Christopher Harley

Mr. Fipps
English 4 Honors
October-November, 2016
Senior Paper
My name is Christopher Harley and I am currently a senior that attends
Perquimans County high school. I moved to Perquimans County when I was just 6 years
of age. At this age, everyone was very welcoming. I began interacting with friends in and
out of school almost instantly. At this point, I made some friends that are still close to me
today. There are numerous things that people may not know about me.

On August 10, 1998, I was born in Chesapeake, Virginia where I lived until I was
the age of 6. My parents and I then moved to Perquimans County, North Carolina.
Perquimans is also a much smaller community than Chesapeake. I remember being
scared starting my 3rd-grade year not knowing anyone. There was a pool, basketball
court, and church in the neighborhood I moved to. That is where I start to begin
interacting with other children. When the time came to start school I remembered getting
real excited and nervous at the same time. I was scheduled to ride the school bus to and
from school. As soon as the school bus showed up at my house I walked on to it to meet
my first friend (Trevor Kelly). From there on out it felt like it was pretty easy meeting
new people because of how welcoming everyone was.

Around the age of 6, my father signed me up for recreational soccer. There I met
numerous friends and also found a love for the sport of soccer. Today, I still play soccer
for the high school I attend. I've tried multiple sports such as football, baseball, and
basketball but I didn't enjoy these as much as I did soccer. My Junior year in high school
I was one of the leading scorers in my conference. Although I reached this
accomplishment I have yet to score my senior year. I know that my position has changed
in soccer which could lead to the fact that I have yet to score. My junior year my position
was striker, which I believe the main focus of that position is to score. But today the
position I play is midfielder which focuses basically on the whole field.

I believe when I was around the age of 7, my parents separated. It is kind of

challenging trying to overcome an obstacle such as this one during a childhood. After
numerous court hearings, my father eventually obtained full custody of me. I remember
going to friends houses and sort of envying their families. I felt somewhat abnormal due
to living with only one parent. I believe the only way I overcame this challenge/obstacle
was time. Time eventually heals most wounds and as time went by I got to better
understand the situation, eventually moving on.

Today, I still attend Perquimans county schools where I am currently a senior. I

am currently 18 years of age, after high school, I plan to attend a university. I still play
soccer and love the sport. I would hope to continue playing soccer after high school. I
have numerous dreams I would like to archive in the future and going to college is one of
them.

I want to attend North Carolina State University to obtain an MBA (Masters in

Business Administration). I still am not sure if I want to take the finance or marketing
route, but I feel as if business is the right route for me because I've experienced it all my
life. My father is the owner/president of a business called B & P Electric. He has
shared his experiences and knowledge with me about owning a business. I would like to
somewhat follow his footsteps by creating a successful business of my own. My father is
definitely one of my biggest role models. He has inspired me to want to put forth the
work to create my own business.

North Carolina State University is very diverse and has numerous opportunities
for a student to pursue. There are numerous activities students can participate in while
attending this university. NC State is really the college I want to attend because of what I
want to study. I want to study business and NC State is #20 in the world (#15 nationally)
in their online MBA programs. According to SmartAsset.com, NC State ranks #1 in
public universities in North Carolina.
According to the Princeton Review, Steve Allen, associate dean for graduate
programs and research at Poole College stated that Applications for our online MBA
program are up more than 50 percent year over year, and we are planning for continued
growth. While highly interactive, our program design provides the utmost flexibility an
online MBA program can offer and exposes our students to the top-notch expertise of
the same faculty teaching our on-campus MBA programs. (mba.ncsu.edu)

According to the North Carolina State web page, the university was founded with a
purpose: to create economic, societal and intellectual prosperity for the people of North

Carolina and the country. NC State students, faculty and staff take problems in hand and
work with industry, government and nonprofit partners to solve them. Our 34,000-plus
high-performing students apply what they learn in the real world by conducting research,
working in internships and co-ops, and performing acts of world-changing service. That
experiential education ensures they leave here ready to lead the workforce, confident in
the knowledge that NC State consistently rates as one of the best values in higher
education. Each year, NC State adds $6.5 billion to the statewide economy, equivalent to
creating more than 90,000 new jobs. That represents a significant return on investment
for the citizens of North Carolina in the form of research advances, innovative
technologies, successful companies, skilled graduates and new jobs waiting for them.
(ncsu.edu)

I recently applied to North Carolina State University where I hope to further

out my dreams of owning my own successful business. I hope to get accepted and truly
benefit myself for the future. I feel as if North Carolina State University is the right
school for me because of numerous reasons/factors such as, the environment, the faculty,
the students, etc. I also plan to greatly interact with others by participating in things such
as clubs and possibly sports. I am very excited to see what college and the future have in
store for me.

So far I am still undecided on what exactly I want my career to be in the future. I

know for a fact that I want to pursue owning a business of my own. I could possibly be a
top executive for a company/corporation as well. The pay varies when owning a
business. There are so many different factors you need to take into consideration when

owning a business. These factors could consist of being: what type of product you are
selling, the location, etc. There are numerous different types of businesses I want to
pursue.

I have thought about becoming a top executive because of the outcome. A top
executive is a really good career that is extremely competitive but also pays off at the
end. There are numerous different job opportunities requiring a top executive making
them high demanding. Depending on what type of top executive someone is should
determine the amount of income they receive.

According to the Labor of Statistics, the median annual wage for top executives
was $102,690 in May 2015. Top executives devise strategies and policies to ensure that
an organization meets its goals. They plan, direct, and coordinate operational activities
of companies and organizations. Employment of top executives is projected to grow 6
percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Employment growth will vary by industry and is largely dependent on the rate of industry
growth. Top executives are expected to face very strong competition for jobs. Top
executives work in nearly every industry. They work for large and small businesses,
ranging from companies in which they are the only employee to firms with thousands of
employees. Top executives often work many hours, including evenings and weekends.
In 2014, about half worked more than 40 hours per week. Travel is common, particularly
for chief executives. (Labor Statistics)

Another career that is very similar to a top executive, is to be an architectural

and engineer manager. I would not only have to study business in college but also
architecture/engineering. This is a very promising career path and it is definitely one I am

considering to pursue. The only downside I see to this career is the economy taking its
toll on it. Since our economy is so bad, jobs become more difficult to have or pursue.

According to the Labor of Statistics, The median annual wage for architectural
and engineering managers was $132,800 in May 2015. Most architectural and
engineering managers work in offices, although some may also work in laboratories and
industrial production plants or at construction sites. Most work full time, and about half
worked more than 40 hours a week in 2014. Employment of architectural and
engineering managers is projected to grow 2 percent from 2014 to 2024, slower than the
average for all occupations. Employment growth will largely reflect the growth of the
industries in which these managers are employed. Very strong competition for jobs can
be expected. Architectural and engineering managers plan, direct, and coordinate
activities in architectural and engineering companies. (Labor Statistics)

These are a couple of the careers I would like to pursue in the future. They
both seem very promising requiring experience, knowledge, and intelligence. I know for
a fact that if I go to college to study business these careers should be a lot easier to
pursue. My number one dream is to be successful in life while doing something I have a
passion for. Growing up always being around entrepreneurs made me want to pursue
my own dreams and make my own ideas. These careers are definitely things I see
myself doing in the future. I hope that I am able to archive this dream in the future.

Work Cited:

"The Princeton Review Ranks NC State Jenkins Online MBA ..." N.p., n.d. Web. (visited
October 20,2016).<https://mba.ncsu.edu/news/the-princeton-review-ranks-nc-statejenkins-online-mba-among-top-programs-worldwide/>.

"Stats and Strengths | NC State University." N.p., n.d. Web. (visited October 20, 2016).
<https://www.ncsu.edu/about/stats-and-strengths/>.

"About NC State | NC State University." N.p., n.d. Web. (visited October 20,
2016).<https://www.ncsu.edu/about/>.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook,

2016-17 Edition, Top Executives, <http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/topexecutives.htm> (visited October 20, 2016).

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook,

2016-17 Edition, Architectural and Engineering Managers,
<http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/architectural-and-engineering-managers.htm>
(visited October 20, 2016).