Brandon Twp.- In a tumultuous economy, Lynsey Crain was looking for a way to make her resume stand out, so she applied to the prestigious Oxford University in England.
‘I thought if I applied and got in, that would be the niche to put my resume in a separate pile,? said the 21-year-old township resident. ‘Plus, how cool is it to go to Oxford??
Crain will find out July 4, when she travels to Oxford, where she was accepted into a 5-week international business program.
The 2006 Brandon High School graduate applied about a year ago, even though her grade point average at Oakland University is a 3.3, below the 3.6 GPA that Oxford sets as the minimum to be accepted. She wrote a letter to Oxford officials about why she deserved to get in the program and how it would benefit her as an individual and in her education.
In the letter, Crain described how her father lost his job when she was younger and she went to work when she was 15-years-old, learning to understand the value of a dollar. She continued by relaying how she is paying for school by working 60 hours at two jobs? as a waitress at Bullfrogs in the township, and as a marketing assistant at Bureau Veritas, an occupational health and safety laboratory in Novi. Additionally, she is a full-time student at OU, with a double major in marketing and occupational health and safety and still makes time for her family and friends.
She shared in her application letter that she plans to attend Loyola University in Chicago to pursue a master’s degree in international business.
‘I just want to be a well-rounded individual,? explains Crain simply. ‘I want a wide range of education and experience.?
Now she will expand her horizons in England, learning about other cultures and how to relate to people around the world. Crain is paying for the $5500 program cost, as well as her airfare and other incidentals out of pocket, from money she earned at Bullfrogs and a fundraiser that Bullfrogs owners John and Kim Hagar hosted last month to help one of their own.
‘I’m really excited,? said Crain. ‘It will be the opportunity of a lifetime and I can’t wait. I have satisfaction also because of how hard I’ve worked.?