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Scholarship Essay

My educational goal is to receive a Bachelors Degree in Behavioral Health and Human Services. This will help me with my career goal of becoming an Intensive Case Manager for individuals with mental health challenges. As I think about my educational goals I realize that, up until three years ago, I never even thought about furthering my education.
I was in my early fifties and I had never graduated from high school or gotten a GED. This was one barrier in my life. This changed in May of 2006 when I started taking GED classes. It was because of the personal barriers I was facing in life that I decided I wanted to better myself, in my mind this started by getting an education.
To explain the barriers I have dealt with, I need to give some details about my life. I am a recovering addict and have almost four years clean. In addition to my addiction I also have had to deal with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). I was in my addiction for over thirty years and finally had enough. In October 2005 I came to Philadelphia to reside in a Christian Rehabilitation Center. I had no choice but to leave everything behind if I really wanted to deal with my illnesses. This was a great barrier because I had to start my whole life over with no friends or family for support. While I was living at the Rehab I felt humiliated and put down by staff because of my lack of education. This humiliation was a turning point for me, I had never thought about getting a GED and suddenly I wanted to take classes. I wanted to prove to myself and others that, if I put my mind to it, I could get an education. When I received my GED in December 2006 I broke this barrier and felt good about getting an education.
Getting my GED encouraged me to continue learning and I enrolled in Esperanza College of Eastern University in January 2007. I chose to go to this college because of another barrier I had my entire life. I felt that I needed to go to a college that offered classes in...