Acceptance & Connection Leads to Academic Success by Adaline

Acceptance & Connection Leads to Academic Success by Adaline - June 2024 Scholarship Essay

In the realm of education, the impact of acceptance and connection reaches far beyond textbooks and classrooms. For me, this has been a journey shaped by personal experiences close to home and abroad. Through my mother's work as a resource counselor aiding families struggling with poverty and homelessness at my elementary school, my travels to less fortunate countries, and engagement in volunteer work in my community, I've learned firsthand the importance of embracing diversity and assuming the best in everyone, despite one’s life circumstances, along with valuing the opportunities I’ve been provided throughout my life; these encounters have shaped not just my worldview but also how I engage with others and with the concepts I learn in school.

Volunteering for a refugee resettlement organization has taught me invaluable lessons in acceptance that directly translate to my educational journey. I’ve volunteered for a number of organizations, but I believe one that has helped me most is volunteering at Soft Landing Missoula – a non-profit organization that helps newly integrated refugees find their way in our city. I’ve volunteered at Soft Landing Missoula as a tutor for immigrant youth for a couple of years now, and I have learned a number of beneficial communication strategies and, more importantly, the necessity of helping others feel acceptance. I’ve seen how many of my peers struggle with assuming the best in everyone and though it is hard, I do my best to encourage people to try to accept others, due to the stories that have shaped my understanding about other life backgrounds, specifically through resettlement memories. Throughout my time helping teach English and culture to youth and developing friendships with individuals with such different backgrounds than I, it becomes clear to me that accepting and showing kindness to everyone allows those surrounding me to feel valued and appreciated in society. This knowledge, along with the communication skills I have developed, has enabled me to work harder and be more collaborative and open minded in group settings and has allowed me to refrain from judgment. In addition to developing my ability to collaborate and communicate I have also benefited greatly from travel.

The opportunities I’ve had to travel have helped me exponentially in the classroom. Throughout my life, I’ve been fortunate to have been able to travel outside of my country and to also visit places within it where people do not have the advantages I do, and because of that, I’ve learned to not take my education for granted, to appreciate what I learn in school, and to assess how what I’m learning in school applies to everyday life for people and their communities. When visiting other countries, my parents have always made an effort to find ways to immerse our family as travelers rather than just as tourists. Because of this, I’ve been lucky to have the experience of spending time within cultures different from mine at home. For example, after visiting Mexico, it was apparent to me that the level of education I’ve been given is not what everyone in the world receives since not every place is as fortunate as our first world country. I have seen people living on the streets of Athens, Greece, in the wake of political unrest, and I have seen the rugged life of Icelanders. Having spent my first years living in Anchorage, Alaska, and visiting since, I have observed how it can be for some to live in a large city plagued with homelessness and high crime rates due to severe poverty, mental illness, and substance abuse, particularly amongst the Alaskan Natives who struggle to survive outside of their ancestral villages. Seeing people suffer and seeing how their suffering impacts communities, has opened my eyes to what my life might have looked like, if I had not been born into a family with the ability to give me a stable home, food, and educational opportunities. Because of this, I am ever grateful for my education and the opportunities it provides. I often think about how there is most likely another girl, with the same work ethic, same drive as me, same light in her eyes, but she is held in a refugee camp, not able to let her talents show. This thought has stuck with me throughout my educational career in high school, and has given me the desire to work as hard as I can - if not for me - for the other girl that wishes she could do the same.

All in all, through my relationships with refugees at Soft Landing, my travel experiences, observing my mother’s work as a small child, and reading, I have learned to step into other’s shoes and assume the best in them. I’ve learned how to communicate with people even if we don’t speak the same language, and I have learned the value of my education and how if I use what I’ve been given, I can make a difference. As I move forward, I'm committed to upholding these values while striving to create a more inclusive and equitable society where others can have similar opportunities, all the while continuing to feel gratitude for all that I have been provided. Acceptance and connection with others, rooted in these personal experiences, has been a guiding principle in navigating the complexities of the world around me, thereby further assisting me in my academic journey.