One of my primary drives in life has always been the pursuit of knowledge and information.  As a young child, I used to spend hours poring over the set of colored Childcraft Encyclopedias on the living room shelf; as an adult several decades later, I enjoy spending hours poring over various articles and information and research on the internet.  A side effect of my pursuit of knowledge is the desire to share this knowledge with others.  When I was a child, I would set up play schools with my stuffed animals as students and teach them basic arithmetic and reading.  As an adult now, I am a teaching assistant in the accounting and finance library at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where I have the opportunity to work with undergraduate accounting and finance students.  This experience has confirmed my belief that teaching adult students is the right path for me, and I am now interested in increasing my knowledge and education about teaching itself.  
	I am applying to the Master of Arts in Education – Adult Education program with the goal of obtaining knowledge about adult education and knowledge about designing and implementing adult education courses.  My purpose for obtaining this knowledge is to advance my career as a teacher of adult students.  I would like to receive formal instruction on these topics to add to the hands-on knowledge and experience that I have gained from my work as a teaching assistant in a university.  I want to learn about research and theories underlying adult learning and adult educational programs, and I would like to research techniques and methods that have worked with certain diverse populations.  
	I am interested in working with non-traditional populations of adults, such as incarcerated populations, illiterate populations, or adults who are returning to school to obtain a G.E.D. or high school diploma.  I would like to explore research and theories on effective techniques for working with these populations. I would also like to learn methods of developing effective educational programs for these and other diverse populations.  While teaching traditional college students also appeals to me, I would like to focus my own research on working with non-traditional adult students.  Additionally, I would like to explore, define, and develop my personal teaching philosophy.  
	My passion in life is to learn and to share knowledge with others, and I intend to work in a community college or community setting where I can teach adult students.  Obtaining a Master of Arts in Education with an emphasis on Adult Education is the appropriate next step for me to achieve my professional and personal goals.  The program would provide me with the opportunity to explore and learn about topics in adult education while engaging with professors who are experts on the subject as well as with classmates who are pursuing similar goals.  In return, I would provide my own personal insights, research, and professional experience to the classroom.  I look forward to hopefully embarking on the next step in my education at East Carolina University.  
