A Small Start by DianaJoyce
DianaJoyceof Austin's entry into Varsity Tutor's December 2016 scholarship contest
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A Small Start by DianaJoyce - December 2016 Scholarship Essay
Shades of green create my new found sanctuary. The garden, a symbol of my club’s hard work, stands at the center of our high school. The creation of the gardening club brought various classes together, where we all work as a whole to make sure our garden is prosperous. It was so successful that we were even interviewed on national television by PBS’ Central Texas Gardener, but there was a rocky start to this wonderful accomplishment.
Since I was a child, I was interested in the environment and protecting it. While in elementary and middle school, I became a leader amongst the student body by starting my school’s first gardens. Learning from these experiences as a child heavily influenced and shaped me as I matured. At the beginning of my freshman year, I found out that there wasn’t a garden at my school, which was very discouraging. Therefore, I decided to start my own club the following year. Coincidentally, we were to receive a grant from Whole Foods to start our garden. I told my friends about the great news and my aspirations with the garden. Although a few weren’t very interested or available, through my passion and joy, I was able to convince some of my friends to join me.
On the day we had our first meeting, we found that we were the only five students interested. Even so, we began to plan our garden and find ways to include more students. Because our sponsor was the construction technology teacher, we could bring his class in to build our garden beds. As our garden flourished, we harvested the produce and donated it to our cafeteria. Since I was the president, I decided on allowing others into the garden for help, so long as we were present to monitor. This not only brought in the construction class, but others such as special education and more. After the construction class completed building the aquaponics greenhouse, the biology and aquatic science classes helped monitor the fish’s behavior and health. Following that, our sponsor informed us of an opportunity of being interviewed by PBS’ Central Texas Gardener. We were nervous about being put in front of big cameras, but I encouraged my friends by pointing out that we had nothing to lose and that it would only help us. So, we all agreed to do the interview and it was a big success. It was aired on national television for four days, and we received a lot of recognition.
Having a small start motivated me to find ways to include our campus community. Although we started few in number, we now stand tall in the center courtyard at our school for multiple groups and classes to utilize. By leading the gardening club, I created an opportunity for the current and future community to learn about caring for the environment. For that reason, it was one of the greatest accomplishments of my high school years. Now as a senior, I will leave a legacy for future students to nurture and grow.