First Grade Aspirations by Annelise

First Grade Aspirations by Annelise - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

When I was in the first grade, my teacher (who also happened to be my mom) had her students write letters to their future selves as seniors. Eleven years later, she sent them to the homes of her former students. When I received mine last month it said in squiggly, messy handwriting, “After high school I want to go straight to Cal Poly and manage to get a Bachelor’s degree in agriculture. When I am a senior in high school I want to travel the world before college”. Surprisingly, the aspirations I had when I was six are still true today at 18.
Both my parents are Cal Poly alumni, which meant that I grew up in a Cal Poly sweatshirt, and a mustang was my favorite animal. Even when I explored different colleges as a junior in high school there seemed to be one that felt especially like home. When I received my acceptance email I was able to accept the offer immediately. Now I am able to wear my Cal Poly apparel not just in the shadow of my parents, but in the light of what is to come of my own life.
I have always had a tremendous passion for helping others. I also have a tremendous desire to travel. Last summer, I combined my two ideas into one: I desperately wanted to volunteer abroad. However, I understood that my family's financial situation would not allow me that opportunity. I went to my small town's local organizations, presented them with my plan, and asked for support. Two short months later I was on a flight to Costa Rica, where I would meet up with 30 teenagers who I had never met.
During my ten day stay in La Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, I had the privilege of helping their community in multiple ways. As a group, we poured concrete in a park, built tables and chairs out of used tires on a beach, and expanded a community recycling center. We also took time to visit a local school, where we aided the students in their conversational English.
While our service gave much hope and pride to the community, their community gave much more to me. Because I was so enlightened by my first service experience, I planned and fundraised yet again to travel, this time to the Dominican Republic for eight days, to help build homes in an impoverished community. My second trip abroad was even more fulfilling and only furthered my passion for service.
With my inborn fondness for agriculture and my newfound passion for volunteering abroad, my ideal career path seemed as though it was made just for me. In the fall I will attend California State Polytechnic University SLO to study ag business. With this degree I will pursue a career in sustainable agriculture in developing countries. As I have grown up a farmer’s daughter and raised countless animals in FFA and on our family farm, I have a natural interest in the production of crops and livestock. I know that my agricultural upbringing combined with my education at Cal Poly I will have the knowledge needed to teach other countries effective and sustainable farming and ranching practices.