My contribution to the youth by Amara

My contribution to the youth by Amara - January 2024 Scholarship Essay

From a young age I was taught that the world was dark. My father, grandfather, and uncle have all served in law enforcement and this was key in shaping my worldview. I am naturally a more skeptical person, so when my father would come home and tell us stories of the awful things people would do, they became unsurprising. Almost, expected. It’s hard to shake these views when they’re so deeply rooted in you. My father would always warn us to take pepper spray with us, always look behind you, and never go places alone. You never know who you can’t trust. I grew up believing it. And while there was truth to his words, I became a hollow, distrusting person.

When I was in high school, I volunteered in a service organization known as interact club. Our teacher gave us an assignment to read to children from grades one through four. I wasn’t thrilled about this assignment, I had so many other things to do to prepare for college, but I signed up for a time slot anyways. I have never been so thankful I did. No one can better change your view on a broken world than children. They are full of so much life and joy it’s truly contagious. As I gave up just a small 30 minutes of my day to invest in them, they were investing in me. I loved it so much that I decided I wanted to continue outreach to youth.

I began a free childcare service and volunteered to sit in on classes at the primary school. I have since left my hometown of Corvallis, Montana for college and have been looking for different programs for outreach. I am fortunate that the school I attend offers many clubs and organizations that have allowed me to stay involved including GCU’s community outreach program which I will be helping serve the children in our community in 2024. After college, I plan to go on a trip through my school that will allow me to share food and water to children in need. While the world can be a very dark place, there is nothing more beautiful than the light of a child. Children are the next generation, and they are the change we need.