Luck and Celebrations
Great quotes to think about...
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
~Roman philosophy, mid-1st century
"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."
~Thomas Jefferson
"Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity."
~Oprah Winfrey, 21st century
A few years ago, Mark felt impressed that he would go back to school to finish what he started. He knew what field he wanted to get into and he knew that he needed to choose wisely, as we were now a family of 5 (later, 6), not the family of 2 + 1 little girl on the way... and with not even a bachelors degree anywhere near completion, the goal of dental school would have to be placed on the back burner and dental hygiene would have to take its place.
Well, then it became clear that we were undeniably headed back to Utah and that was where he was supposed to finish his schooling. Prayers were answered and he was accepted to Weber State University on a scholarship, allowing him to pay in-state tuition. It was such a blessing. International student fees were most certainly out of our reach and would have posed some serious rethinking of our path. So, my handsome, non-US citizen husband was granted a scholarship... and plans were made to attend Weber.
Now, was the program at Weber the fastest way to go? No. It's 4 semesters, with absolutely no way of shortening it by doing summer school, extra classes, etc.
Was it the most economical? Yes. Other reputable programs were out of our means. And again, the in-state tuition Weber offered was extremely helpful here. Unfortunately, our little family has never been free from immigration fees... a bulk of our savings has gone towards our endeavor of making every one of us legal in whatever country we were living in. No fun.
Now, there are plenty of extra details to this story. A lot of them involved exercising faith and making plenty of sacrifices. However, the decision to choose Weber was not merely based on the fact that it was the most economical. I think any purely-logical, purely-analytical person may have opted to choose a much faster program, no matter where and what the costs were. I have my upbringing and my full-time church mission to thank for the opportunities of learning to listen to and follow the promptings of the Spirit, and more importantly, how to courageously act upon the promptings. I'm a very logic-oriented person, but I'm thankful for spiritual knowledge from a far more reputable source to guide my path. And I'm tremendously grateful for an eternal companion that operates in the same way.
Another reason why I appreciate Mark so much is that he just doesn't complain. When we first moved to back to Utah, Mark had a 3 hour bus ride to and from school. He would leave at around 6:30am and come back a little before 9pm. And then I would study with him until around midnight... luckily, with my degree, I had plenty of experience with all the courses he was taking at that time. And so, me and my achy, 3rd trimester-pregnant body would be wiped at the end of each day. But we did this day after day, until we finally found a place closer to the school... and moved in days before I gave birth.
Mark will be the first to tell you that he doesn't really remember a lot about that first semester back at school...but we have his stellar Dean's List certificate to prove that all that hard work didn't go to waste. And he has 2 extra certificates to add to that first one. Luck? Nope. Freaking hard work. He will be the first to tell you that he had never received such awesome grades in his whole life. Ever. It's amazing what a full decade of maturity and focus will do to you ;)
So, even with all the sacrifices in the world, and a tiny newborn to add to the mix, Mark didn't get accepted to the program on his first try in March of 2010. We didn't expect him to. Statistically, it takes students about 2-3 tries, sometimes even 4 to get in the dental hygiene program. Apparently, it is extremely rigorous and fully accredited and recognized as being one of the top programs in the nation. About 100+ students apply each year, then 45 are chosen to be interviewed and then of those 45, 30 are chosen for the incoming class. With even more hard work and more side projects and volunteer hours under his belt, Mark got an interview this March... according to him, he did super well, and within a few days, he got a special letter in the mail. "Luck" was finally on our side ;)
Congrats, Mark, on making the cut!
Class of 2013!
Oh, and in case you haven't seen some of my favorite images of my little guy, here are a few...
there are more on my business site.
Tadashi turned 1 on November 16th... wow, that seems so long ago!
A few years ago, Mark felt impressed that he would go back to school to finish what he started. He knew what field he wanted to get into and he knew that he needed to choose wisely, as we were now a family of 5 (later, 6), not the family of 2 + 1 little girl on the way... and with not even a bachelors degree anywhere near completion, the goal of dental school would have to be placed on the back burner and dental hygiene would have to take its place.
Well, then it became clear that we were undeniably headed back to Utah and that was where he was supposed to finish his schooling. Prayers were answered and he was accepted to Weber State University on a scholarship, allowing him to pay in-state tuition. It was such a blessing. International student fees were most certainly out of our reach and would have posed some serious rethinking of our path. So, my handsome, non-US citizen husband was granted a scholarship... and plans were made to attend Weber.
Now, was the program at Weber the fastest way to go? No. It's 4 semesters, with absolutely no way of shortening it by doing summer school, extra classes, etc.
Was it the most economical? Yes. Other reputable programs were out of our means. And again, the in-state tuition Weber offered was extremely helpful here. Unfortunately, our little family has never been free from immigration fees... a bulk of our savings has gone towards our endeavor of making every one of us legal in whatever country we were living in. No fun.
Now, there are plenty of extra details to this story. A lot of them involved exercising faith and making plenty of sacrifices. However, the decision to choose Weber was not merely based on the fact that it was the most economical. I think any purely-logical, purely-analytical person may have opted to choose a much faster program, no matter where and what the costs were. I have my upbringing and my full-time church mission to thank for the opportunities of learning to listen to and follow the promptings of the Spirit, and more importantly, how to courageously act upon the promptings. I'm a very logic-oriented person, but I'm thankful for spiritual knowledge from a far more reputable source to guide my path. And I'm tremendously grateful for an eternal companion that operates in the same way.
Another reason why I appreciate Mark so much is that he just doesn't complain. When we first moved to back to Utah, Mark had a 3 hour bus ride to and from school. He would leave at around 6:30am and come back a little before 9pm. And then I would study with him until around midnight... luckily, with my degree, I had plenty of experience with all the courses he was taking at that time. And so, me and my achy, 3rd trimester-pregnant body would be wiped at the end of each day. But we did this day after day, until we finally found a place closer to the school... and moved in days before I gave birth.
Mark will be the first to tell you that he doesn't really remember a lot about that first semester back at school...but we have his stellar Dean's List certificate to prove that all that hard work didn't go to waste. And he has 2 extra certificates to add to that first one. Luck? Nope. Freaking hard work. He will be the first to tell you that he had never received such awesome grades in his whole life. Ever. It's amazing what a full decade of maturity and focus will do to you ;)
So, even with all the sacrifices in the world, and a tiny newborn to add to the mix, Mark didn't get accepted to the program on his first try in March of 2010. We didn't expect him to. Statistically, it takes students about 2-3 tries, sometimes even 4 to get in the dental hygiene program. Apparently, it is extremely rigorous and fully accredited and recognized as being one of the top programs in the nation. About 100+ students apply each year, then 45 are chosen to be interviewed and then of those 45, 30 are chosen for the incoming class. With even more hard work and more side projects and volunteer hours under his belt, Mark got an interview this March... according to him, he did super well, and within a few days, he got a special letter in the mail. "Luck" was finally on our side ;)
Congrats, Mark, on making the cut!
Class of 2013!
Oh, and in case you haven't seen some of my favorite images of my little guy, here are a few...
there are more on my business site.
Tadashi turned 1 on November 16th... wow, that seems so long ago!
1 comments:
Wow! Congratulations, Mark! And you, too, Nataly (I'm sure he couldn't have done it without you). What an achievement! It's so wonderful to see our sacrifices and hard work finally pay off, so I'm happy for you guys. :)
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