Oct 12, 2017 Essays - Criminal Law, Law, Crimes, Felony, Probation

Oct 12, 2017 Jared Gibb 609 Parker Ave. Kalamazoo, MI 49008 [emailprotected] The Dean of the Graduate School Ball State University 2000 W University , West Quad 100 Muncie, IN 47306 To The Dean of the Graduate School, I hope this letter reaches you well. I have recently applied to the Graduate School at Ball State University with the hopes of pursuing my Master's Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis with an emphasis on the treatment of Autism. As indicated, there may be some concerns regarding my criminal history. I am writing this letter to explain the circumstances to you. During the summer of 2006 I was abusing both drugs and alcohol. That summer I was convicted with 2 misdemeanor marijuana charges and 1 felony for breaking and entering. I was experiencing grief from the loss of friends and, as a young and misguided adult, I turned to drugs and alcohol. The result of these crimes terminated in felony probation which I completed successfully. In addition to probation imposed by the court system I willfully attended drug counseling and narcotics anonymous to address the issues I was experiencing with drugs and alcohol. I was convicted of felony possession of marijuana in 2009 . I plea d guilty and was sentenced to 24 months of probation from which I was discharged early due to success in the probation program as well as gaining employment. Following my mistake, I successfully completed not only the probation but also drug counseling and was able to obtain legitimate, long lasting, and gainful employment. In summary, I have been charged with two felonies and three misdemeanors which all occurred over 8 years ago. I have worked hard to move forward with my life in a manner that is both conducive and supplemental to society. I have taken on various roles in both mentoring program with at risk youth as well as in community service to give something back to the community I had been so taxing on in the past. I have maintained consistent employment since 2009 never having been fired and only seeking new employment as a way to better my situation. I have been both working full-time and in college since 2012 and have been on the dean's list various times and have maintained an average GPA over 3.5 throughout my college career.