Scholarship Essay

In Montana 1948, written by Larry Watson, the events that took place irrevocably changed David Hayden’s life in several ways, both good and bad. The novel Montana 1948, is written from the point of view of David, the son of the Mercer County’s sheriff, Wesley Hayden and features many events which are indelible from his memory. The death of Little Marie Soldier, David’s housekeeper, was the first event, which would ultimately change David’s life. After her death, David experiences great discomfort in his own home, as he believed that there was “death in the house” and that “every door seemed to require a bit more effort to open and close.

Ever since I was a kid, my parents always talk about the hardship they went through to get here. From a house with ten siblings, no electricity, and barely any food, my dad manage to escape poverty and support his family by pursuing his passion in electronics. With his passion, he went to high school without an elementary education and barley passed. Afterwards he went directly into the workforce and continue to educate himself until how he is today.

At a young age I learned thanks to my parents that hard work pays off… only if you are putting in all your effort. Coming to the United States and beginning school were some of the hardest things that I have been through in my life the language barrier was one of the toughest things to surpass but by having people along the way to support me helped me thrive . Being supported by my parents teachers and peers has shaped me into the person I am today; not only do they set standards for me but I set standards for myself and try my best to make all those who have been with me along the way proud, just like Collins describes when he speaks of the thoughts of a successful CEO after leaving his company and seeing the great thing he has transformed a once failing business into. That CEO has not only done something good for himself but also for his companions who once worked alongside him in order to make the company thrive and continue growing after his departure. I can see myself in him because being the first in my family to attend college I am setting an example for the younger people such as my siblings and cousins making them more eager to learn and continue on to have a college education in the

My family is just one example of those who start from the very bottom and struggle to make ends meet and gives their kids the best opportunities, while adjusting to life in America. Although my parents never let me worry about money, I understood the sacrifices we were making by witnessing my brother wearing my cousin’s old hand-me-down clothes, while other kids only wore the most expensive attire. Seeing their hard work and determination to succeed in this harsh environment inspires me to do my do my very best now in school and athletics, so that I can make all their sacrifices worthwhile and make them

There were two plot twist that I was not expecting with Montana 1948, the first one would be the way Gail, David’s mother tries to convince Wesley Hayden, David’s father, to release Uncle Frank. This was a minor plot twist because she had spent the entire time supporting her husband's decision and even encouraging him to keep him jailed up, but by the end of the book she didn’t want to have to carry the burden of having to be always on the look out incase someone finds out about Frank. David’s mother is very conflicted because Frank is family and has helped them in the past but, she also wants justice for Marie, the Hayden’s house keeper, since he had raped her. Gail in the beginning knew she had to stand up for the native american women because

A mother and a father are in a difficult position when they’re raising a child with limited opportunities. When the number of children begins to increase, the sense of responsibility can knock down the little ambition a person has within. One can either choose to fight harder than before, or wait for an opportunity to come knocking on their door. When I was born, my parents did not have the means to support a growing family. I was the driving force that propelled my parents to use every ounce of energy to give my brother, sister and I the resources we would need to become successful. I was given both a stable financial and moral foundation to always give my greatest effort in my education. I kept that mentality throughout my entire educational career and I was able to graduate at the top of my class.

Although a seemingly odd combination, I am double-majoring in Chemistry and French at IUPUI. This is a complimentary pair for me in terms of my future endeavors, however. I aspire to attend medical school, ultimately to become a pediatric endocrinologist at Riley Hospital for Children. While some choose medicine for the paycheck, prestige, or to simply carry on the family business, I wish to become a doctor for an entirely different reason. When I was eight years old, I was diagnosed with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a genetic disorder that affects the body’s general health, growth, and development. Devoting my career to becoming a pediatric endocrinologist is a welcomed opportunity for me to serve as a source of care and comfort for my patients and their families, as I was once in their shoes.

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to represent something that mattered. I wanted to be great at anything I decided to do in life. When I started the 6th grade I had no idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up; until I met my smart lab facilitator Mr. Max Brooks. At that time, He was in charge of the smart lab at our school and he was also the robotics coach. I remember when he asked me personally to join the team. He picked about eight other students just like me to be on the team. Specifically, NSBE stands for the National Society of Black Engineers. All students that he hand-picked to be on the team were to design a robot that followed a pre-set course. We worked after school every day getting

A week ago I almost gave up again. Saturday was spent on my in-law’s porch with a coffee and Baileys stewing over my frustration in losing my 14th scholarship contest. I sat out there, posed like an author, leaning on the arm of the chair with my chin rested on curled fingers, holding my pen like a cigarette, hoping to channel King or Orwell. I started this project, writing scholarship essays, at the beginning of the year honestly believing if I just wrote enough essays statistically I would eventually win something. Two authors, Kristina Ellis and Marianna Ragins, won $500,000 and $400,000 respectively while they were still in high school. Their books gave me the jumpstart to try writing as a way to pay for school, and the idea grew into considering writing as a viable career. While I often think about giving up this project for a second job I can’t bring myself to do it; the learning benefits now outweigh frustration of losing.

My mother resiliently conquers obstacles. When my parents divorced, my brother and I decided to live with my mother. We did so knowing she was a teacher who only made $30,000 a year in which to support two teenagers. She hit the lowest point of her life when we moved into public housing. A far cry from the upper middle class lifestyle we had known. However, she never complained, never wavered, and gave us all she could. A year post-divorce, she gave up her dream career of teaching to take a higher paying job in insurance. Through this, my mom taught me my greatest lesson. Life is about facing change. The outcome of that change can turn into one’s greatest move or it can become one’s downfall. It is all about how one responds to it. I learned

For most of my early childhood my family was in financial need. We had to overcome obstacles such as, not having a home to live in, not having enough money, and not having enough food. I still remained in school to pursue an education and a better future. My parent’s hopes were that I wouldn’t end up in the same situation they were in.

While my parents were in the prime of their parentship, they decided to commence a project that would last several years. They decide to build a new home for our family; our friends, family, and local contractors aided us in our challenge. I recall my family spending countless hours every day, while working 40 plus hours a week and raising a family. When the day they moved in, they had a sense of accomplishment for the long hard work they had produced. They own that house, the blood, sweat, and tears that our house caused formed a connection with my family. A connection with perseverance and a sense of self; just by looking at that house, my parents think of the love of their family, and why they decided to do it. This is the key, producing something for the betterment of self or

Both in sewing and raising my brothers and I, my mother was very scrupulous of her craft. Her sewing planted an important seed: diligence. As cliche as it may sound, for the first time, I believed someone when they told me with hard work you can do anything because I have seen and heard it firsthand from those tireless nights. She struggled, she knew that, but she managed to send my eldest brother off to college and he has graduated with a bachelors of science in Chemical Engineering. Today we are living in an apartment with a garage as well as paying off two cars. Now here I am, an underprivileged Nigerian immigrant off to college at the same time as another brother of mine. Seeing my family succeed from sheer perseverance puts me at this expectation I want to fulfill, and I can only achieve that through working hard.

For the first thirteen years of my life, my childhood was seemingly descent. I remember having what I needed but hardly ever getting what I wanted. My dad would always tell me that if I wanted something then I had to prove it to him. He really meant that he wanted me to pick up extra chores and probably clean the garage out. Knowing that I wasn’t going to do that, I would just try flatter my grand-parents into getting me what I wanted. However, my mom would usually stop them and then punish me; so then I’d be in a bigger hole than I was in the first time. Little things like that taught me the value of hard work because asking people to buy my stuff I wanted had gotten old quickly.

After learning about how hard my parents had it and after seeing how hard they’ve struggled, it has certainly helped me to do better. For about 17 years I have been noticing and observing my parents and sibling’s actions, I listened to every word and I believe them. As a kid, I always thought the house and neighborhood, I was in was middle wage, but not long ago I realized I lived in a poor household. Always moving houses throughout the city and having to start all over and make new friends I never wondered why we moved so much. It was because my dad was constantly looking for work and finding work, they thought it would be easier if we moved to places closer to where he found most work to do. Life was hard for my father, which is why my mom decided to go to college for her degree.