Finding My Confidence by Janice

Finding My Confidence by Janice - March 2014 Scholarship Essay

I am a non-traditional college student who returned to the world of academia 25 years after I graduated from high school. I was nervous and full of uncertainty, to say the least. I had been an honor roll student throughout grammar and high school, but was very insecure in my ability to succeed in college. Despite these insecurities I enrolled as a full-time college student and elected to attend year-round.

I completed my first semester at college with a 3.918 GPA and was invited to apply for membership in the Honors Program. Fearing that my GPA was beginners’ luck I ignored the invitation. To my surprise I maintained a 4.0 average the next semester. When the invitation to join the Honors Program was extended to me again in the fall of 2013, I decided to apply. I asked an English professor to write a letter of recommendation for me and he seemed to be even more excited by the opportunity than I was. He also took the time to tell me why I deserved to be a part of the Honors Program and that they would be fools to not admit me to the program. I was very flattered that he held me in such high regard.

I anxiously waited for a letter of denial or acceptance. The professor asked each week if I had been accepted yet. The anticipation was more than I or the professor could take; I emailed the person who had acknowledged the receipt of the application. I received the reply that I had been accepted and immediately printed the email and showed it to the professor. I think the smile on his face was a big as mine!

I nervously enrolled in the Honors course Critical Thinking and Analyzing for the Spring Semester. I had been accepted into the program, now was I capable of the quality of work that would be expected of me? The semester is past the halfway point and I have received positive feedback on all my work that has been submitted. I have an “A” average. Every time I receive feedback on my submissions, my confidence grows.

Despite finishing last semester with a 3.85 GPA, it was being accepted into the Honors Program that has given me the confidence that I am smart enough to attend college to receive a BS in Justice Services with minors in Advocacy and Mental Health and Social Services. The GPA was not enough by itself to prove that I am capable. Admittance into a program reserved for only the most deserving of students was the confidence booster I needed. Therefore, becoming a member of the Honors Program is my greatest academic achievement thus far. In turn the impact it has had is to give me the confidence I need that will ensure I complete my academic plan.