Failure: The key to perseverance by Amy

Failure: The key to perseverance by Amy - August 2014 Scholarship Essay

Failure is a word often associated with incompletion and giving up, and rarely do we associate the word with strength and perseverance. As a first generation college student, I have experienced first hand what it is like to be unsuccessful at something.

Growing up, it was never impressed on me to attend college, or even finish high school. I was certain that I wanted to continue my education, but like so many others, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, or how to get support in applying. In 2004, the fall after my high school graduation, I began taking classes at the local community college. Sure, it wasn’t Harvard or Stanford, but it was forward momentum. The campus was about a 45-minute drive from my house, and with a full time job waitressing it was a huge undertaking. I depended on working to pay for school, and to help my family with living costs.

After my first semester, I decided to major in Business Management, mostly because my school offered a Bachelors level degree completion program through one of the local state universities. While that was exciting, the commute to school began to wear on me as I began working more and more, and going to class less and less. Eventually, 3 years into the program I decided to drop out of school.

As a dropout, I soon realized that I wasn’t competitive in the job market. Whenever I would apply for a job, the interviewers would almost always ask or comment about my education. After multiple rejections for various employment opportunities, I enlisted in the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard didn’t judge me based on my academic history, but only on my willingness to work. After about a year into my enlistment, I restarted my education and through a truly terrific chemistry professor, fell in love with science.

Despite my educational shortcomings, I was lucky enough to receive a second chance to attend school. Today, I am entering my senior year of college at the University of Arizona and I am getting ready to apply to graduate school for the first time. Even though I am a non-traditional student, and the only student among my peers that is married, I am proud to say that I am maintaining a GPA of 3.70 in one of the hardest degrees that the university offers. When I mention my previous experience with school, occasionally I get a curious look, or have to deal with the surprise on someone’s face when they learn that I am almost 30 years old at still working on my undergraduate degree. Without the failure that I had experienced the first time around, I would not have had the opportunities and experiences that I have today. I would not have met my husband, moved to San Francisco, started school at a great university, or be finishing my degree in chemistry and preparing to apply to graduate school.

Failure has a negative connotation, but it is necessary to experience. It has motivated me to reach my highest potential, and molded me into a strong and persevering individual.