Running head: PERSONAL BIO AND OPENING REFLECTION

Personal Bio and Opening Reflection

Karin Fonseca
Valdosta State University

PERSONAL BIO AND OPENING REFLECTION

Personal Bio
My name is Karin Costa Osorio da Fonseca, I am an international student from Brazil. I
came to the United States at age 17 to learn English and concluded a Bachelor of Business
Administration and Minor in Spanish in 2002 and a Master in Public Administration in 2004.
I have a business background and I have worked in different business positions for 20
years. After graduating from my masters I worked over 9 years for the Tourism Industry in
Cozumel Mexico where I had the position of Sales and Marketing Director and was in charge of
different departments such as Project Development, Logistics, Groups and Incentives,
Operations, E-commerce, Cruise line, among others.
I moved back to Valdosta with my 4-year-old daughter last fall to continue my education
and I now hold a position as a Graduate Assistant at Financial Services/Procurement at Valdosta
State University. This program has been quite challenging not only because of the language
barrier as for the level that is expected of us, but mainly due to most courses having focus on the
education system which I am not all familiarized with. Nonetheless, I have learned
tremendously from all of the instructors and my colleagues shared experiences. On the other
hand I do believe that having had the opportunity to live in 4 different countries and having a
different culture and background, provides me the possibility to share different perspectives as
well.
I truly believe in the power of great leadership and my aspiration is to be the best leader
possible in order to mentor others and guide organizations to success. I enjoy working for the
Higher Education system and I hope that in the near future I can pursue a position for a longterm career.
Although I have a business background, I am a very passionate person and definitely

PERSONAL BIO AND OPENING REFLECTION

more attracted to the qualitative side of research. I hope this class will help me in finding the
niche for my dissertation and provide me all the tools to accomplish it with success.
I am very grateful to be able to attend this program and I am really looking forward to
this class!
Opening Reflection
Long time ago when I was a child, only in 4th grade, I came home with a test that was
graded 100. I proudly showed it to my father with a big smile in my face. He reviewed my work
and said: This is not good enough. I was confused. I had made a 100, one hundred the
highest grade from the entire class. I said: Dad, but I made 100, are you not happy? He
looked at me pointing out to an extra credit question I had not answered. He said: 100 grade is
not good enough when you could possibly have made 110! This is one of those moments we
learned a lesson beyond explanation at a young age, but one that forms us for life. I am grateful
my father taught me that lesson.
The statement above of my personal bio provides a short description of myself and some
of my experiences; however, one that is not explicitly stated is my eagerness and persistence. I
have always been a person that is determining, and that pushes myself farther than any one
could. I am hard on myself and I do believe I learned that long ago from my father, who inspired
me and allowed me to follow my dreams always focusing on personal growth. Entering this
program was a choice I made in order to continue to improve as a person, however, I have to
admit I had not idea of the level of excellence, the amount of information I would be involved
with and the hard work I would have to commit.
I have never been a student that is satisfied with a passing grade; indeed I learned my
fathers lesson. And although a grade B would reflect a passing grade, I call it the B for

PERSONAL BIO AND OPENING REFLECTION

boring. A grade that signifies I would not have tried hard enough. A grade that symbolizes, to
me, that I simply did not do my very best. And I am not a B! I am and A for achieving, and I
can only achieve my goals when doing my very best. On the other hand, I am a very humble
person and with that said, how can I possibly grade myself? I can only express my gratitude for
being part of this program and having not only Doctors teaching and guiding me but also new
friends that have inspired me as well. I hope that during this semester I can prove myself once
again and work hard to conquer the A grade I shoot for.
With that said, my plan to achieve the best possible grade is to time manage myself in
order to accomplish all the tasks providing quality work that has the level of excellence that is
expected. My main criterias are to add to the body of knowledge that I have obtained so far
during this program in particular because of my interest in qualitative research. I will try to
develop work that goes beyond the expectations aspiring to learn the complexity of qualitative
research.
Beyond the grade, I have to confess that the Quantitative course I took last semester was
the hardest course of my life, mostly because I am a peoples person and not a number type of
person. Yet, my determination to work harder on this course is different, as I believe that
Qualitative Research will lead me to the highest of the goals I have, which is completing my
dissertation and earning a Doctoral Degree in Organizational Leadership. I am focused and
ready for this adventure to begging, and I look forward to the infinite amount of information I
will learn and the inspirations I will gain to accomplish that.