Personal Statement
My love of football began back in Primary School when I spent every break and lunch running around playing football. But it wasn’t until my 10th birthday, when my uncle gifted me my first pair of goalkeeper gloves, that my passion really exploded. From that day I spent many school breaks, lunches, trips and most my time in an after-school club playing with this new love of goalkeeping. I played like this for my last two years of Primary School. It was only when I began High School that I realised I had a real talent and a skill in goalkeeping. I used this talent to join my first team which increased my confidence and skills until I was pushed forward and became part of one of the best teams in my national area. With this team we won Fife regional cups, we got through to regional cup finals multiple times, and I was awarded Player of the Year and Man-Of-The-Matches (MOTMs) along the way.
On the football pitch I become enlivened and am incredibly focused. This gives me something to look forward to everyday that I am engrossed in and in which I always give 100%. Playing for Oakley United FC First Team with players many years older than me has uplifted my skills and confidence on the pitch and has developed my teamwork and communication skills. As goalkeeper, I need to be the most vocal player on the pitch and organise my team defences. In this role I cannot be afraid, be hesitant, or doubt my decisions. I enjoy this constant feeling of being pushed to learn how to improve in this critical team role.
I looked for the next step up in football, which is when I discovered the dream of American Soccer scholarships. Two years ago, I attended a brief and trial in Glasgow through FirstPoint USA that instantly had me hooked: the competitiveness, the challenges and the new leagues. It was a whole new image of football. A step up and in the right direction. This combined with the resources and facilities of the internationally famously known American colleges are enough to have every football player looking to pursue their dream of football in America. So, why America for me? The real question should be why shouldn’t it be America? I have been a few times with my Dad on holiday and idolised the facilities, the culture and the sports available. We kept visiting and I felt like the bond between me and the country kept growing and evolving each time we were there.
Career and educationally I have an initial attraction to being a Financial Analyst and in working in Investment Management. My interest in this began when I was on holiday from Primary School. I happened to be looking through my Dad’s iPad and I discovered the “Stocks” app. This initiated my early curiosity with the stock markets. I searched online in the years that followed to find out more about stocks and shares and this sparked my interest further. My influences in the area of Investment Management started with and continue to be my Dad, who worked in the Financial Services sector for many years. He took me into his office on a number of occasions and gave me an early introduction to the financial industry.
As I grew older, I understood more. I learnt about the different types of shares, about dividends, and I watched films such as "The Big Short" to discover more and consolidate my learning. The thing that stood out the most to me was the different strategies for investing your money and how to read the stock markets. This film also showed me the importance of the markets for everyday people’s money that they have invested, as they can lose all their savings overnight if invested poorly.
I followed influential people on YouTube to learn about the stock markets and how to be successful. I began to use some of my own money in the stock market to gain personal experience and create understanding. More recently I am spending time learning via an online investment course about investing and becoming a Financial Analyst.
I was a Prefect in school in my fifth year and again now in my sixth, and also a buddy to younger children. These roles allowed me to demonstrate my leadership, role modelling and social skills. For example, as a prefect I was involved in helping to organise parents' evenings, and I also enjoyed being a ‘friendly face’ for the new S1 school entrants. I volunteered to be on the Pupil Council for four years in which we discussed issues in the school and how to solve them. This helped me learn other skills such as working in a responsible role, listening and communication, and understanding what it is to be trusted and empowered in the school to improve it. On top of this I volunteered to do Paired Reading, which is where I supported younger children who struggled to read. I received a certificate for this and enjoyed being able to show my skills in supporting other children in their learning. Furthermore, this helped me develop my collaboration, organisation and social skills through working with younger aged students.
As well as the incredible sporting opportunities, I believe that a US degree could be a great step forward for me to create a career in the field of Financial Analytics and Investment Management, or a similar profession. It will give me an advancement in education that many people don’t have, and will give me many more years of education that I wish to have in an American college. I am excited about the feeling of having my own freedom at college to learn, enjoy a new environment, make some great US and international friends and also learn new skills such as communication, timekeeping, organisation and self-motivation.
I look forward to hearing from you to get to you know you personally!
