It’s with great honor and pleasure that I share with the PREM community that I have been accepted to both Oxford and Cambridge University. Originally, I had planned to write about my acceptance to the MSc in Education (Child Development and Education) graduate program at Oxford University. However, at the time of writing of this news article, I received an email from Cambridge University offering me a placement in their MPhil in Education (Psychology and Education) graduate program.

Shortly after graduating from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh with a Masters of Science for Teachers with a B.A. English Language Arts and B.A. Spanish, I ventured off to Madrid, Spain where I worked as Cultural Language Assistant. Intrigued by the different educational practices used around the world has brought me to my current role as a Cultural Learning Mentor at PREM.

Never in a million years would have I thought that as a first college generation student I would have the opportunity to choose between studying at two of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world. I derived great satisfaction from the few undergraduate psychology courses I enrolled in during my past studies. I believe that having psychological insight helps teachers better manage behavior problems, motivate students, aid struggling learners and support gifted and talented youth. As an educator, I deem it important for me to explore the field of psychology and its relationship to education. I know that whichever university I decide to study with, I will be stimulated throughout the course of my studies and be supported by some of the best faculty within the field of education. Ultimately, I would like to return to the United States and teach in a Native American reservation. I wish to contribute to the educational growth of the culturally marginalized students who attend reservation schools. Moving forward I know that this will be a new challenge for me, but I also see it as a great stepping stone to push me in the right direction to achieve my dream.