This document is Jessica P. Jones' personal statement reflecting on her growth and development during her undergraduate studies in psychology at Argosy University Online. It discusses her personal growth in becoming more self-aware and developing improved communication skills. It also outlines her professional experience working in customer service and her interest in pursuing a career in industrial/organizational psychology. Jones expresses a desire to continue her education through a master's program to further her knowledge and career goals.

1. Undergraduate Studies ePortfolio Jessica P. Jones BA in Psychology, 2011

2. Personal Statement In preparation for graduation with my BA in Psychology from Argosy University Online, I have created this personal statement to reflect my growth to this point and goals for the future. In this presentation, I will reflect upon my personal development and goals, my professional development and goals, and I will provide examples of what I have accomplished thus far. On a personal level, my development while attending Argosy University has been profound as I have not only learned more about the world of psychology in the pursuit of my degree, but I have also learned more about myself. Because of my Interpersonal Communications and Conflict Management courses, as well as reflections on multiculturalism, I am more aware of my personal biases and how to set them aside, have developed improved listening strategies, and have a better understanding of conflict management. I have also grown with confidence as I have continued to meet my goals for scholastic achievement and now have a GPA of 3.95.

3. Resume Additionally, my continued pursuit of knowledge has led me to find new learning strategies which I will have for life. These tools are things I feel everyone can benefit from, and may be a source of research in my future. For example, spaced-repetition systems such as Anki (Elmes, n.d.) are free and show the application of a wealth of cognition and learning research (Ashcraft and Radvansky, 2010). Right now, it seems that only a niche group of individuals utilize SRS in digital format, but I am working on a research paper for class that I hope will demonstrate how useful this can be in the work place, at school, and even at home. I use Anki for psychology, Japanese, and see potential for it to be used in other aspects of my life as well. My personal goals include retaining the knowledge I have gained after graduation by following psychology journals as they are published, continuing to study what I have learned through research and SRS even after my courses have ended, and using other resources such as RSS feeds to get up to date information from relevant websites (i.e., NIH, APA, etc.). I also have a strong interest in Japan and am putting forth a great effort to learn the Japanese language as well as expose myself to Japanese culture as much as possible. This knowledge, in addition to expanding my repertoire, will be a huge help as the area in which I live near Seattle has a high population of individuals from various Asian cultures. I am also investigating continuing education with hemi-sync as The Monroe Institute (2011) recently announced continuation credits have become available for counselors.

4. Resume On a professional level, I have continued to work full time throughout my time at Argosy University and have gathered experience in a few different fields. During my time working at United Therapeutics, I was promoted from Receptionist to Office Manager over the course of a few years. Because of starting at the bottom and moving closer to the top, I was able to witness how power differentials affected communication in the work place first hand. Because I worked with many different departments within the company which also had a very diverse population, I also came to understand how silos can be formed and the importance of breaking down barriers with healthy communication to promote teamwork. After working at United Therapeutics for several years, I moved to Washington State, where I now live. I now work in customer service at a call center for a not-for-profit insurance organization, Community Health Plan of Washington. I am proud to be a supporter of their cause, to provide “access to affordable, high-quality medical care services” (CHPW, n.d., p. 1), and I am also a member of our Core Values team which is actively working toward restructuring the values within the company for better teamwork between our various departments and improved service for our members and providers. Once again, I am applying research from cognition and learning here to try and change how we do training within the organization as well as more effective ways to communicate ideas to one another.

5. Resume To sum up the strengths I have gathered over the year, I am an innovative and open-minded thinker, I can type 80-110 WPM, and I learn just about anything that can be readily explained to me quickly. When I set out to accomplish a goal, it is rare when I do not complete it, and I make my strides with a positive attitude. I see the glass as entirely full; just because it’s half full of oxygen and have full of water does not mean that we should value the space any less. Because I find working toward greater efficacy and better practices within organizations to be such a rewarding pursuit, I am interested in investigating a future in Industrial/Organizational Psychology for my future professional goals. The Core Values team that I work on with Community Health Plan of Washington is giving me valuable experience as well as letting me contribute to my community. In the not-to-distant future, however, working with human resources or as a counselor’s aide may also be beneficial that could help me expand my experience and knowledge base in this area. Argosy University Online also has a Masters program for I/O Psychology which I am considering as it would allow me to continue to work and continue my education as I have been doing.

6. Resume In preparation for setting clearer goals for my future and transitioning away from obtaining my BA, I have spent a lot of time in recent months looking at the requirements for obtaining various Masters degrees in psychology from several schools as well as the careers that can be obtained after graduation with said degrees. I have created pros and cons lists, considered how combining interests such as my study of Japanese language and culture can contribute to my future possibilities, and am gradually narrowing my focus so that I can commit to a course where I believe I will be able to contribute the most to the communities I have access to. Although I still have a way to go, the process of editing my personal statement through this course will definitely help me hone in and find the path which is best for me and my family. References Ashcraft, M. H., & Radvansky, G. A. (2010). Cognition (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. CHPW (n.d.). About community health plan. Retrieved from http:// www.chpw.org /about-us/about-community-health-plan/ . Elmes, D. (n.d.). Anki . Retrieved from http:// www.ankisrs.net / . The Monroe Institute (2011). The Monroe institute: awaking through the exploration of consciousness. Retrieved from http:// www.monroeinstitute.org / .

18. My Future in Learning To conclude, I envision continuing to self-actualize like Retzer (2010); with lifelong learning at 10,000 feet. Retzer, P. (2010). Lifelong learning at 10000 feet. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKotBx2F4MQ .

19. Contact Me Thank you for viewing my ePortfolio. For further information, please contact me at the e-mail address below. [email_address]