Character Shines Above All by Abbigail

Character Shines Above All by Abbigail - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

Every year, the American education system prepares millions of students to accomplish their academic goals and aspirations. This occurs through the process of hard work, inspiration, and determination of individuals attending school. Because of this, I can personally take pride in how my high school has allowed me to achieve prominent milestones within my educational career. This includes the Clay Glasscock Memorial Award, which I had the honor of receiving in 2015 at Cullman High School. Although there are many other achievements, I hold this one on a pedestal; for it is not merited based on academics, but rather character. The Clay Glasscock Memorial Award is only given to those who exhibit leadership, kindness, and self-determination. As a sophomore in high school, I had never felt such gratitude and integrity to receive something of such value.
This award is highly respected in my town because it honors the death of Clay Glasscock, a former student who attended my high school. He was a wonderful student that loved to be an uplifting companion to others. He participated in almost every sport, organization, and academic club, while simultaneously maintaining one of the highest GPAs in his class. Clay was the perfect model of what a well-rounded student should look like, and everyone admired him for it. Unfortunately, he passed away at the young age of thirty three just two years before I was able to receive the award. Ater that, the Glasscock family decided one of the best ways to continue the remembrance of their son would be to enact a memorial in his honor. Every year they continue to present a plaque of leadership to a student who is believed to exhibit the same characteristics as their son. His parents even attended the banquet of which I received the memorial and spoke about his life: all of the things he accomplished and how happy he would be if he were alive to see the legacy he left behind. The entire experience was tear-jerking for me, and that was before they revealed the recipient. When the banquet director announced my name, I couldn't help but cry out of disbelief. For someone to follow in Clay’s footsteps would be a wonderful and rare notion. In that moment I was so taken aback by the surprise of such an important monument, yet it was one of the proudest moments of my life.
Even now, as I prepare to encounter new chapters of my life upon the graduation of high school, I find myself remembering what it means to be a recipient of the Clay Glasscock Memorial Award. In times of frustration or discouragement, I still strive to uphold his true characteristics in order to remain an honorable recipient in his legacy. This will truly be an incredible accomplishment for many generations to come.