The Crazy Ones by Ershad

The Crazy Ones by Ershad - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

Bright Friday night lights in late spring shone on my team at the end of the third quarter in the section playoffs. We were slipping away and losing energy to play. Our coach brought me up to give a speech before the end of the game. “It was tough and hard all these days at practice, but the light at the end of the tunnel kept me going,” I urged my team before the refs blew the whistle. During my speech, the crowd and my teammates were quiet. At the end, a burst of energy came through and parents started applauding.

Long before giving speeches on game day, I had attended speech therapy as a child to improve my skills. At age 6, I dreamt speaking in front of millions to innovate new aspirations. In a brightly lit room, I pronounced vowels and read whole passages aloud with an adult. As I worked with my speech therapist and mom, we were able to make significant improvements in my speaking skills. After years of dedication, I was chosen to be the host speaker at my 8th grade graduation, to the surprise of many classmates, teachers, and parents.

Last June, at the end of my first Toastmasters meeting, I walked up to a veteran member. “When can I join?” “We will see, but there are no promises that you will get in because we don’t allow members under 18.” My dad’s friend had encouraged me to try our local Toastmasters club. After the first meeting, I felt enthusiastic about giving my own speeches and being a part of an internationally recognized organization where I could learn premium public speaking skills from the pros. Despite Toastmasters’ age restriction, I attended all meetings as the youngest guest for the entire summer.

“You can find scrap metal in a swamp to sell on eBay,” I said, during my two minute speech on the benefits of living in swamps. As Joke Master, I often introduced the meeting with a joke. “What do you call an owl who is a magician? Whodini!” I liked hands on activities, so I really enjoyed being the Wizard of Ah’s, since I used a clicker to keep track of members’ filler words (e.g. Um or Ah), and reported it to the Treasurer who would collect a 25 cent penalty. By the end of the summer in Toastmasters, I had won first place in Table Topics and a “Most Improved” ribbon.

Toastmasters persuaded me to seek adventure in my life and experience something new. I wanted to take opportunities that could change my career or path in life. After Toastmasters, I got second place in the belly flop contest in front of the entire school, gave impromptu speeches to my lacrosse team, and ran for student body president. Even though public speaking is not my true calling, it taught me to persevere in life’s opportunities.

Now I am an enthusiastic 3+2 engineering major attending St. Mary’s College of California in the fall this year. I can imagine myself collaborating with the students and teachers on the seven workstations or expansive conference table in the Keck Lab. I am eager to find out more about the Engineering club. Additionally, the club hosts meetings where representatives in engineering talk about their careers. The program will allow me to pursue my education at a higher tier university; my goal is to finish my undergraduate at the University of Southern California, for mechanical engineering. By adding more exposure to recruiters in Silicon Beach, I hope to land a job in Tesla in LA.

I understand this will be more a monumental stretch to achieve, however, with my past history of fighting against all odds and fears, I will achieve my ultimate American dream. As Steve Jobs once said, "to the crazy ones...who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do." With that, believe me, I can achieve the impossible and set the world on fire.