Draft: Scholarship Essay

Draft 1

When I was in elementary school, I was not a leader.  I was not an exemplary student, and I certainly wasn’t a Merit Scholar.  I was just another bright young child who resented his intelligence because it meant he’d have to do more work.  My parents and teachers lamented having such an intelligent student that hated school and work so much; in the third grade, I joined the Gifted and Talented Program and left almost immediately because it was simply additional (and extremely boring) work.  As I progressed in school, I became more resigned to do work simply because it needed to be done.  My only goal was an ‘A’; I paid no attention to anything else because it hadn’t occurred to me.    That student didn’t understand what it meant to have intelligence.  He didn’t understand how lucky he was.  That student would not become who I am today.

Suddenly, in 8th grade, something happened to change my entire perspective on academics.  8 Individuals strode into Mendive Middle School in mid-October and gave the students the opportunity to make a choice.  They came from the Academy of Arts, Careers, and Technology, and they invited us to apply ourselves and make something of our education.  This opportunity meant very little to most of the students in that room, I’m sure, but it ignited something in me that I hadn’t thought I’d ever find.  The opportunity brought me hope… hope that I might just use my intelligence.  My goal, now, was to succeed, rather than to survive.

After I decided that I was going to AACT, I had a laundry list of required materials necessary to apply.  I couldn’t have completed such an application without a goal.  I couldn’t have applied, written essays, requested recommendations, or impressed my interviewers if I didn’t care.  I was a different person than I had been before.  I had been transformed by the knowledge of how far I could take myself, and with some measure of luck, I met my goal.

The next four years would not be spent in the company of those merely striving to survive, but with students who, like myself, were ready to apply themselves harder than they ever had before. We wanted to succeed.  AACT provided the perfect environment for me, and it gave me the opportunity to help others to see what I had just discovered.  During my junior year, I co-founded the AACT Bridge Project, an outreach program designed with the intent of motivating 6th graders to apply themselves to their education and push themselves as far as they can.  I knew that there would always be students who, like me, were capable of so much more than they were ever told that they could achieve.  I knew that they needed to be shown what opportunities they had, and what they could accomplish.  If I could dig one Merit Scholar out of apathy, if I could help even one student to graduate, I knew I had to try.  I have talked with so many students since I started working at AACT, and at least one student has pushed himself to apply and join the school.  Even one success is worthwhile among so many.

Now, in the last year of my high school career, I understand what it means to be motivated.  I became a National Merit Semi-finalist because I discovered what it meant to want to succeed.  I learned the importance of education and the value of knowledge, and I have tried to help others understand.  If I can succeed in my endeavors and become a Finalist, I can prove to myself and all those whom I want to help that it is possible to succeed.  My success would be a testament to determination.