I have always wanted to be of help to others from the time I was a young kid. My parents taught me that there is happiness in sharing and showing compassion to others irrespective of whether they are friends or not. In my neighbourhood, there was this young boy who was almost my age who never seemed to have friends. He seemed friendly, but had no friends and when I tried to befriend him, it was hard for us to interact. I felt terrible to see that other children were making fun of the fact that he could not communicate fluently and I decided to become his friend. His kind heart and friendliness moved me, and I promised myself that when I grow up, I would try and find ways of helping children like him as a way of giving back to the society.
While I was in high school, I worked with autistic children during the holidays, and it helped me gain a better understanding of their condition. In the beginning, it was pretty rough due to the challenges of communication. However, with time I slowly learned that it requires one to take their time and be patient to understand their world. It is this experience that motivated me to apply to study psychology major at UMass Lowell to gain a better understanding of how to interact and help autistic children. In this course, we have studied child and adolescent development and learnt a lot of things.
We have covered some relevant topics in this course, such as the reasons why people act the way they do and how to further improve communication skills with children. I am happy to have joined UMass Lowell because I have gained immense knowledge that is helpful when dealing with autistic children, especially when it comes to interacting with them. In my life, I have never been so inspired like the way I was after the presentation by professor Matthews Goodwin from Northeastern University when he talked about autism. It is his studies on autism that have inspired me to view psychology from a new perspective.
My reason for wanting to transfer are purely academic. The Northeastern University has developed a telemetric assessment device used to turn observation into reliable quantitative data as compared to using the traditional methods of observation that utilizes pen and paper. The research is unique, and it made me believe that they are closer to overcoming the limitations. At Northeastern University, opportunities exist that will aid me in achieving my research goals due to the presence of professors and facilities that would be otherwise unavailable.
Currently, there is no treatment for autism, but the research is a proof that psychologists are closer to finding a cure. My transcripts can show that I perform well at UMass Lowell and I believe I will be able to meet the Northeastern’s academic challenges. I want to accomplish my childhood dream of finding a cure for autism under the guidance of the experienced professor Goodwin. My wish is to take professor Goodwin’s classes and collaborate directly with him in developing a solution for autistic kids. The program offered and the skills of the professors coupled with the resources available at the institution matches perfectly with my professional goals and academic interests.
