Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in Just Do You by blogger, Georgianna Meléndez, who recently graduated from UMass Boston with a Master’s of Science in Public Affairs from the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies. Congratulations, Georgianna!
One night while I was in the office late, staying there to do homework uninterrupted by life, my boss popped in. I was ripping my hair out…wishing that statistics could disappear and that by some miracle I could just skip the class. He asked me why I was pushing through with so much going on in my life (and believe me, there was a lot).
In the moment, I couldn’t answer his question, I only knew that I HAD to do this.
A week later, I was sitting at a coffee shop, studying for my statistics mid-term and I questioned the wisdom of my path. So I put pen to paper and this is what I came up with (in no particular order):
1. It’s free (as an employee of the university, this is a benefit)
2. Credibility
3. Because I can and my parents could not
4. To make my parents proud
5. Because I am a statistic (Latina/female)
6. Because I wouldn’t get past HR for most of the positions that are posted on campus even though I would otherwise be qualified
7. “It’s too hard” is not a good enough excuse when I put it next to how hard my family members have had to work(especially my Dad)
8. I have been lucky so far in my career path, but there are no guarantees
9. Because the market is competitive
10. It is an escape and an opportunity to grow.
I am now a proud graduate of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston.