clean and sober for
nearly 9 years, and live a stable, functional and also a better life and
appreciate more of the things I took for granted. I have been the President of
the Clubhouse's Board of Directors for about 4 years and have just stepped down
to a Secretary position and has concentrated in my schoolwork. I have also
volunteered with facilitating the Clubhouse's DDA meetings, which is the Dual
Diagnosis Anonymous meeting, which is something like the A.A. Anonymous
meetings, which supports the members with their mental illness and drug and
alcohol problems. Then while doing this, I have recruited others facilitate
meetings. I am now the Secretary and Treasurer position instead of facilitating
meetings. I have been with the Ko'olau Clubhouse for nearly 10 years. I have
been clean and sober for nearly 9 years now. I have been the President of the
Clubhouse's Board of Directors for about 4 tears and have just stepped down to
a Secretary position and have concentrated in my schoolwork.
I am not employed
right now since going to Windward Community College, and I am a full-time
student taking 5 courses this semester in Liberal Arts, but now will change my
major to Social Work, so I have taken courses I need for social work in this
and next semester.
As far as
employment, in the year 2010 I had been working at the State Capital advocating
for supporting social groups, and are serious for the care of the poverty
stricken people, the homeless, children, elderly, families, health care as
Medicare and Medicaid issues, and people with disabilities, and mental illness
health issues. Phocused Hawaii is the non-profit organization that I worked
with doing this advocating for these social groups. Although, I worked in the
year 2009 and 2010 during that Legislature Session, but then the next Session I
did not do any advocating due to going back to school. I am thinking that I
could support these groups by working hard, advocating with them on my social
work career as a social worker working with children and teenagers with
disabilities after I received my A.A. and Bachelors degree here at Windward
Community College and at U.H. Manoa. With this I like to work with the
community and society, and help out others, like how they had helped me while
how I was troubled with alcohol and drug abuse. I would like to counsel today's
children and teenagers with these types of problems in their lives, where I can
relate to them of how it was for me and the experiences I went through, and to
help them at this young age and can be helped out, which it wouldn't be too
late. Helping people would be my awareness of my social work career, where I
must be passionate, thoughtful, caring, dedicated, responsible and committed to
these people.
In other education,
I have attended a public Japanese school for 6 years from my 1st through 6th
grades, going to Japanese school every day of the school year at the Kalihi-Kai
Elementary School although; the Japanese school was not part of that Elementary
school. I learned to read and write in Japanese, and also in conversing in that
language. Although, I have not graduated from that school, I have passed with
passing grades. Here at Windward Community College, I will take up the course
for Japanese in the next semester for my language requisite; working towards my
Associates of Arts degree.
In obtaining my
educational goals, the cost of tuition, books and other financial needs, I have
overcome this with the assistance by the Financial Aid for the last 4
semesters. Hopefully, this can continue till I graduate with an A.A. and B.A.
degree. The Financial Aid has assisted me financially with tuition, books,
clothes, shoes, meals, maintenance of my car, gas for travel, and miscellaneous
such as assisting me when my food stamps run out. I'm grateful, thankful, and
fortunate to have this opportunity of the Financial Aid assistance at WCC. I'm
also grateful for also just receiving the Charles Hemingway Foundation, UH and
Windward Community College Scholarships this past fall.
To my surprise, I
have been inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa since receiving a 4.0 GPA for the
last 2 semesters. I will try to keep up my GPA this spring, while getting
closer to graduating from WCC.
Also for volunteer
services and community services at the Clubhouse, I have assisted members
in the vocational, educational, wellness in health, and socialization in
getting back into the community and society as normal citizens without the
stigma of mental illness. In facilitating DDA meetings, which is for the
recovery of those with mental illness and those with substance abuse. The
DDA uses the same 12 steps of the AA, but in DDA the 12 steps are focused with
mental illness. In these meetings I do signing of papers for members that
needs compliance with their programs.
As for community
services, I’m considering that I would like to continue the advocating and
supporting social groups after I finish schooling and while working with my
social work career. Thank you very much and I ask for your support for Trio
Student Services Program.
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