An Academic Role Model Devoid of Academia by Jason

An Academic Role Model Devoid of Academia by Jason - March 2021 Scholarship Essay

As a first generation American, I find myself in unique situations all of the time. I pronounce words a little differently due to my parents heft accent, and I eat foods many Americans describe as "weird." While my colleagues grew up eating chicken nuggets, I ate kale soup. While my peers ate mac and cheese, I ate chouriço. I took this for granted. We take a lot for granted, especially with the academic system. We wake up everyday knowing that we have a lot that generations before did not have. We have computers more powerful then what got us to the moon in our pockets, we have math so complex, it takes years of studying to master, and we have a bureaucratic government which operates within its own means. Yet we never stop to talk about who and what taught us what we know. My dad never had to ask himself that.

My dad grew up in a disadvantaged town in the Açores, called Porto Formoso. Growing up in a small town, in a crowded house with five siblings was difficult, but he persevered. Years later, in the sixth grade, he dropped out, in order to provide for his family. He travelled to Britain and to the United States in order to apprentice. As a neophyte in a new land, he did his best to learn his craft. Years later, he recalled the time where he spent years mastering woodworking, living where he could.

The story of my father, however, does not end here. Despite his lacking education, he is still one of the most knowledgeable men I know. His free time during his 60 hour work weeks is spent exploring the stock market, learning about the various biomes of the world, as well as learning medical facts. In his late forties, when I was a child, I fondly recall him gaining his citizenship, as well as his GED a few years after. Years of knowledge have shaped my father, as he is one of the kindest men I know. His rough and calloused hands have crafted so much, but have also turned so many pages.

When some people ask who is their academic role model, they reply with Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, et cetera. Despite all of the strong academic achievements, none, in my opinion, match that of my father. They did not travel from country to country, learning the cultures and languages in order to persevere, neither did they open their own business and grow it from the bottom to one of the top woodworking business in the area. Time and time again, expectations were against my father, but he still rose to the top. Despite being in an area devoid of academia, he is my academic role model.