college essay

Kaitlyn King College Essay 5-2-2013 Discuss a significant experience or achievement that has influenced your life. 250 to 500 Words At the end of every work day my energy is 100 percent drained, the kids are hyper, the sun is hot, and the day is filled with more or less organized chaos. However my job as a camp counselor, and later coordinator of Summer Fun Camp at my local community center, proved to be the most influential experience of my entire life. It gave me an overwhelming sense of community, a good work ethic, and a purpose in life that I never knew I would have. Those long, hot days were anything but relaxing, and at the time being a counselor just seemed like any other job, but if it weren’t for my job at camp, I don’t think I would be the same person I am today. Even though every day was a new challenge and I sometimes felt overwhelmed camp gave me a work ethic that I will always be thankful for. Working with my group of kids and the other counselors in my group, I learned to be a better leader, organizer, and communicator and I saw the benefits my group received the more work I put into each day. When I was promoted to camp coordinator after my first two summers as a counselor, it really gave me a sense of satisfaction to know that all the hard work I poured into camp was appreciated and made a difference. When I was promoted to camp coordinator I didn’t think I could do it. Being in charge of my group of 25 kids was a challenge, I couldn’t even imagine being able to handle the entire camp of 150 kids and 15 counselors. But when I started the new job, it made me realize that if I work hard enough I can tackle things that I never imagined I could do. I always knew that I loved working with people and working at a day camp was the perfect job for that. I got to work with kids every day that were energetic and enthusiastic, coworkers that were just as passionate as I was about their job, and parents who were grateful for all of our hard work. There was such a sense of community working at camp and it made me realize that that’s what kind of job I want in the future. I think that that’s the main reason I decided to go into education. I want a job where I can make a difference in kids’ lives and work with people that are excited about what they do and feel like I’m an important part of my community. My job has been a challenge; there can be difficult kids, difficult parents, and a lot of problems throughout the day. But with every challenge I learned how to think things through, how to use my strengths to my advantage and how to stay enthusiastic. It’s taught me so much about what I’m good at, what I value, and the person I want to be. I am looking forward to learning how to be a teacher, meeting new people, and facing new challenges with the skills I’ve learned from being a camp counselor.