Role Models by Jason

Role Models by Jason - September 2013 Scholarship Essay

Dear Scholarship Committee,
My brother and I spend most of our childhood wishing we had a role model, naming each of our mother's five husbands 'Dad' in hopes that they might actually turn out to be one. My mother had to work two jobs most of the time and spent much of her free time at the bar. She was doing the best she knew how, going where she thought she could meet a husband. We were young boys, and she thought we needed a father. What we needed was supervision, love, time, and guidance, but our mother did the best she could. Instead of learning from our fathers what it took to be a man, we learned what not to do as a man - what broke up families and destroyed homes. Growing up in that environment made me want nothing more than to be a good father and husband. I watched five men come and go, each promising to visit us, each not doing so - not even once. That will never happen to my wife or children. This is part of the reason why my wife and I have chosen to go to school to become Marriage Counselors. The other reason is that we are both veterans, having met while in the U.S. Army, and we want to dedicate ourselves to helping soldiers with their families. We know that people serving in the military need compassion and understanding, and we also know our experiences will help in those areas. We want to be there for families as they transition from civilian to soldier, or from soldier to civilian, as both transformations can be profound. You could say my brother and I had to be our own role models. When asked, my mother will readily say that we raised her. She says it half joking, but there is a core truth to that statement. We knew that family should be first because we knew what it was like to be abandoned and left to fend for ourselves. We made a million mistakes, and we had to live with those mistakes and learn from them. To become a man, we both had to find our own way through life. For me, that journey led to the military, where they taught us the core values of Loyalty, Duty, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Respect, and Personal Courage. For all the experiences they gave me, and for all the lessons they taught me, I owe the military my life. There, they found strength in me that I did not know I possessed. I became a Class Leader, had the highest GPA in my class during Advanced Individual Training, won Soldier of the Quarter, won numerous awards, and quickly rose through the ranks. Each man and woman in the military are my role models. They taught me how to be a man. They taught me hard work, tact, military bearing, and how to stand up and be accountable. They were my family. I only want to make the military organization proud. All of this is very important to me, and education is the stepping stones toward accomplishing all my goals. You see, my oldest son was his school’s salutatorian and begins college with me in just a few short days. He has big dreams and his younger brother watches carefully. I will continue to put my money where my mouth is, retaining the 4.0 I currently have after four quarters. I only hope that you can help me show my kids that hard work pays off. There is a motto I have grown to live by: Be a good husband to my wife, a good father to my children, a good friend to my friends, and a good person to those I meet. The military helped me learn how to do those things. But I have one part to add to that motto: Be a good student in school. Thank you for your time,

~ Jason Langley