“Today is the day,” I thought. I’ve been looking forward to this moment all semester long and it finally came. Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018. I decorated my cap because that’s what all the cool kids do and I got to wear all those obnoxious ropes and scarves around my shoulders to show off how extra smart I am! Every now and then, the average hard working person tends to be just a little bit too hard on themselves. I never gave myself enough credit for all of the things I’ve done and accomplished. But graduation day was a really good day to reflect back on how much effort I put into the past three years.

Of course, a HUGE thank you went out to my mom & dad. ♡ Because of them, I’ve been given endless opportunities to not only be able to have dreams but also make every single one of them come true. I’ve learned the value of an education, hard work and dedication. I’m proud and so humbled to have experienced success all throughout my journey of getting this bachelors degree in Computer Programming & I️nformation Systems. I’m honored to have been able to found my own Women in Computing Association with successful events, activities and scholarships to National conferences. I️ was inducted into the Golden Key International Honour society where I participated in achieving the three pillars: Academics, Leadership & Service. I was also inducted into Sigma Beta Delta (ΣΒΔ) International Honor Society where I served as Vice President as part of the top 15% of my class. I built my experiences through my internships with Advice Media where I strengthened my Web Development skills and SEO, KEMP Technologies where I had hands on experience with QA testing, hardware and software engineering. And now I’m so excited to have been given a promotion from Newsday where I’ll be going from your favorite customer service representative to Programmer Analyst starting the following Monday! My life is honestly like a dream. It almost feels as if everything was handed to me but days like today, I look back and reflect on all of my accomplishments and all the hard work I truly put into getting where I am. All of this success always goes back to my family.
I can’t even express how thankful I am for how much my parents have sacrificed to have been able to give me more than I could ever ask for. Not a day goes by where I’ll ever forget where I came from and what my family has done for me to have gotten to this point in my life. I hope to have made my parents proud today walking across the stage with layers and layers of honors around my shoulders, graduating with Cum Laude and receiving a degree in what happens to be my dads field of work.