Surprise! I'm a class rep!

I've been elected class representative for my nursing school class!

I threw my name in because I thought it would be fun, that I'd be good at it, and so I could get to know the faculty better so I'll have good references for graduate school. All we had to do was write a paragraph about ourselves and why we wanted to be class rep. There are four reps - one for each group (we're divided into three groups) and one at-large rep.

I really didn't think many students would vote for me. After all, I'm about 15 years older than most of them (19 years older than some -- I could be their mom!) and in a totally different place in my life with kids, a house, husband, bills, etc. As we don't break into our groups until next semester, I don't know many people in my group either, so it really was a surprise.

This also means that I (probably) won't apply for the honors program. I couldn't decide if I wanted to or not, and so I thought I'd let this election decide for me: if I was elected, I would not do the honors program, and if I wasn't elected, I would do the honors program. To me, both are a means of having a higher chance of getting into the graduate program I want, so one should do the job.

Of course, being me, I'm now thinking, "Hey! I can do both!" And then my realistic (boring) side reminds me that I do like having time with my family, especially since it has been suggested (passive voice intentional) that our chances of getting a job right after passing the licensing exam will be much higher if we're already working as a nurse associate somewhere.

Anyway, I got elected! Even better, our group is quite diverse. We have one man, one older student (me), an african-american woman (I think she's mid to late 20s), and one or two younger white women (they tied twice -- once in the general election and once in the run-off, so we have to decide on Monday if they both join or if we take only one of them). Our class, though, is about 10% men, 15% people of color, and 10% over age 30 (these are all my estimates, not official numbers). Cool, huh? No tyranny of the majority here!

Here's the paragraph I wrote:

Hi there! My name is Yara, and I am a returning student -- in other words, older. :-)   I’ve been married for 15 years and have two kids: an 11 year old boy named Liam and an 8 year old girl named Aisling. My two favorite things to do are reading and dancing. In fact, I almost dropped out of college the first time ‘round to audition to be a Las Vegas showgirl. (THAT would have been a different life!) I have two degrees, one in English and one in Education, and I think these would help make me an effective representative for our class. I have spent most of my working life in teaching, instructional design for adults, and management. In particular, I spent a year teaching at a university, so I know the system from both sides. I also know how curriculum and teaching should be designed to be as effective as possible, and my eight years as a manager have given me negotiation and leadership skills. But most importantly, I’ve been told over the years that I’m a good listener, and I promise to do that for you all, too!