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It then develops a scholarly focus in European and women’s history, connects intellectual influences, and frames research goals around Elizabeth Cellier and historiographical bias. 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Throughout the 1990s I lived as one of the\"working poor,\" someone who slipped through the cracks of supposedly historic prosperity. By the age of 25 I was divorced and frustrated with menial, low-paying jobs: clerk, receptionist, and housecleaner. There is nothing like scrubbing someone else's toilet to inspire one with determination toward obtaining an education. Because of my absolute commitment toward earning my degree, I got a flexible shift at a retail warehouse which enabled me to acquire my degree while supporting myself financially.  \nEnrolled at the local community college, I experienced a different world opening up to me; excited by a new encouraging environment, I excelled academically. I learned that if I tried hard, I could succeed; if I wanted something badly enough, I possessed the ability to take advantage of these opportunities. I worked a minimum 35-hour workweek for five years to put myself through school without succumbing to the temptation of a student loan. I paid tuition up front with the money I earned. It was the example of my mother, a Puerto Rican immigrant working diligently to provide for her family, who instilled a work ethic into me that has stood me in good stead.  \nWith a lifelong passion for history, I have developed an interest in the cultural history of early modern and modern Europeans, especially women's history. The experiences of ordinary women fascinate me: how they constitute their world through popular folk tales and literature; how the seemingly irrational paradoxes of the past to modern eyes are completely rational when taken within the historical context; and finally, how these historical changes and transformations in culture constitute the present. I enjoy studying the early modern period of English history, especially the Tudor-Stuart period, because of the tensions that existed between medieval philosophies and the rising Enlightenment intellectualism. My influences have been diverse. I read the popular historian Barbara Tuchman, not for her technical accuracy, but for her beautiful prose. Natalie Zemon Davis's research inspires me in the way that she cleverly picks out fresh life from tired sources. And finally, Michel Foucault's philosophies have profoundly influenced the way I write, for now I have a philosophical grounding that makes me highly sensitive to my own biases. In fact, Foucault's post-structuralist matrix has been instrumental in shaping my current project focusing on the 17th-century midwife Elizabeth Cellier. In this project, I am reexamining the current histories of English midwifery using Cellier as a case study, detecting a decided bias embedded within them. The underlying assumption of these histories is that pre-industrial professional women-and Cellier in particular-struggled against patriarchy and oppression from the male medical community, when in fact Cellier's literature shows that she utilized the accepted discourses of patriarchy available to her in her writing and turned them into useful tools of political and religious power.  \nAs a student, I feel that my success lies in the fact that I approached my studies as ifI were a professional (historian, not student, that is). I always enrolled in the most challenging courses and worked with professors I felt were the most qualified in my areas of interest. Never did I settle for an A-or B+. If I got one, I would ask what I could do to improve--and ultimately, I utilized the advice to strengthen my work. My personal academic milestone occurred while I was completing a research seminar on historical methods. This required course was taught by an Americanist-Dr. Julie Worth, director of the [school withheld] history department-so our ","cbCaim8x9btZmuA7","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaim8x9btZmuA7","pdf",48708,7,"English","# SAMPLE GRADUATE SCHOOL ESSAYS\n## #1. \"From Working Poor to Elite Scholar\"\n## Education and work ethic\n## Academic focus and research interests\n## Academic achievements and publication\n## Leadership and future teaching goals","[{\"question\":\"How does the author describe overcoming early financial hardship?\",\"answer\":\"The author links hardship from working-poor years to determination to complete a degree, obtaining flexible work, avoiding student loans by paying tuition up front, and modeling a strong work ethic from a mother who immigrated to support her family.\"},{\"question\":\"What research interests does the essay emphasize?\",\"answer\":\"The author focuses on the cultural history of early modern and modern Europeans, especially women’s history, and develops a project on the 17th-century midwife Elizabeth Cellier using her as a case study to detect bias in existing histories.\"},{\"question\":\"What evidence of academic success and leadership does the author provide?\",\"answer\":\"The essay highlights challenging coursework, using feedback to improve grades, completing a historical methods seminar, earning a paper selected for publication in a scholarly journal, and serving as Phi Alpha Theta chapter president while organizing conferences and campus activities.\"}]","SAMPLE GRADUATE SCHOOL ESSAYS - Sample Essay #1 - From Working Poor to Elite Scholar | PDF",1789307560]