Parental Influence by Conner

Parental Influence by Conner - March 2023 Scholarship Essay

My biggest interest is history. My love for history is so great that I plan to seek and make a future career in the area of history. My goal is to teach history at a community college or university which will allow me to help others find a passion for history like I have. Additionally, I want to educate others about our past as humanity and how we have overcome different struggles and how we have evolved through the means of technology.
My parents helped to influence my decision to teach history by first exposing me to the history of our nation. When I was younger, my parents planned trips that were educational and fun. We visited many historical sites on the East Coast including the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Williamsburg and Washington DC. These educational trips are one of the ways my family helped to create and mold my goals. These trips were always a joy to me, and I loved every single one of them. When we went to Washington D.C. we visited several museums, and with each one, I was lagging behind the family taking the time to read everything I could devour. My mother made this trip extra special by applying a year in advance to have our family visit and tour The White House and The Pentagon. She also contacted our congressman, and we were able to visit his office and he arranged a private tour of the Capitol Building for us.
My parents have helped me make decisions regarding my education since middle school. They encouraged me to apply for our local Early College Program. Attending McDowell Early College has been a great decision. I have grown academically as I have had to take both high school and college courses. My classes and teachers have helped prepare me for college and the independence I will need to complete my college goals.
My parents continue to support me with my goals and dreams. They help and encourage me to make educational decisions that will maximize my happiness as an adult, especially in the career I selected. My parents helped me research the different careers I was interested in, and they would ask me questions to make sure it was the career I wanted to dedicate my life to completing. Since I decided to pursue becoming a history teacher at a community college, they have been there for me by helping me complete college applications and helping me edit essays for scholarships. My mom has helped me set deadlines, so I am working on scholarship applications throughout my senior year.
I hope my travels surrounding my love for history are not over. I have a bucket list of
places I would like to visit in the future. Most important on the list is Germany. I want to visit Germany because of my interest in WW2, I want to find and discover the places I have studied, and I want to experience Auschwitz and other Holocaust Camps to help me better understand what happened there and to honor European Jews and others who suffered from Nazi crimes. Not only do I want to visit other nations, but I also want to travel to every state in the U.S. to learn more about our nation’s history and discover all the different ways people live. I want to use all of my future travels to help make my classroom come alive and help me become a better history teacher.