Statement of Purpose

My main purpose has been and continues to be a strong desire to help people. Throughout my lifetime I have been very fortunate to weave my personal interests regarding how people learn, emotional and mental health, sports psychology, health, fitness and well-being in a way which is of service to people. I have worked in several different industries, however, the common thread is my focus on assisting others. From a young age I wanted to be a physician. However, at the time, college chemistry and math courses stymied me. During my college years, I began my career as a flute teacher, returning home each weekend from school to teach private lessons to hometown children. After graduation I turned to medical social work, which I thought was the perfect marriage of my interests in mind and body. After a few years working in the field, I returned to teaching flute and had a long, successful and happy career as an educator, performer and public speaker. Upon moving to California in 2004, I entered the health and fitness industry, becoming a certified personal trainer, Bootcamp and group fitness instructor for a tennis and swim club in downtown San Francisco. I have a wonderful schedule of classes and private clients, most of whom are women of all ages and fitness levels seeking to improve their health and fitness.

At this point in my life, while I love my clients and classes, I want to influence health care policy. I very much enjoy the ability to work one-on-one with people. However I also want the ability to affect change on a larger scale. The field of wellness is a natural progression for me since I see wellness as synthesizing my ideas on learning, emotional and mental health, fitness and physical health. Wellness is an avenue to continue to integrate and build on my previous work as a flute teacher, medical social worker and personal trainer. I define wellness as a state of optimal health including physical and mental health. From a young age, I have seen how the mind influences the body and vice versa. My version of wellness is holistic, incorporating the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual and aligns nicely with my philosophical outlook on life, one of hopefulness, optimism and a "can-do" attitude.

Holism, for me, is an interconnection among parts. Our bodies affect our minds and our minds affect our bodies. If one part is changed, other areas of our lives are affected, sometimes with unforeseen and startling results. I have seen this amply demonstrated in my work as a personal trainer. A client may hire me to help her fit in her skinny jeans. As a result of that initial goal, she becomes healthier and physically stronger and she may discover that she has become emotionally stronger as well. What appeared to be a very specific desire to wear a pair of pants becomes a catalyst for other far reaching changes such as leaving a demanding job, limiting contact with toxic family members or returning to school for an advanced degree. I am a prime example of this: from an initial focus on losing weight, I completely remade my life in the space of two years, losing 80 lbs (and maintaining that weight loss), moving cross-country to California, changing professions (from classical musician to personal trainer and group fitness instructor) and getting divorced. Now I am applying for graduate school at American University to further my studies in health and fitness. Because of my previous training and career as a classical musician in addition to a recent educational opportunity in fitness, I am confident that if accepted I will be very successful earning this advanced degree and continuing my career in health.

For a large part of my life, I was a professional musician, spending hours a day in a practice room, perfecting and maintaining the skills I needed to play my instrument well. During those many hours of practicing, I relied on myself. While I did study with many fine flutists over the years, those flutists spent little time with me compared with the time I spent practicing. Unlike athletes who compete in team sports, in music, a musician does not have a coach organizing daily practices or telling her what she's doing right or wrong. There are no teammates present to lean on for company or moral support. There's the student, the instrument and the practice room. Self-discipline, self-awareness, concentration and organizational ability are just a few of the skills required to be a well-trained, high-caliber musician.

In my late 20's (considered past the prime for such an endeavor), I successfully auditioned for graduate school in flute performance. I was given a scholarship (even more remarkable for a flutist-good flutists are regarded as a "dime a dozen") and received my MM in Flute Performance from The Boston Conservatory. I was inducted into a national music honor society on the basis of my GPA and academic work. In addition to attending conservatory full-time, I continued teaching my private flute students thus successfully balancing the demands of both school and work.

In 2007, I had a similiar experience in fitness. My company sent me back to school at the University of San Francisco to take "Clinical Exercise Physiology" in the Exercise Sport and Science Department. The class is an upper level undergraduate class requiring prerequisites such as human anatomy and introductory physiology. The requirements were waived although I had not taken the stated prerequisites . Returning to school was an epiphany for me on several levels: I discovered that I loved the subject matter and I studied assiduously and joyfully to learn the material. I also discovered that I was able to again successfully balance working full-time with school, taking what was essentially a double class since both lecture and lab were required. Lastly, I found that I had the skills and talent to excel in a health and fitness
field receiving an "A" for my work. Perhaps that statement does not seem earth shattering. For me, however, my experience was profound. I demonstrated academic success in my relatively new field of health and fitness thus gaining great confidence and faith in myself. As a direct result of taking this class, I knew that I could achieve even larger goals such as returning to graduate school at American University, again moving cross-country and creating a new life in a new place.

Why American University? The program to which I am applying, Health Promotion Management, is described on the AU Web site as multi-disciplinary encompassing health policy, health management, health communication, global health and exercise science. Prior to applying for this program, I seriously considered Arizona University (exercise science/wellness), Columbia University (applied kinesiology/nutrition/wellness), The University of Pennsylvania (Applied Positive Psychology) and several University of California and California State University schools. Health care is a complex issue affected by many different areas. While every one of these schools and programs have their merits, they do not have the scope which the program at American University offers. Based on my research and discussions with the graduate advisor for the Health Promotion Management Department at AU, the program seems to be the best fit for me well above and beyond the others.

Additionally the school is located in Washington, DC the capital (literally and figuratively) of national policy making as well as headquarters for many health associations and institutes. By attending American University not only will I receive a world class education but I will also be at the epicenter of on-going health care debate and reform.

In Health,

Laura