Community and the Environment by Abigail

Community and the Environment by Abigail - September 2019 Scholarship Essay

Through out my junior year of high school and the beginning of my senior year, I’ve held an internship through my school’s individualized career planning program, pathways. Through this internship I’ve been able to understand and appreciate the importance of youth being involved with their communities, and that self-advocacy and developing communications skills at a young age are important.
As I said above, the internship I’ve applied my extra time to, has allowed for me to have more self-esteem, has allowed me to value myself more than I ever would have without the internship, while also having assisted me in my communication skills. I’ve learned life skills that high school core curriculum courses don’t teach students. The internship has made being a teenager exciting, and has made being a teenager a productive transition period into adulthood; which is all I could hope for myself.
All high school students, who are responsible and motivated, even ones who don’t know what they want to do as an adult, should be able to experience this type of personal activity that requires interest, responsibility, self-growth, and communication, because all of the aspects previously listed are important regardless of what career students end up wanting to pursue. Students should experience community engagement because being involved in the community will provide students the opportunities that will equip them with the necessary communication skills and self-esteem and growth which students want in order to be successful in college. The extracurricular activity that I would create will provide students the opportunity to perform community service, set up internships, and set themselves up to be successful and equipped adults. In addition, environmental consciousness is important to me. Therefore, I would advocate for students to do community service work outside, hold an internship that involves thought of the environment.
The extra curricular activity would provide an interest survey for high school students to take. Once the survey period has ended, after a week or two, I (the director and coordinator of the club), and a staff supervisor would split students into groups based on their interests. The first meeting would then allow students to build their game plan, including where they would want to intern or volunteer, what they want to do as an adult, what interests them, when they are available, etc. Afterwards, the adult supervisor and I would individually or in groups (to use time in an efficient way) would follow up with people and do our part to ensure that their dreams, goals, or interests would be made reality due to the program.
My goal in the end would be for students in high school to experience the value of community involvement and valuing oneself for who one is due to taking part in this extra curricular venture.