In the pursuit of honesty in education, understanding academic integrity and plagiarism is essential. The International Center for Academic Integrity defines this commitment through the fundamental values of "honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage" (International Center for Academic Integrity, 2021). Understanding the purpose of academic contributions to further our own knowledge as well as academia, I believe that we can use these values to help guide us on our path. It is also important to understand how plagiarism is not only intentional copying of other's work, but unintentional copying as well. By knowing this, I feel I have a strong base of academic integrity that I can utilize throughout my education.

Academic integrity is important to me because I believe in recognizing the hard work of individuals. Both in the perception of myself as well as how others perceive me, I want to be seen as having put in the effort to complete tasks properly. I take pride in knowing that I have done things with honesty and strive to apply this to all elements of my life. When applying these values to my approach to academic integrity, I feel that it is something that I take seriously. I am pursuing my education to better myself and want to ensure that I am getting the best value possible. Being dishonest about my academic integrity would not lead to my desired outcomes, and ultimately, I would not achieve the goals I set for myself before pursuing further education. While I am confident that intentional plagiarism will not be an issue, I want to ensure that I am avoiding unintentional plagiarism as well. To achieve this, I will use the available resources for plagiarism checkers and proper citations.

Beyond individual consequences for academic dishonesty, I believe that there are further societal consequences by placing people in certain positions based on work that they should not have been credited for. Stealing credit can lead to people ending up in positions of power that they may not be well suited for, which can lead to a failure to achieve certain expectations within an organization. Ensuring work is completed honestly and credit is given to the correct people can lead to a greater level of success within our society.

Education to me is not just a certificate or something to put on your resume. I am here to improve and feel as though I have truly gained knowledge in the process. Academic dishonesty does not support this mentality and I will have come away from this process having gained nothing. I am looking to feel proud of the contributions I make as well as the hard work that I put into my education. Applying these values to my work life, I want to feel confident in knowing that myself and those around me are in positions they are well suited for and have strong knowledge bases in those roles. Ensuring integrity in not just academics but all aspects of our lives can help to ensure that this can be achieved.