My Inspiration by Alyssa

My Inspiration by Alyssa - January 2025 Scholarship Essay

In high school, I had one teacher that helped shape my entire high school experience and I will never forget her. Her name is Ms. Scott. She isn’t your typical history, English, or math teacher, but she was my culinary teacher. While Ms. Scott didn’t teach me how to write an essay, which formula to use, or how to run the government, she did teach me some of the most valuable life lessons and skills that I will use for the rest of my life. Over the 4 years I took culinary I did learn what you’d expect. Things like food temperatures, how to set a table properly, and basic kitchen skills. She was always spitting out random kitchen facts. Ms. Scott is the type of person that you can’t be around without learning more than imagined. In that classroom I also learned how to be a good friend, teammate, and person. She would challenge us to think outside the box, work with new people and take risks. She helped me find my life passions and helped me figure out how to turn them into a career. She genuinely cared about her students, and it showed. My junior year of high school Ms. Scott persuaded me to join FCCLA (Family Career and Community Leaders of America). This club’s goal is to help promote leadership development for students through Family and Consumer Sciences education. After I joined, I ended up loving every second. I become the Vice President and worked with the other students to create community service projects for our local town. She then mentioned to me that I could compete in STAR events, and she recommended that I compete in Event Management because she could see my love for planning and organization. Me and my partner worked for months to create an event that benefitted our school and teachers that worked there. We then put it together in a portfolio to be presented to a panel of judges. We placed gold at the district competition and made it all the way to Nationals where we placed bronze. It has become one of my biggest accomplishments and I can’t thank Ms. Scott enough for pushing me out of my comfort zone. Upon doing these competitions, I discovered my absolute love for Event Management and am now pursuing a degree in Resort and Hospitality Administration with a concentration in Event Planning at Florida Gulf Coast University. I hope to one day be an Event Manager for a sporting league. I am so grateful for Ms. Scott because without her guidance I might still be clueless as to what I wanted to pursue in life. She taught me so much, was there for me through all my learning blocks, and cheered me on when I succeeded. There are some people in life that you simply never forget, and for me, that person is Ms. Scott.