Student Submission: Ilie Suciu
Published by request of the author and Honors awardee, Ilie Suciu.
My whole life has been about learning - learning from my parents' struggle, learning how to help family, learning how to take someone else's needs into consideration, and learning how to work together to solve complex problems effectively. I desire to pursue my academics further and contribute to society. I will major in political science for my bachelor's degree and then proceed to law school. Scientists, engineers, medics, etc. need help creating a more reasonable and sustainable future. Social change requires all to work together toward building a better tomorrow. I will be the one that advises and represents those people in legal matters.
At twelve, I imagined the death of my parents, who had decided to immigrate from Romania and work long hours as a taxi driver and maid to provide me with a better opportunity. That meant leaving behind their home, family, friends, pets, essentially everything. I noticed that my father had developed back complications, and my mother had problems with her legs. The fact that they were struggling and hadn't seen their family in so long rattled me to the core. I was five when I started school in the U.S., and being the firstborn in an immigrant family, I became the go-to person. "Translate this", "send an email", "write a document" were some of my day-to-day responsibilities. I regularly said, "this is how to..." and "this means...". I enjoyed teaching and learning whatever I could, and it was up to me to improve their lives.
At ten, my siblings, Andrei, Maria, and myself were taken to pick up winter clothes from a local shelter. There was a limit of three items per child, and I was cognizant of our financial situation. Maria was four and growing quickly, so I used my third pick to get her another jacket. Our parents weren't as involved as I felt they should be since they had to grind for our survival. I felt responsible for facilitating the growth of my siblings. During weekdays I reviewed my sibling's schoolwork to ensure they weren't falling behind in their curriculum. It felt virtuous taking on the responsibility of fulfilling their necessities, most times before my own. Supporting other students in college will benefit the overall experience.
At seventeen, I met my now wife. Through falling in love and getting married, I realized how vital respecting an opposing opinion is. For the most part, life was moving ahead smoothly until soon after we moved in together. That was a challenging time for us. I was used to living a specific way; she was used to things being her way. I didn't agree with some of her statements, but I respected her. We discussed the issues and then made the necessary sacrifices to ensure our relationship was healthy. Following this process led to us being married for almost three years now. I'll be bringing these same principles to campus with me.
At twenty-three, I enlisted in the Army National Guard. During my second month at Basic Combat Training, we returned to our quarters to find bunkbeds and mattresses flipped over, lockers knocked down, and items from the lockers thrown everywhere. Drill sergeants gave all fifty of us ten minutes to have the place clean. We failed to complete the task in time because we didn't operate effectively as a collective. As a leader, I placed my emotions aside, took accountability for the outcome, and focused on the mission. I split everybody into groups that would perform specific tasks. After coming together, we rapidly put back together the bunkbeds and lockers and made everything spotless. I'll be taking the skills I learned about collaboration, persistence, and accountability into my courses.
I've been learning all along. I've progressed from being a son, a sibling, a husband, and a soldier to a student. Each is a piece in the overall puzzle, one just as important as the other. All integrated with this belief that I must help others by contributing to the future. I desire to pursue my academics further and contribute to improving society through meaningful work.
Thank you for your time.
