Excellence in all we do by Chris

Excellence in all we do by Chris - March 2014 Scholarship Essay

In the United States Air Force we have a saying, "Integrity first, Service before self, Excellence in all we do." When I started college, I had every intention to earn a 4.0 as often as possible. The first time I accomplished this was in the 2011- 2012 academic year. Little did I know that earning a 4.0 would get me more than just my name on the dean’s list. Due to the fact that I was on the cross country team for the community college I was at, earning a 4.0 also gave me the title of Academic All American. The following semester, I had decided that I would not only do my best to repeat this great accomplishment, but I would do everything I could to have as many team mates earn this honor as well. Unfortunately for me, I had just missed repeating Academic All American. However, nearly half of my team mates had earned this honor in the fall. Many of whom I had tutored, since I had taken most of the classes that they were enrolled in. This cross country team was not only the most successful academically, but under mine and my coach's leadership, we won more races and had more trophies brought home than the college ever had done before. Earning the Academic All American opened my eyes to how well I can do if I work hard enough.

The fall semester of 2012 was my last year competing in cross country as I had joined AFROTC that same semester. Living 30 miles from where AFROTC is located, competing in cross country, working part time and being an electrical engineer major was the most difficult semester of my life. Yet I managed to finish that semester with a 3.78 overall GPA, because I knew I could balance everything out and keep up my grades. At the end of the semester, I had never felt more relieved that it was over. The 2011-2012 academic year for me, really set up my personal standards for college. Earning the title of Academic All American made me realize how often I could achieve that goal of a 4.0 semester. Since that school year, I still hold a 3.48 and am still in the AFROTC program. I have a job as a tutor, but not necessarily for the money. I took the job because I loved the feeling of the great amount of success I had that year, and since then I have helped anyone that I can to help them achieve the same level of success.