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Portfolio Introduction

My name is Angela Eichelberger. Let me share with you that it is a rare thing to have everything in life. Coming from a small Kansas town, I have never really known what the future would surprise me with. I can say, at times, that I would wander but never found my destination. After dipping my toes in the waters of music performance, I decided there was a higher calling that would allow me to benefit my society. This higher calling lists one word: Service.

Someone used to say to me often, "Life is spelled with the letters l-o-s-s". It took me a while to understand what they really meant. When I finally came to a resolution on what I interpreted that phrase as, it was almost like I was naive for not grasping it sooner. It meant resilience; to live through loss. It meant to transform loss into strength, like the same way we would learn from a mistake. You will lose people, I knew.

My aspirations have always been to command in the military or serve my country in law enforcement, and my degree in Homeland Security can facilitate either of those careers in many ways. My education experience has not only given me the ability to see my possible future, but to connect with the people who have been there. The puzzle pieces always fall into place and eventually create that picture we glue and frame on a wall. If tomorrow is never promised and tonight is only a guess, how do I get myself to my destination?

"Expect the worst and hope for the best," is another phrase I have heard many times throughout my life. It is another phrase of resilience. It is another vehicle you ride on where you choose which road to take. It is that expectation of the worst that sighs relief when the best happens. I never thought I could make it, but I never have truly tried. Fear overcomes us daily, time and time again. These phrases cannot supplant resolve, perseverance, diligence, or the need to follow through. That is on me. I have less than a year left and anticipate graduating next fall. What happens from now until then and beyond is the worlds challenge accepted!