The Right Decision by Isabella

The Right Decision by Isabella - November 2023 Scholarship Essay

I have known what I have wanted to do with my life since I was about twelve. My mother introduced me to history (specifically forms of public history) when I was about seven, and I have been hooked on the subject ever since. What exactly I want to do in history or with a degree in history has changed many times over the course of middle school and high school. All I really knew when I was applying to colleges was that I wanted to do something with history. History is something I have always felt very passionate about, especially when it comes to teaching others, sharing what I know, preservation, conservation, and bringing attention to issues that have a history beyond what headlines and social media may tell you. I am a huge believer in the quote from George Santayana, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
My plan was always to go to college, because as I was thinking about college and my future in history, I thought I wanted to be a teacher. Unlike many in my generation or those before me, I did not feel pressured to attend college. It was the most logical step for what I wanted to do. However, after applying to colleges as a history major and education minor (or double major for some of them), I did more research into careers in history and stumbled on museum work. Museum work, specifically curation, is something I am much more interested in than traditional education. While I am still interested in education, museum work would allow me to educate a broader audience and not be restricted to one classroom or age group.
After this revelation, I switched to a general history degree and accepted to the school of my dreams. I now attend Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. I am a history major with minors in anthropology and public history. My program and the faculty in my department are absolutely fantastic, and I have no regrets about my decision to attend college or pick Saint Vincent. Going to college was the right move for me and what I want to do with my life. I am so excited for all the opportunities I have had and will have here at Saint Vincent and to see where they take me.