St. John’s University Graduate School Application Letter

St. John’s University Graduate School Application Letter
I am certain that a Master’s Degree in finance from St. John’s University will propel me to the heights I am certain I can achieve. As the son of two successful professionals, early on I was placed on the path of success; for a time I was uncertain of where I wanted to go and how I wanted to get there. However after successfully graduating from St. John’s University with

an extremely high GPA just shy of a 4.0 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and acquiring a job within St. John’s University’s IT department I have found myself. I am confident in both place within the world and where I want to go in it and certain MBA will help me get there.

Long ago I lacked not only direction but intellectual purpose, a skill I could use as a foundation, to graft my other knowledge onto and around. In middle school I discovered computers, and in them a subject I was naturally gifted in and driven to master. There I began to push the boundaries of my knowledge via exploration and was initially exposed to programming; a subject I ironically initially disdained but grew to love. Though I discovered computers in middle school, my interests grew and blossomed in High School. I attended the Maret School a prestigious private school in Washington, DC. It was there that I began working with networks, Mac computers, and my future passion, the World Wide Web. I was fortunate not only because my high school career coincided with the birth of the Internet but also that academic environment empowered its students and allowed a select few of us to produce the school’s Web Site. After Maret I attended Vassar College. Vassar was to be the cornerstone of my adult scholastic career. It was at Vassar College I realized programming to be the next evolutionary step in my passion; however I also realized Vassar was not the best choice for me.
Between Vassar and St. John’s I took a year off. After deciding to leave Vassar I was adrift and traveled to Croatia where I worked with a political NGO’s. I served as a computer technician and web developer for several Croatian political parties and grassroots organizations. The distance allowed me gain perspective on where I was at that moment and where I needed to go, though I did not yet have all the answers I knew I was ready to begin asking the proper questions. When I returned to the States I began to realize I had been pushed through school my entire life by my parents and family to get a college education. Though confident they were correct I wanted to continue on the path to getting a degree under my own power and would discover my own reasons and passion for getting a college education. In accomplishing this, my professional career started earlier than most, and in fact before my undergraduate career concluded. I wanted a preview of the professional world to see where I would and would not be in the world I chose to never return to school. I had various jobs, some professional many not. However the highlight of the interlude was getting a job at the Council of Better Business Bureau as webmaster. Though by the age of 19 I had a successful job in my desired field I decided to return to school. Knowing that the success I attained was only a fraction of what I could if I returned to school and that the self-contentment I had would eventually run dry unable to progress without a college degree I decided to return to school as I always knew I would.

When I returned to academia I applied the knowledge from Vassar using the discipline gained from my year long sabbatical. But where Vassar was the cornerstone, St. John’s University became the realization of my scholastic experience. Unfortunately amidst my scholarly pursuits the Internet bubble burst leaving me without employment. Desperate for work I begrudgingly went to the student employment office certain they would have no work suited for me. However I was shocked when I was told that an opening had just been posted asking for m my exact skill set. Shortly thereafter I had an interview with unforeseen consequences when I met with the then Director of Instructional Technology at the eStudio. To no one’s surprise but my own I was an impressive figure professionally. I had been creating and experimenting with web technologies since the birth of the Internet, 8 years of hardware repair and supported by this was a rigorous background in computer science from Vassar reinforced by St. John’s. She explained that the department was set up to expose faculty to new technologies and assit them in the deployment and creation of technological tools. I accepted the job and led development in groundbreaking web applications. As time progressed my job at the eStudio became an intrinsic part of my college experience to the point that when I eventually reached my goal of attaining a college degree in Computer Science, I was asked to stay on full time. And now after successfully completing my undergraduate I now look to other challenges and opportunities.

I would like to attend the Tobin Graduate program for the same reason I retuned to college, because I know I can do more with it. It is my intent to attain success by expanding my skill set to include business. I believe a deep understanding of business concepts coupled with a like understanding of technology will propel me to the top in this digital age. The combination will allow me to pursue to pursue the CIO track within the corporate world. There I can serve as a nexus between the daily business operations and the technology needed to sustain and maximize these operations. I have also always exceded at the exp;aininh the mudteries of tech to non-tech audiences.