The Greatest College Benefits for Me by Jack

The Greatest College Benefits for Me by Jack - October 2024 Scholarship Essay

I think the greatest benefits of a college degree depend on each person's unique situation. For me, there are many benefits to a college education, but, if I had to pick, it would be the opportunities it will create for me socially and professionally.

I was born with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Tourette’s Syndrome. These are life-altering challenges and bring about daily struggles and anxiety. I have struggled with these issues my whole life. My parents tell me I had tics since I was very young and that I struggled throwing garbage away. By third grade, it had gotten worse. I couldn’t follow my teacher's instructions and would frequently not be able to finish in-class projects. My OCD got so bad that I would get stuck in the bathroom at school because I couldn’t allow myself to step on certain bathroom floor tiles. The kids in my classes didn’t understand what I was going through and all the anxiety and depression that came along with it. Some would tease by mimicking my tics. This had a huge impact on me and because of this I wasn’t able to make as many friends as I would have liked.

My parents were able to get me cognitive behavior and exposure and response prevention therapists and I’ve been receiving this therapy for the past 9 years. I am a senior in high school now and for the most part, thanks to the therapy, I have learned techniques to control most of my challenges and urges. Now that I am in high school, I have a lot more friends than I did in grade school and they are more understanding and accept me even though I have some different challenges than most.

There is a silver lining to my diagnosis though. Through my challenges, and by using the techniques that I have learned, I find that I have certain advantages in areas where others don’t. Two of these advantages are that I am creative and I can hyperfocus on things that I really love doing, something that many people with ADHD have the ability to do. I have used these creative and hyperfocusing traits to help me achieve the rank of Eagle Scout as a junior in high school, as the two-time Editor-in-Chief of my high school’s yearbook program, and as a Stage Manager and Sound Intern for my school’s drama program. Between my junior and senior year in high school I also served as an intern in the Marketing and Communications department at my high school where I was able to use a lot of my creative talent to rebuild the school’s athletic website. Within these areas of focus, I always occupy myself with tasks, whether it is creating and automating spreadsheets, designing HTML email newsletters to send out, or writing reports and handbooks; all technological aspects that interest me.

College may not be for everyone, but for me, I see it as an opportunity to continue to improve myself, to try to excel at everything I do. I also see it as an opportunity to help others who may share the same challenges I have and I can share my experiences with them so they know they are not alone in this world. For example, I designed my Eagle Scout project to help other kids who have sensory issues like I had growing up. My Eagle project was a sensory cart for children at a women and children’s shelter. The sensory cart was 3’x2’, on locking wheels, and had many different sensory materials like artificial grass, silky fabric, fake fur, and carpet as well as 18 different items for the kids to play with like locks, door handles, gate latches, handles and light switches, all things I liked to touch and play with that would help me relieve my stress as a kid.

I now know that I can use my special abilities to make real change and to help those in my community who share similar challenges. So far I have 196 hours of community service while in high school. I really enjoy helping others who are at a disadvantage and who share my unique challenges. Receiving your scholarship will help me reach my goal of going to the best school I can and will allow me to have the flexibility to continue to give back to my community.