Academic Achievement by abner

Academic Achievement by abner - March 2014 Scholarship Essay

My biggest academic achievement was being in a school in the US and doing great at it. Being accepted into a good school was certainly one of the most difficult things I did in my life, and a fact I am very proud of. The difficulties I had on my way were many, but I did not give up and today I could not be any happier.

My story starts back when I lived in Brazil. I was raised within a nice family and great friends. However time came for me to go to college and all my friends were very excited about it. I wasn't so much, I didn't think going to college like everyone else was for me, I wanted a challenge. I told my father I wanted to move to the US and there I'd figure out a way to go to college. He was surprisingly supportive of my idea and got me a job where I worked for a few months to help paying for an exchange program here in the US. When I arrived here I had a job at a fast food restaurant in a small town in Maryland called Berlin, and other students with me, who quickly became my friends. The job was difficult, especially with the language barrier, but day by day I got a little better and only a few months in I was very comfortable with the language. I worked a lot in this place, around 50 hours a week and kept saving money to put towards college someday. One day I get a call from a friend who says there is a restaurant in San Francisco looking for a waiter and he knew someone in the restaurant that could get me the job. There was no question in my mind that I was going to move to California someday, so I interviewed for the job over the phone, got hired and moved to California.

In California I started looking into community colleges since my first roommate was going to one and had told me about it. I had barely enough money to pay for it but I decided that it was time to go to college in America. The first day of classes was one of the most exciting days of my life, I felt like crying. My first semester was rough, I didn't get the best grades but it was important for me to adapt. All the following semesters were great, I only got A's and B's. I found a perfect balance of work and school, and my life was perfect, I loved every second of it. Now it was time to apply to 4 year colleges and I started looking at the best colleges within my Major, Computer Science. The University of Massachusetts accepted me quickly and that was the day I knew I had achieved something bigger than I thought I would.

This achievement has made me a very confident person. Also it taught me that nothing is impossible and while dreams may seem difficult, they just may be possible. Mine was and I'm thankful to all the people who made it possible and helped me. There is still a long road to walk but now I am more prepared than ever to face my challenges.