Building My Path Forward by Julia

Building My Path Forward by Julia - August 2024 Scholarship Essay

On November 1st, my early decision date, I will send an application that may forever change my life. It’s almost incomprehensible that in a couple of weeks, I’m going into my senior year of high school. For the longest time, it felt like a distant, almost abstract thought, and now that it’s directly on the horizon, it’s a bittersweet moment. Looking back on the fond memories of childhood and the unknown future yet to come, it dawns on me. I have dedicated my entire life to school and extracurriculars, and now I must showcase my accomplishments to a group of strangers, using words on a website, to assess and determine my eligibility for the college of my dreams. I may never meet any of these people, but, looking at me like a piece of a puzzle, a narrative, they decide if I am fit for acceptance into the delicate mosaic of their institution.

I was lucky that I discovered my love for STEM when I was young. When I was maybe 7, I knew from the first moment my mom placed me in front of the television to watch the science channel's programs. I walked around with books of science and math fun facts, and every Christmas I would ask for a different science experiment kit. I would talk the ear off of anyone who would listen, sharing my newfound knowledge about space, or I would ask my mom to teach me new math problems. On occasion, I would wake up early to put together my family's furniture because I knew my dad wouldn’t let me do it on my own, but I loved the challenge of building things.

My love of STEM eventually became a love of engineering and design. When applying to high schools, I had to decide between the engineering academy and the science academy. With the guidance of my parents, I decided to pursue engineering, where I learned my true passion. Classes such as computer-assisted design and material sciences taught me how to apply the sciences I grew up loving so much.

Looking to the present, the college acceptance process is one of the most stressful things in the life of a young adult like myself. If you asked my peers, you would not find a single person who wasn’t in some capacity distressed at the idea of applying to college in a couple of months. The websites are confusing, none of us know what we’re doing, and we’re all just hoping to get into our dream schools. Despite the hard work all of us have put in, it will never feel like enough because there will always be someone with better grades than you, better extracurriculars, better awards, or someone who simply cured cancer and ended world hunger.

Education has always been my main focus in life, and seeing the next step of college or university in front of me feels unreal. I want a bachelor's degree and, if all goes well, eventually a master's degree, both in civil engineering.