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Undergraduate Studies ePortfolio

Melissa ThomasB.A. Psychology Program,

2012

Personal StatementWhen I close my eyes and imagine where I am, I always see myself standing on a hill surrounded by tall grass. I look out as the wind blows threw my hair and I can see as far as my eyes allow me. Out in the open, free. This is how I approach my life. My focus unto others and myself is to be open in my mind and my heart and to live outside the box not be suffocated by it.I have had the unique opportunity to experience many favorable and not so favorable situations in my life and I feel this is what has allowed me to have an open mind and heart. To not judge a book by it’s cover, yet to be cautious. To look at everyone with a clean slate, yet not disclose too much of myself right away. I like to look at everyone and know they have their own “stuff” going on and it is what makes them who they are and why they choose to do what they do. I think people deserve to be heard and given a second chance. I feel even those who have wronged others deserve to have an ear to talk to. This is why I am choosing the psychology field. I want to enhance the lives of even just one person.

To have someone feel lighter, better, happier because of one person listing to what they have to say and how they deal with their daily struggles is enough for me. Most my life I have wanted to be a psychologist and as I furthered my college education I became very interested in the criminal justice side of it. I befriended several individuals who had run ins with the law, and who to this day still cannot seem to escape. My own father has been in prison my whole life and seems to always go back in given the opportunity to stay out. This experience and embarrassment about having a father in prison just intensified my interest in working with offenders. I have worked in the health field for fifteen years and have had the privileged of working with incredible people who suffered from everything to mild high functioning mental delays to globally profound mental delays, dementia, Alzheimer, quadriplegic, Autism, Asperger, Down syndrome, Rett syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, ect. Each and everyone have impacted my life for the better. I volunteered in High School during my lunch hour to help out in the LRE room with the developmentally delayed students and this was the starting point in my life in helping others.

It felt as if I was making a difference and taught me early on to not judge or make fun of others because they were different. Now I want to have that same effect on someone else. I want to impact the life of another. Although one would think I should go into the nursing field I feel I am better equipped to work in the correctional setting. It takes a strong mind and an open heart to listen and help people who others may not feel deserve the chance to be heard.I plan to apply to the Masters program. At this point I am unsure if I will apply to the Forensic program or the Counseling program. My ultimate goal is to become a psychologist and work in the correctional setting and I am open to working with adults or juveniles. I am very interested in Criminal Justice and have thought of obtaining a BA in that program as well. I want to use my degree to gain experience and knowledge and then branch out into a crisis center as I am working towards my Masters degree. I plan to do my internship in a correctional setting and apply for jobs focused around offender rehabilitation. After so many struggles and many unique situations I feel I am mentally and emotionally ready to conquer my educational and career goals. With the determination and compassion I have I know I will be able to achieve the goals I have set. As long as my eyes remain wide open so shall my mind and heart.

ResumeMelissa Thomas

837 Sarazin Street

Shakopee, MN 55379

605-366-5010/ tahtset@yahoo.com

 

Objective: To obtain an interesting position with the ability to grow.

 

Experience: Professional Resource Network Bloomington, MN 06-09 to07-11

Personal Care Attendant

                    Helped with daily living skills/needs

                    Conferred with supervisor, social workers and others to develop individual goals specified for clients

                    Went to doctors appointments

                    Helped with paper work

                    Assisted with medications

                    Did grocery/household shopping

                    Helped to maintain finances 

 

Cennediegh Inc. Eagan, MN

Independent Living Skills Worker 10-05 to 10-06

        Accompanied residents on shopping trips and instructed the purchase of personal items.

        Observed and documented residents behavior.

        Helped maintain finances

        Assisted with shopping

        Provided social outings.

        Went to doctors’ appointments.

        Helped to fill out paper work.

 

KCQ Inc. Fairbault, MN

Job Coach 10-05 to 08-06

        Assisted young adults with mild MR and Asperger Syndrome.

        Provided transportation to job searching and interviews.

        Assisted in filling out applications and job shadowing.

 Dakota Homemaking Apple Valley, MN

Homemaker 11-04 to 10-05

        Advised families in private home on nutrition and cleanliness

        Advised and assisted family members in planning nutritious meals.

        Cleaned and organized for Elderly and Disabled

        Provided socializing.

        Ran errands for the clients.

 

 

Victoria’s Secret Bloomington, MN

Sales Associate 10-03 to 01-04

        Directed ad escorted customers to fitting rooms and to cashier

        Obtained and received merchandise, totaled bills.

        Set up advertising displays and arranged merchandise on counters to promote sales.

        Answered customer’s questions concerning location, price and use of merchandise.

 Self-Employed Burnsville, MN

Daycare provider 09-02 to 10-03

        Attended children in a private home.

        Observed and monitored play activities and entertained children by reading to them and playing games with them.

        Prepared and served meal’s and baby formula,

        Kept children’s quarters clean and tidy.

 

Covington Heights Sioux Falls, SD

Certified Nursing Assistant 08-01 to 06-02

        Performed and tasks, as directed by nursing and medical staff, in order to care for patients.

        Transported patients, using wheelchair and wheeled cart and assisted patients to walk.

        Made beds and collected soiled linen.

        Fed patients unable to feed themselves

        Documented and recorded medical needs, concerns, behaviors and vitals.

 

Certificates: CPR Certified

First Aid Certified

 

Education: Argosy University Eagan, MN

Killian Community College Sioux Falls, SD

Lincoln High School Sioux Falls, SD

 

Transcripts/Reference

Reflection

I have had an amazing three years at Argosy and have grown so much. I am very grateful to the staff and all the instructors for being so helpful and willing to communicate with me whenever I needed them. I feel I have learned very much and will only continue to grow and develop as I move forward with my education and career. I have had a great amount of exposure to critical thinking and interpersonal effectiveness. I carry these in my everyday life and feel they have helped me when communicating with others. I have learned patience and the skills necessary to be an effective adult.

I find that I really enjoy learning about new theories and research however I also enjoy keeping all my assignments personal and try to relate to all questions or papers assigned. I feel it allows me to think more critically and learn how to use everyday experience as a teaching tool for myself and others around me.

I know that with my future education I will become stronger at learning APA rules and styles. I have come a long way with the writing style. I have also learned to have time management and know that it will only get better as I move forward.

I feel I will be very successful with my future studies and look forward to earning my masters in psychology.

Table of Contents

Cognitive Abilities: Critical Thinking and Information Literacy

Research Skills Communication Skills: Oral and Written Ethics and Diversity Awareness Foundations of Psychology Applied Psychology Interpersonal Effectiveness

Critical Thinking One of the assignments for my critical

thinking class was to watch the documentary Babies and to evaluate the four babies and write a paper on what we observed. The movie was fantastic and made you think about how we all grow and develop at the same rate regardless of our environment. To see my research paper click on the Babies link Babies

My Future in Learning

I know that my studies in college have been preparing me for my career and I also know that I still have much to learn. I hope to never stop learning new things or ideas about the world and the people who live in it. I hope to always keep my mind open and strong so I can learn all there is to learn in a world so full of information and exciting new changes. Reading and researching are a part of who I am and now that I have been given the opportunity to continue learning, I just can’t stop.

Contact Me

Thank you for viewing my ePortfolio.

For further information, please contact me at the e-mail address

below.

tahtset@yahoo.com