Mr. McMillan My Motivator by Jahivr

Mr. McMillan My Motivator by Jahivr - January 2025 Scholarship Essay

My most challenging classes during my high school academic years have been mathematics. I worked really hard to understand and process the information as it is taught. However, even with my hard work I did not achieve my goal of maintaining an A average. I have learned that sometimes not earning an A or a high score is one of the greatest achievements. One of the greatest lessons I learned during this process was how to build and maintain resilience, tenacity, poise and self determination. I did not give up, I kept trying my best and giving my all in all of the classes. I went to tutoring sessions with my teachers who taught the subject in my school as well as sat with student tutors. However, that did not improve my grades. While preparing for the NJSLA I worked with a math tutor, a college professor, outside of school Mr. McMillan. During our sessions, he was patient, kind and relatable. He met me on my level. He was not trying to take me where he thought I needed to be in terms of my academic skills. He met me where I was on all levels. He was best able to help prepare me for the exam. He was able to help me identify my areas of strengths and weaknesses. He helped to fill in the gap that was lacking in my foundational knowledge and skills.
For the first time in a long time I felt like someone understood me and I understood what needed to get done. Things were not just laid out to me with the expectations of mastery without knowing. Mr. McMillan truly inspired and motivated me with my learning. I look forward to being that mentor, support and help in my field, just as how he was to me.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my story and my encounter with a wonderful educator.