My name is June F. Brinkley and I’m a senior Human Services student on the way to graduation. When I started the Human Services program at Old Dominion University, the only goal I had in mind was to progress. I wanted to help people and increase my pay by obtaining a better job. This isn’t to say that I did not like the work I was doing as I enjoyed working in the library surrounded by large amounts of knowledge. However, it was time for me to delve a little deeper into a subject matter that held a great deal of interest for me.

             As I near the end of my degree, I reflect on how much I have grown as a person but more importantly, as a scholarly student. My dreams and aspirations have grown and evolved from just wanting to help people or “progress,” but they have evolved into a great desire to be a lifelong learner and to really impact change. For my future, I see myself continuing to do work similar to what I do now and that is helping other students pave their way through higher education as it is, or can be, rough terrain at times. I see myself motivating, inspiring, evoking, and modeling positive change. I believe that the skills and techniques I have learned at Old Dominion University will serve me well and help me to exceed expectations as I try so hard to do now.  I will not pretend like I have foreseen my dream career but, I can tell you that whatever it is that I am called to do, it will be done with conviction and dedication and discipline.