Eyes on the Prize by Alexandra

Eyes on the Prize by Alexandra - April 2024 Scholarship Essay

During my freshman year of high school, I was a level 8 gymnast (out of 10 levels) and trained a minimum of 15 hours a week year-round to prepare for competitions. During a late night at the gym, I recall practicing my least favorite event, vault. After falling to my face multiple times onto the mat, my coach told me that I needed to be more confident. “What kind of lawyer are you going to be if you’re not confident?” She asked. A little annoyed at the comment, I quickly responded with a laugh, “Not a litigator I guess”. A moment passed and she stated, “Even so, you need more confidence.” She was exactly right. This small encounter gave me the boost I needed to finally land the dreaded vault. Through gymnastics, I learned the importance of discipline and focus. From a young age, I learned how to stick to a routine and concentrate on both school and gymnastics. As I got older, I learned the importance of balancing school, extracurriculars, and my two jobs. Even as a young gymnast, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer one day. This pursuit continues, and the lessons learned through gymnastics will help me to achieve that goal.
In elementary school, I developed a love for reading and writing that increased as I grew up. Every March my school hosted a reading month. All 31 days flew by as I sat engrossed in books, hoping to read the most minutes and beat my classmates. This bolstered my love for reading and research. Since my love for reading began, I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer. This interest continued throughout middle school during a small debate class. I learned how to logically and quickly structure arguments. I recall even taking "The Bar" in 8th grade and experiencing complete shock when I passed the test. I wanted to read more of the classics to learn as much as possible and improve both my reading and writing. I've traveled the maze of hallways in The Trial and sat in the courtroom from To Kill a Mockingbird. I want to help others through law just as Atticus strived to help others despite the seemingly small chance of success.
High school solidified my interest in law. In my sophomore year, my history teacher offered a judges and jury class where we looked over genuine cases and acted as the jury to determine the outcome. Then we would compare our judgment to that of a real jury. I loved this class, and even took time outside of school to research cases further from articles and documentaries. Little did I know that a year later, I would do an internship at the county courthouse in Adrian, Michigan. I followed prosecutors and watched them institute justice. I learned so much about criminal law and the basics of how a courtroom functions. I accepted every opportunity possible if I believed it would assist me in becoming a lawyer. Whenever I felt that my goal was unattainable, I would reflect on how far I had already progressed and found the desire to keep striving for improvement academically. This allowed me to study late into the night without giving in to distractions.
During my senior year, I decided to take a debate class. Honestly, I didn't like it at first because I felt uncomfortable speaking in front of many people about topics I didn't know a lot about, but as I did it more and began to learn from every failure, our team, as well as I, continued to get better. Every loss fueled a desire for improvement. At the last county high school debate competition, my partner and I won our last two debates, carried our school into the semifinals and our school won second place! By the end I even enjoyed my debate class because I learned how to speak articulately, properly gather evidence, and make a case for topics I may not agree with personally. All of these essential skills will facilitate the process of becoming a lawyer. This pursuit hasn't faded with time, and I now have a growing interest in international law. After my Spanish teacher described her own experiences abroad and life in other countries, I now want to learn about other cultures and experience them for myself. While I still love learning about the law, I also have a fresh interest in travel. Whether I decide to pursue corporate law or international law, I still aspire to be a lawyer for the little girl who always desired an argument and dreamed of helping others through the law.