Orjola Lasku grew up in Albania where psychology was non-existent and those who deviated from norms were frowned upon. She became interested in human behavior and empathy. She later moved to the US for high school and college, receiving an associate's degree in psychology. She is now working retail while pursuing her graduate degree in school psychology to help diverse students and make a positive impact.

1. Personal Statement<br />Orjola Lasku<br />Psy 492<br />Katina Clarke<br />July 6, 2010<br />Personal Statement<br />Growing up in a small country (Albania), with little diversity, where the field of psychology was non-existent, people who deviated from the normal were frowned upon. Even though I was brought up in this culture, I found myself empathizing with those ostracized people and my curiosity about the human mind began to develop. My interest started to grow as I watched the country I grew up in go through tremendous transformation. Albania went from being a dictatorship to a democratic country. There was a lot of fighting and rallying on the streets. Because of it, I can better appreciate freedom and understand a person’s struggle for it. <br />I came to United States of America when I was fifteen years old. I completed three years of high school in the village of Elmwood Park, Illinois. I then went on to Triton College, where I received an Associate’s Degree in Fine Arts (2004) with a concentration in Psychology. My first psychology teacher at Triton College was Dr. Patel. His passion for the field of psychology was inspiring. He encouraged my thirst for knowledge when it came to human mind and behavior. I went on to take every single class in psychology that Triton College had to offer and I found every one of them very intriguing.<br />I am currently working at Barneys New York in Chicago (a high-end retail store). As a staff support employee, I work with a very diverse group of people. I work with people from different races, ethnicities, sexual preferences, ages, socio-economic statuses, and different cultural backgrounds. My experience at Barneys New York is preparing me to work effectively with people from different backgrounds. Because of the diverse society that we live in, I believe that this experience is extremely valuable to my future career as a school psychologist. This experience will help me become a culture-sensitive school psychologist. <br />My experience at Argosy University has prepared me well for pursuing a graduate degree in school psychology. The online program has taught me how to effectively use computer mediated communication. I believe that this experience is valuable because of the growing trend in our society where computers are an important part of our personal as well as professional lives. One of my group projects for my first psychology class at Argosy University was to write a review paper on computer mediated communication. My group members and I learned how to effectively communicate through the computer and were able to complete our assignment with high marks. I learned about the major theories of human behavior, of which, Person-Centered theory made the strongest impression on me. The theory says that if a person is treated with unconditional positive regard, he or she will move toward self-actualization. I truly believe that it is important to treat others with respect and dignity. Especially as a school psychologist, one must treat the students with the utmost respect and be completely unprejudiced in order to encourage growth and build self-esteem. My Ethics class gave me a good starting point on how to become an ethical professional. Throughout the course, I became familiar with the American Psychological Association ethical standards as well as American Counseling Association codes of conduct. Because of the class, I now fully understand the importance of being an ethical professional. My Diversity class helped me understand the struggles that people face when they come from minority groups. One of my assignments every week was to interview a person from a background different from my own and write a paper about what I learned from the interview. I became familiar with informed consent procedures and had each interviewee sign a consent form. I learned about the issues that homosexuals, women, people from different races and ethnicities, and the elderly have faced and still encounter in their lives. By understanding their struggles, now I can better empathize with them. My Research Methods class taught me how to conduct a reliable and valid research study. One of my assignments was to write a research paper on the effects of diversity in our universities. Through the completion of this assignment, I learned about the attitudes of students as well as faculty on diversity.<br />I intend to pursue a graduate degree in school psychology. I managed to maintain a 3.98 GPA attending school full-time, while working full-time and fitting in quality time with my 3 year-old son and husband. I am fluent in English as well as Albanian. My purpose for obtaining a higher education is to make a positive difference in the children and adolescents of our society, thus contributing to the betterment of the world we live in. <br /> <br />