What am I doing?!?!

I'm finishing up my application the the BYU Masters of Education this week. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time- wondering if I can really do this. Like I keep saying, I know it's not going to be easy (to balance the whole wife, mom, and student thing) but it'll never get easier....

So if you're interested in what I'm doing.... Here's the link to the program I'm applying to:




Here's my letter of intent:

Letter of Intent
I am applying for the CIDE program within the Education department because I feel it will best compliment and expand my existing educational background and life experience and will provide a direct path towards achieving very specific personal and familial goals.
When I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in 2003 the words, “Enter to learn, go forth to serve” rang loudly in my ears. At the time the priority of supporting my husband through the remainder of his studies at the BYU Marriot School of business seemed the best way to do that. Later, though, when Jake received his degree and became a partner in two successful Utah Valley based companies, I became concerned. Could I really “go forth to serve” if I stayed right here? I realize of course, wherever we live my sincere efforts to manage and raise a righteous family are a great service and contribution to my community and to society. Reflecting, however, on my own education and personal background, I feel very passionate about the educational possibilities that result from service and experience outside one’s own immediate comfort zone and familiar community. I have been blessed with those opportunities and wish to provide the same for my own family as well as for others. Consequently, my husband and I formulated a plan to work diligently now, and arrange our work and business obligations so that when our oldest reaches his teenage years we can live in Central America for 2-3 years to work, serve, teach and learn as a family.
Over the last few years we have defined better what we would like to do. We have a unique combination of experience that will help us help others. Central America is a good fit because both of us speak Spanish. As a student at BYU-Hawaii, as a missionary in South Texas, and as a volunteer for a Service Learning project in Guatemala, I became acutely aware of the many people in third world and developing countries, and more specifically people from Central America, that desire to improve their intellectual and economic situation, but simply do not have access to the many resources that we are blessed with. My goal is to involve ourselves with, or even start an educational program, that will teach skill sets that enable people to find, receive, and apply microloans in order to start successful small businesses. These goals are very much in line with those of Enterprise Mentors which was started by Warner Woodsworth of the Marriott School of Management. This is a lofty goal, but I am certain that because we are seeking to serve, the Lord will help us accomplish it. Participation in the CIDE program is a vital step on the path to making it a reality in my life and the lives of others.
On another level this masters degree excites me because not only will it help me towards my long term personal goal, but in the short term, it will multiply itself through affecting choices I make for my own children’s education as well as providing opportunities to serve in the local community.
The CIDE program will empower me to make wise decisions regarding my children’s education by teaching me how to compare and contrast different educational systems. I have always viewed education as important, but now as a parent focused on making choices regarding my children’s education, I am all the more interested in exactly what a “good education” is. I have seen that desire and excitement for learning come naturally to children, and I want my children to always enjoy learning. There is much debate today about public, charter, and private schools. Learning to compare different types of educational systems will help me find the programs best suited for my own children. I also feel that I have unique experience and preparation I can bring to the program in the process of receiving this degree.
My undergraduate work was not in Education, and I have not worked in public schools, consequently I am not necessarily tied to traditional mainstream policies and procedures. Through my Service Learning Experience, my work at the Senior MTC, and through Missionary and Church service I have had many diverse opportunities to teach. Those experiences made me fall in love with seeing how knowledge and light change people’s lives, helped me feel the exhilaration of finding just the right way to reach a new or unique student, and showed me that I also learn when I teach others. I also experienced challenges one encounters when teaching; monotony in some materials, time constraints, language and cultural barriers, and limited resources. As someone with this experience, yet is not tied to traditional theories or policies, I can offer a unique perspective and open mind within this program. The international comparative aspect of this program especially interests me, because it is apparent that here in our own communities there is educational development that needs to be addressed. We have wonderful, internationally competitive universities, but it is no secret that our elementary through high school programs do not measure up internationally as well as we would like. I want to understand why that is, and examine what can be done to improve it.
I hope that with this degree I can help not only my own family, but others in our community, be more informed and make better decisions regarding education. I want to find opportunities where I can bring positive change to education policy. This will certainly begin at a local level within a single local school, but with experience and success expand to a larger scope where I might influence community or even statewide policy.
My hope is that through this program I will not only acquire the understanding and skills to recognize problems and issues that require change, but most importantly, discover and devise innovative and realistic community based solutions.
Upon acceptance into this program I plan to begin studies as a full time student in summer of 2009, with an expected completion date of summer 2011. This schedule will afford the opportunity to complete the program in a timely manner while also providing adequate time to excel and derive the most benefit from the program and the entire experience.
As you review this letter of intent along with my application you will see that my preparation and motivation for the CIDE program are both unique and strong. While my quantitative scores on the GRE were low, they reflect a very short month of preparation and my first opportunity to take the test. It has been several years since I have been actively enrolled in math coursework or academically applied many of the quantitative tested abilities. It is of note however, that in my math related courses my grades were well above average. Over the course of my educational experience quantitative and standardized testing scores are not directly reflective of my grades and scholastic success. I do not seem to perform my best when tested in timed circumstances. I learned to compensate for that in my coursework through diligent study habits and a methodical and meticulous approach. Working hard and controlling my own pace allow me to thrive and excel in my studies. More so than standardized testing, my grades and resume most accurately reflect that.
Thank you for this opportunity to state my goals and intentions and I look forward to becoming an active participant and contributor to the CIDE program.