My goals by Jaylin-Idris

My goals by Jaylin-Idris - April 2025 Scholarship Essay

Because I was the first grandchild, I was spoiled until my sister was born. The shock of a new baby entering the family led my family to always pitch in when providing me with new gifts. Most of these gifts were traditional items a boy was supposed to enjoy, such as sports balls, toy cars, and dinosaurs. These weren’t the toys that struck out to me, however. Instead, I found interest in the more constructive or technological gifts that I would obtain. I would play around on the Nintendo Wii, which my mother got me for Christmas, trying to learn the controls and different settings on it. If I weren’t on the Wii, I would play with Legos, Transformers, and Power Ranger Megazords, enjoying the process of building them, breaking them down once again, and then discovering different ways they can be configured. Although I kept these interests throughout my prepubescent years, I often hid them to “fit” in with the rest of my peers. I disliked being an outcast, so the things that once amused me as a kid, I would force myself to view as intriguing.

This “character” stuck with me until my school established a robotics team. I saw it as a getaway from a side of me that I feel suited me. Because of my dedication to my school’s robotics program, I became one of the leaders of the program, and we were able to win first place at one of our first competitions. Although my time with robotics was cut short due to COVID, my time within it was some of my best. I loved robotics because it allowed me to show the true side of myself, it allowed me to show my actual interests and not the ones I gave myself to fit in with the rest of my peers, and it helped me discover what I wanted to major in: Chemical Engineering.

I want to get a bachelor’s degree because of the flexibility it holds. As a chemical engineer, you’re able to go into fields such as food processing, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, etc. This is important because I want to discover all the ways Chemical Engineering finds its way into all of these fields, just like how I would try to discover the different ways my toys could be configured when I was young. Being a chemical engineer also aligns with the goals I’ve set for myself. I want to surround myself with people who have similar interests so that I don’t put myself through the same predicament I went through when I was in elementary school. I want a career where I’m happy with the task given. Lastly, I want to be financially stable and also be able to give back to my family. Although they chose to spoil me without expecting anything in return, they did more than the bare minimum for me, and I feel as though I owe it to them. This degree will make all of this possible because it’ll set me up for a life where I can continue working with the subjects that continuously interest me.