Monday, December 4, 2006

Letter of introduction

Dear Mr. Jason Suciu,

My name is Becky LaDuke, I am 16 years old, and in the 11th grade. I am writing this letter to introduce myself for this mentor program.

My favorite subject in school would have to be economics’ because I like money and working with it. The subject in school that is my least favorite would be chemistry because it’s all memorization of formulas and I don’t like doing that. I want to go to Western or Saginaw Valley because my sister goes to Saginaw and it’s a really nice school and western because a lot of my friends that graduated go there, and they say it’s a good school. I want to either be something that has to do economics or a high school consular.

I have one sister named Melanie and she is 18 years old. I have been on the Varsity Pom Pon Team now for 3 years, also I am on the varsity soccer team for 3 years as well. I have danced all my life, and I used to play basketball and volleyball, also at one point, I ran track. In 10 years, I see myself graduated from college, and working for a good company, and hopefully making a lot of money.

Do you have an advice about doing well in high school, or for preparing forcollege, or for preparing for a career? Why did you decide to be a part of the mentor program? Do you have any hobbies/interests/interesting facts about you?

What I want to gain from this mentor program is to learn about what you do , and what I need to do and take in high school so that I can succeed in my future. Thanks, I am looking forward to reading your reply soon.

Sincerely,
Becky

1 comment:

jason suciu said...

Becky,

It is nice to hear from you. My name is Jason Suciu, I am 35 and married (wife Amy) with two of my own daughters, Madeline and Lily (they are only 3 yrs and 6 months old).

Based on you email, it appears you have a lot going for you Becky, that is great to hear. I was an Economics major at Colorado State University. Like yourself, I hated Chemistry (ok, you didn't use the work hate, i did). My High School resume looked pretty much like this. A's in every math class, C's in just about everything else, and a D in Chemistry (i don't even know if i deserved the D!) I guess i managed a few B's in other areas but math was where my interest was. I played baseball throughout highschool and Volleyball my Senior Year.

Advice as to how to prepare for college. I will tell you my story, it's important to note that i dont believe i went about it correctly in High School, but i would prefer to be honest with you as I think it may help you in thinking of the big picture.

I was not a good student (except math of course). I was a terrible student. In a class of 322 students, i think i was ranked about 305. Like yourself, i was very involved in sports. I was also a member of the student council and the class president my senior year. I believe my activites and involvement got my into college coupled with my test scores.

I always knew i was capable of doing better in school, i just didn't apply myself. Once I got to college I got 4 A's and a B my first semester for a 3.8 GPA. My parents couldn't believe it!!! I guess i started to take life seriously once school started costing 10,000 a year....

I tell you this because i felt that had i applied myself in high school i would have had a lot more options at the college level. Not that i didn't like Colorado State, i did, i just didn't have much choice. I applied to 3 schools and this was the only one that accepted me.

I went on to study economics at CSU. I spent a semester in Australia my junior year. This was a truly amazing experience.

At the high school level, i suggest doing the work you are given and giving it your best. Stay involved in all of your sports. This will open doors to you after graduating.

In college, I think the vast majority of us dont know what we want to do in life when we start out. So take some different courses to see what interests you have. You usually dont have to declare and official major your first year or two.

One thing I didn't do in college that i see kids doing a lot of now is internships. I currently have a girl working for me from depaul, she is 19 and a sophmore. I would strongly suggest doing this as you will make some contacts in the real world prior to graduating.

Finally, what do i do? I am a Financial Advisor at Smith Barney in Chicago. So yes, I work with numbers. I help people plan for their retirement, etc.

I hope this in someway helps. I look forward to hearing from you again. I have some pretty funny stories about high school which i can relate next time i write.

Best regards,

Jason