ACADEMIC PREPARATION To me, education is about exploration. My first experience in the United States was a true adventure. I attended my first year of high school while still struggling to learn English. My family had come here from southern Iran seeking escape from the oppression and discrimination of our homeland. Even in my new high school I had more academic options to choose from, but I was challenged at first by a new culture and an unfamiliar language. I started college in the fall of 2003. At Pierce, I am presently taking the prerequisites for medical studies, as I eventually want to attend medical school and become a heart surgeon. My classes have included general biology, molecular cell biology genetics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, as well as statistics, general education classes, and so on, and I have been placed on the Dean's honor list. I expect to graduate in June 2006.
While I do want to continue to pursue medical studies, I want to use the next stage of my studies to do some additional exploration. I am especially intrigued by UC's women's studies program, fueled in part by my memories of the way that women were treated in my homeland and the repressions that they continue to face there. I would like to focus some time on studying this fascinating field, and that is why I have chosen this as my intended major.
One memory continues to haunt me. In Shiraz, we had a neighbor who was addicted to heroin. He was also an alcoholic. He be
4 
)
= 1005
= 4 (250 words per page)
