Thursday was the deadline for the scholarship applications, and I received a total of ten, which was more than I was expecting. Although, I cannot share the specifics—due to privacy concerns—I do wish to illustrate the kinds of students who have applied for this money. Reading through their responses to the two essay questions, I noticed the following commonalities.
More than a few have come to recognize that the jump to a four year college or university is out their reach for a variety of reasons. As a result they plan on doing two years at a community college first. In some cases, the students know that they will need to complete the prerequisites necessary for entrance into their field of choice and that it makes the most financial sense to start at community college first where credits are few less expensive.
Beyond the cost of college, one of the themes that came through an overwhelming percentage of the applicants was the desire to use their degree to help others. Here there was a broad spectrum of aspirations: future business ventures designed to support low income families; child advocacy lawyers; EMT’s and paramedics; special education and ELL educators; nurses and family practitioners. It is purely speculation to guess about this, but I would surmise that this reflects a few commonalities about their experiences. First, I suspect that these students all recognize that someone has selflessly been instrumental in directing the course of their lives towards something better and that they see the intrinsic value of this kind of action in the world. Secondly, I would surmise that these students also recognize the fact that education—particularly that at the university level—is a gift and a privilege to be shared and not hoarded. What better way to repay the debt than stand in a court room in defense of the defenseless?
This brings us to the diversity of challenges that these students have faced, which can be divided into two basic categories: external barriers and internal obstacles. In some circumstances the adults responsible for providing the guidance and structure necessary for a developing child were absent leaving that child to be the adult instead. In other cases, a void would have been preferable to the physical and verbal violence that polluted their daily lives. Some of my applicants freely admit that their hurdles were entirely self-afflicted. The choices they made for themselves contaminated their bodies and their prospects. Others found themselves dealing with physical constraints given to them by biology. Navigating the treacherous halls of high school is hard enough when you are “normal”. Things become surprisingly more difficult when glasses or crucial medication is unaffordable.
What I noted in nearly all of the students’ essays though was an absence of blame. They did not consider themselves victims of fate. Instead I saw in their words an acknowledgement that they were dealt a difficult hand, which was in turn a defining influence in their lives. They all hinted at the fact that their own personal experiences made them tougher, more determined, and more focused than they may have been otherwise.
I do not envy my panel of three who have to choose. All are worthy of the scholarship. What will happen next though is this group will look through the applications and decide which one, in their estimation, embodies the values and ideals of the scholarship most fully. It is important to remember that this is not intended to reward the student most capable of telling a heart-wrenching story about loss or the trials of adolescence. Nor is the amount of money raised by each applicant a determining factor; I removed the pledge sheet from each packet to prevent the judges from being swayed by it. The applicant will not be chosen by financial need either or even academic merit. Some provided a transcript, but I removed this as well for the same reasons. Instead the criterion is simply this: which one most clearly demonstrates the qualities of endurance in the face of challenges and appears to be the most likely candidate to continue to show perseverance in the future? The goal is to reward, motivate, and support a student who has developed forward momentum despite the obstacles they have faced.
My hope is that by Monday we will know who I have the honor of running for.
<!--[if gte mso 9]>Thursday was the deadline for the scholarship applications, and I received a total of ten, which was more than I was expecting. Although, I cannot share the specifics—due to privacy concerns—I do wish to illustrate the kinds of students who have applied for this money. Reading through their responses to the two essay questions, I noticed the following commonalities.
More than a few have come to recognize that the jump to a four year college or university is out their reach for a variety of reasons. As a result they plan on doing two years at a community college first. In some cases, the students know that they will need to complete the prerequisites necessary for entrance into their field of choice and that it makes the most financial sense to start at community college first where credits are few less expensive.
Beyond the cost of college, one of the themes that came through an overwhelming percentage of the applicants was the desire to use their degree to help others. Here there was a broad spectrum of aspirations: future business ventures designed to support low income families; child advocacy lawyers; EMT’s and paramedics; special education and ELL educators; nurses and family practitioners. It is purely speculation to guess about this, but I would surmise that this reflects a few commonalities about their experiences. First, I suspect that these students all recognize that someone has selflessly been instrumental in directing the course of their lives towards something better and that they see the intrinsic value of this kind of action in the world. Secondly, I would surmise that these students also recognize the fact that education—particularly that at the university level—is a gift and a privilege to be shared and not hoarded. What better way to repay the debt than stand in a court room in defense of the defenseless?
This brings us to the diversity of challenges that these students have faced, which can be divided into two basic categories: external barriers and internal obstacles. In some circumstances the adults responsible for providing the guidance and structure necessary for a developing child were absent leaving that child to be the adult instead. In other cases, a void would have been preferable to the physical and verbal violence that polluted their daily lives. Some of my applicants freely admit that their hurdles were entirely self-afflicted. The choices they made for themselves contaminated their bodies and their prospects. Others found themselves dealing with physical constraints given to them by biology. Navigating the treacherous halls of high school is hard enough when you are “normal”. Things become surprisingly more difficult when glasses or crucial medication is unaffordable.
What I noted in nearly all of the students’ essays though was an absence of blame. They did not consider themselves victims of fate. Instead I saw in their words an acknowledgement that they were dealt a difficult hand, which was in turn a defining influence in their lives. They all hinted at the fact that their own personal experiences made them tougher, more determined, and more focused than they may have been otherwise.
I do not envy my panel of three who have to choose. All are worthy of the scholarship. What will happen next though is this group will look through the applications and decide which one, in their estimation, embodies the values and ideals of the scholarship most fully. It is important to remember that this is not intended to reward the student most capable of telling a heart-wrenching story about loss or the trials of adolescence. Nor is the amount of money raised by each applicant a determining factor; I removed the pledge sheet from each packet to prevent the judges from being swayed by it. The applicant will not be chosen by financial need either or even academic merit. Some provided a transcript, but I removed this as well for the same reasons. Instead the criterion is simply this: which one most clearly demonstrates the qualities of endurance in the face of challenges and appears to be the most likely candidate to continue to show perseverance in the future? The goal is to reward, motivate, and support a student who has developed forward momentum despite the obstacles they have faced.
My hope is that by Monday we will know who I have the honor of running for.
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