The Importance of my Major through my Experiences by Catie

The Importance of my Major through my Experiences by Catie - February 2024 Scholarship Essay

During my initial experience with scuba diving, I expected to see an underwater world filled with color, marine life, and clear waters. I set my expectations to match the pictures I saw in National Geographic magazines. However, when I plunged into the ocean I saw corals stripped of their colors and hazy water. This experience made me realize the severity of plastic pollution, coral bleaching, and overfishing in our oceans. It was the moment that started my path towards an environmentally focused future. The oceans drive everything on Earth from food chains to weather. With raging global warming taking place, climate action is needed now more than ever. With an Environmental Studies degree, I hope to creatively generate solutions to help save our planet. Through this major, I will acquire the skills I need to evaluate this colossal issue and create an ethical, sustainable plan of action. By seeing the negative effects of climate change firsthand, I am motivated to explore my passions and interests to generate real world solutions to cleaner oceans.

Additionally, I believe the ability to communicate with others is extremely valuable in a scientific field. In eighth grade, I started taking Spanish classes and currently I am enrolled in Spanish V and AP Spanish. In these classes, I not only learn about the language, but I am able to immerse myself in the culture. We learn about global issues in other parts of the world and the struggles that are hidden within governments. Through these classes, I am able to understand how a language can affect peoples’ perceptions of the world around them. However, it was not until I started tutoring ESL students that I saw the benefits of being bilingual in my own community. This year I began regularly tutoring a girl who came to our school district from the Dominican Republic. She could not speak English and she was overwhelmed in this unfamiliar environment. I met with her during her English class and began to teach her basic vocabulary words, help her get comfortable with new customs, and aid in interaction with her peers. Through consistency, I was able to see her growth both academically and socially. This experience made me realize the importance of communicating with people from different backgrounds and cultures. Environmental issues are global, and being able to empathize with people from all over the world will allow me to make ethical, comprehensive solutions in the future.

I am determined to reach these goals in my future, and I know that a solid education is needed. Education is a driving force that creates the leaders, inventors, and thinkers of the future. Through a well recognized college education, I could tackle the global crisis that endangers the entire human race. The journey through a college education requires numerous people and support to create a rewarding outcome. There will be obstacles of stress, health, and ultimately funding to overcome. With this scholarship, I could be one step closer to my goal of creating an intertwining relationship between humanity and the environment. Scholarships like these make a college education not a far off dream, but a feasible reality.