Mary Kay Elsner is applying to Pennsylvania State University to pursue a PhD in Professional Studies in Psychology. She overcame a difficult childhood and found purpose and direction after recovering from addiction. She completed her Associate's degree at University of Wisconsin Fox Valley where she tutored, served as president of Phi Theta Kappa, and was a student senator. She then earned her Bachelor's degree online from Grand Canyon University with a 3.67 GPA. Her experiences in college inspired her to help students find their purpose and she now seeks Penn State's new Master's in Professional Studies in Psychology of Leadership at Work to further her goal of becoming a leader and developing curriculum at the university level.

1. Statement of Purpose
Pennsylvania State University 2015
Mary Kay Elsner mcspryte@gmail.com
Purpose is something everyone desires, some achieve and I will attempt to define in this essay. I
must start at the beginning with what brought me to the doors of Pennsylvania State.
I grew up in a very small rural town called Pulaski, Wisconsin. Since I can remember, I have
loved horses more than any other thing on the planet. However, at the age of 8 my parents’
divorce caused me to no longer grow up around horses and this affected me greatly. I lost my
best friend at age 12 to a car accident along with four other 7th grade classmates on October 7th,
1988. The next 20 years I spent attempting to forget that night by acting out and making poor
choices. Meanwhile, the Creator had a much different plan for my life.
On May 5th, 2009 I made the decision to quit running from the life I was meant to have. I found
myself in the rooms of Recovery and within six months inside a classroom taking college
entrance exams. In October of 2009 I went back to school and earned my H.S.E.D. to start school
at the University of Wisconsin Fox Valley in Spring of 2010 to start working towards an
Associate’s Degree. Nevertheless, I was taking 15 to 18 credits each semester and maintained a
full schedule throughout the summer all the while staying clean and learning to live a full and
recovered life.
In the fall of 2010 I was asked to tutor Psychology, Anthropology, English and Sociology. I
loved working with other students going through the basics of each discipline and to take the
time to study for exams. I spent many hours in the tutor lab talking about ideas and encouraging
students who were struggling with grasping the concepts I was so passionate about.
Equally important, I was involved in Phi Theta Kappa for two semesters before I was nominated
to President of the club. Phi Theta Kappa met twice a month and worked together on fundraisers
and networking. The club cleaned a mile of highway in the town of Menasha as a volunteer
activity and we were a part of school picnics and carnival. Meanwhile, I was nominated by one
of my Professors to represent the school as an Ambassador to the University. I was honored to be
the President of Phi Theta Kappa and thrilled to wear one of the red shirts that identified me as
an Ambassador to the College.

2. I soon learned about student government and ran for office to be a Senator and to represent the
student body. I was 33 years old, new to college, truly just starting my life and eager to be a part
of the University happenings. I made friends quickly and won the admiration and respect of my
Professors for my commitment to my academic life as well as my Recovery. I was a Senator for
the last three semesters of my time at UW Fox and served on the S.U.F.A.C. committee, an
elected body within the Student Government. We handled the budget and how funds would be
spent on campus for the entire student body; it was intense and exciting to be a part of those
meetings.
The greatest honor came in my final semester at the University of Wisconsin Fox Valley. I was
asked to be the assistant to David Hager the Campus Relations Director who worked with the
Dean of Students. He was in charge of the Student Ambassadors and asked me to be his personal
assistant my final semester at UW Fox in spring of 2012. I had a great time helping him with
daily goings on within the school and being a part of the upper management within the
University. I was able to work in the Library during this time to work in the Archives Room on
the History of the Campus and was amazed at the History of the School. I loved the long hours
cataloging and looking over newspaper clippings to make sure the time line of the school was
correct and filed correctly.
I completed five semesters at UW Fox in May of 2012and my cumulative grade point average
was 3.057.
During the final semester of school I started thinking about my PhD and what steps I needed to
take to get there. I knew I wanted to go to Penn State and I knew I wanted to work in a four year
University when I was finished with school. I started looking at different online programs for the
Bachelor of Science Degree and decided on Grand Canyon University. I missed the interaction
of my Professors and fellow students with the online community. I missed being involved with
Student Services, the Ambassadors and my Phi Theta Kappa group. Yet I loved the amount of
reading and writing that was assigned to complete the courses and succeed in the online setting.
Classes online were more of a challenge, however, I maintained a 3.5 g.p.a. or higher.
I started at Grand Canyon University in July 2012 and took classes through October 5th 2014
when I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a cumulative grade point
average of 3.67.

3. While being in college the last five years I have been featured in three magazines locally for my
volunteer work at Good will Industries, in Pathways as a recovered addict who made a change in
her life and for my music ministry. I also am a co author of Empowered Women of Social Media
a book that was launched on my graduation day of October 5th, 2014. The next book I am co
authoring will be released on International Women’s Day, March 8th, 2015. The story of how
women overcame and succeeded in Social Media, this is our stories.
Moving forward I am applying to the Master of Professional Studies in Psychology of
Leadership at Work for the purpose of working in a four year University, developing curriculum,
teaching techniques and assisting students to find their purpose. I found my purpose in the
Tutoring lab of the University of Wisconsin Fox Valley, the hallways on campus and in the
Student Government meetings I was able to attend. I am hoping to complete the Masters online
and make a move to Pennsylvania to complete my PhD on campus. This is my purpose: to be a
leader in the field of Professional Studies in Psychology and I am excited that Penn State is
starting this program exactly when I am ready to start graduate school.