The Chronicles of being Haitian-American by Elijah

The Chronicles of being Haitian-American by Elijah - October 2019 Scholarship Essay

Growing up as a Haitian-American, I learn that not everything is given to you. Everything that is given to you comes through hard-work. I could not thank my parents enough for how much they sacrificed for me. Hearing the stories of how my parents barely had anything in their childhood, shows me how blessed I am with what I have in my life. My parents came to America to achieve their American Dream, which is to have a better life and provide for themselves and their future generations. To achieve that American Dream, my goal is to go to college and graduate with a degree in civil engineering. It is essential to go to college because I can gain new skills and become prepared for my career.

During the summer of my sophomore year, I was a Green Ambassador at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. The Green Ambassador program is a 6-week summer program at Field Museum for young adults. The purpose of this program is develop actions plans and engage people on local environmental issues. As a Green Ambassador, we solve environmental issues in different neighborhoods and engage people to be concerned about the environmental problems that are in their community. For example, my group focused on soil contamination in the Bronzeville and Little Village neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois. Our solution was to plant flower beds to mitigate the potential risk of having contaminated soil.

During the summer of my junior year, I was an Eco-Ambassador at Faith in Place in Chicago, Illinois. I was selected to be an Earth Ally, which is one of the leaders of the Eco-Ambassadors Program. As an Eco-Ambassador, each week, we learned about different environmental issues such as Energy Conservation and Water Preservation. Not only did I learn about new environmental issues that the community should be aware of, but I also learn what it takes to become a leader. Being an Earth Ally was one of my most significant platforms to display my leadership skills. Even though I performed well as a leader, I learned that trusting in your coworkers is the #1 skill that you need to be a great leader. Even if you communicate well and give instructions, trust is essential because it shows an increase in production and better communication among your peers.

As stated earlier, Civil Engineers make a significant impact on modern society. Being an Eco-Ambassador and Green Ambassador inspired me to study Civil Engineering because I want to be to design various structures to solve environmental issues. For example, Civil Engineers work with the pipes underground. According to huffpost.com, 10 million American homes and buildings receive water from lead pipes. Lead is unsafe and can cause high blood pressure and kidney damage. Civil Engineering is not just about construction. It's about doing what is better for people, creating a better and healthy life.

As a Haitian-American, I became acutely aware of the impact natural disasters can have on a community when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti in 2010 and caused widespread destruction and loss of life. Haiti has still not fully recovered and continues to need infrastructure improvements. The Chicago Haitian community is a tightly knit group and seeing those around me band together to help friends and family in Haiti inspired me to pursue an advanced degree in a field like civil engineering that enables me to make an impact in my community and beyond.

With this goal, I believe that I can make my parents proud. Not only will I achieve the American Dream that they set for me, but my dream will create a better and healthy lifestyle for all Americans that I will impact.