The choices we make early in life have a huge impact on our future. I always knew I wanted to have a direct impact on people's lives and my personal experiences set me on the path to school counseling. In the future, I would like to influence another generation of students to soar towards achieving their dreams. Over the last three years of university, my interest in consulting has grown through various experiences. An important experience that influenced my decision to pursue a career as a school counselor was my involvement in my community service sorority, Chi Delta Alpha. Through Chi Delta Alpha, I have volunteered several times, including babysitting to provide a night off for parents; I was responsible for a group of elementary school students while they took middle school classes and painted a caboose for a local playground. A theme that has remained consistent throughout my various experiences is that making a difference in someone's life is a rewarding experience, and I know that I desire a career that allows me to support high school students as they face difficult situations. that shaped my decision to become a school counselor was my ongoing work with VCU's Addiction and Women's Health: Advancing Research and Evaluation (AWHARE) team under the leadership of Dr. Dace Svikis . With the AWHARE research team, I work with at-risk pregnant women. I had the opportunity to inform women about our studies, conduct interviews, and enter data into the SPSS dataset. But more importantly, I witnessed the struggles faced by people with limited resources. Through my experience, I know that my interest lies in directly influencing individuals to b...... middle of paper ...... for the reduction and prevention of problems and I can help students to create meaningful lives for themselves with the partnership of their families, community and schools. The accelerated one-year school counseling program with internship is another reason why I am interested in the University of North Carolina. The one-year internship will be the most beneficial aspect of the program due to the opportunity to fully develop relationships with students and staff, as well as having the opportunity to deal with a wide range of issues that arise during a school year. Attend graduate school for academic advice. Attending the University of North Carolina will give me the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to help students facing a variety of difficult situations. I am ready to take the next step in my career as a school counselor.