January 13, 2017

Dear Admissions Committee:

I remember the day I realized I wanted to become a Special Education Teacher as if

it was yesterday. It was the day I made a child with Down syndrome smile. I did not
know him, but he looked sad. I did not know why he was sad either, but I knew that if I
could make him smile his day would just get better. He did smile, and that smile opened
my eyes to my vocation: I wanted to help people with disabilities gain better access the
world we live in.
Looking back, I can tell that making that child smile only pointed me in the
direction my journey needed to go. After being pointed in that direction, it has been the
people in my life who have taught me and guided me through this journey.
From my grandmother I learned about unconditional love. Not only from the love
she has for me and the rest of her grandkids, but also from her relationship with my late
grandfather and her undying love for him. I try to follow her example every day in my
marriage, and when working with “difficult” students. They need all the love they can get
day in and day out.
From my mom I learned about acceptance and compassion. Our time in this world
is too short for us to be holding grudges and judging others based on their opinions or
preferences. Working closely with other adults puts these ideas to the test daily. I could
not do this without her guidance.
My brother and sister helped me understand the value of leisure time. Being able to
unplug after a hard day at work and “not take your work home” is vital when you are a
teacher.
My wife -a kindergarten teacher- continuously helps me reflect on my teaching
practice. I have come to realize that we cannot do this work alone. Our co-workers are a
great resource and it is important establish good working relationships with them in order
to collaborate and give or receive advice.
Finally, my dad showed me about work ethic. He showed me about perseverance
and hard work. During my undergraduate years a few events impacted my learning.
Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast during my senior year at Loyola, New Orleans. I
was displaced and had to attend school in new city. New school, new classmates, and the
devastation left behind made for a hard time studying. In addition, after I went back to
Loyola for my last semester, my roommate died of Meningitis.
These two events back to back had a devastating effect on my daily life. For weeks
I wandered the school hallways and sat on a bench with a detached look on my face. I
went through the motions, attended class, ate, slept. But it was not until mid-March (right
before graduation) that I realized either I shook myself awake or I would not graduate.
The grades on my transcript for my last semester in Loyola are the lowest grades I have
ever gotten. But they are the grades I am the proudest of. I passed all my classes. I
graduated. I was knocked down two times in a row, but I was able to stand up afterward
and continue on.
Had my dad not shown me what it means to wake up every day and do your work,
I would have not been able to complete my undergraduate degree.
 For me, part of being a teacher is instilling in my students all of the character traits I
got from my family so they can succeed when they leave the classroom. As a special
education teacher, I can impact students on an individual level. This is very rewarding but
as I continue with my work, I have found it is not enough. I am looking to have a bigger
impact and in order to do this, I have to increase my sphere of influence. I think that a
Ph.D. would give me new avenues and tools to increase this impact. Instead of students, I
can impact teachers, who in turn can impact more students.
In short, I want to be a teacher of teachers.
As I assess the kind of impact I want to have, it does not end with students with
disabilities anymore. In my experience, students with disabilities and students from
Latino backgrounds generally have less support structures at home to help them succeed
in school and in the real world. I am interested in finding out more about how to create
systems to help these students. I am interested in finding correlations and similarities
between these subgroups in order to help them succeed. This has become a real motivator
in my work.
Currently, I am in my first year of the Doctorate Program in Special Education at
The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. One of the main reasons I chose the
Program at this school was because of the presence of my advisor, Dr. Linda Mason at
UNC. Dr. Mason’s work on Self-Regulated Strategies for Development (SRSD), and her
interest on international education aligned with my goal of helping Latino students with
Learning disabilities be successful in furthering their education. Recently Dr. Mason
informed me that she was going to leave UNC to further her career at George Mason
University.
Since then, I have been researching GMU, its graduate programs, and its Special
Education department. What I have read, heard, and seen has left me very impressed.
Last week I had an opportunity to visit George Mason University’s campus and really
enjoyed my visit. I was able to learn more about the Special Education program. Dr.
Margaret Weiss was very helpful and provided me with insight which further convinced
me about the quality of the Special Education program at George Mason University.
I believe the program at George Mason University will provide me with the tools as
well and theories needed in order to have a deeper impact on the students I serve.
In the end, my goal is to help create a culture of understanding, care, and inclusion,
a culture where ALL students are seen as potential successes instead of potential risks.
Although UNC-CH has provided me with an excellent opportunity to pursue my goals; I
believe that the Ph.D. in Special Education at GMU will provide me with better tools and
avenues to continue on my path.
My vocation has not changed since the day I realized what I wanted to do. I still
want to help kids access the world. I still want to help them and get them to “smile”.
Today I have an opportunity to help more children “smile.”
I hope GMU will be the place where I can continue on my journey.

Thank you for your time.

Carlos Enrique Lavin