Introductory Letter

Hello, my name is Carissa Anderson. I was born in Fresno and then moved to Santa Rosa when I was three years old. There I attended Schaefer Elementary, Comstock Middle School, and then finally onto Piner High School, where I played soccer and was on the yearbook staff. After high school, I attended UC Davis where I got my BA in English, with a minor in Psychology. I was a member of the philanthropic sorority Delta Delta Delta. After graduating, I worked at an architectural firm in Santa Rosa, but quickly realized that I did not want to spend my life behind a desk, so I decided to go back to school to get my credential. I moved down to San Diego in April of this year to attend CSUSM.

I began using a home PC in about 7th grade when my parents finally bought a computer. Since then I have been using computers and related technology every day. I currently have a new Dell laptop running Windows Vista (which I am not too thrilled about). Since I came from Windows XP, the Vista transition was somewhat easy. I am not very familiar with Macs, but I can catch on pretty quickly. I also love my iPod, but haven't broken down and bought the iPhone yet.

I applied to San Marcos primarily because I was looking to move to San Diego, thus wanted to find a school in the area. I also know several people who attend San Marcos for their undergraduate degrees who love it, so that helped influence my decision to apply here. Once I sat down and actually looked at the mission statement for the College of Education, I was happy with my decision to apply. The part of the mission statement that really inspires me is the commitment to diversity, educational equity, and social justice. I believe that theses principles are the most important factors for quality education for all students. I attended both middle and high schools that were "on the wrong side of the tracks" in my hometown (although my schools had the most racial diversity), and actually felt the impact of the educational inequality with the lack of class options and other opportunities that were given to the other, more affluent schools in the area. With these experiences behind me I am just as committed to these principles as the College of Education is, making this school the best choice for me!