Opportunity by Jelani

Opportunity by Jelani - January 2018 Scholarship Essay

Opportunity. This word unilaterally describes my desire to attend college and pursue higher education. With college comes the opportunity to make a positive change for me, my family, and my community. “Education is the key to opportunity. It’s a ticket out of Poverty.” This phrase was spoken by former President George H.W. Bush, and it encompasses the essential reason why college is so important to me. Attending college allows me to pursue my overall goal of becoming a dentist and helping others with complications of their oral cavity by giving me the opportunity to study in scientific fields.

By my being educated to work in these fields, I would have the opportunity to help others with the education that has been given unto me. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are about 108 million Americans who lack dental insurance and hundreds of these people I know personally as friends and family. Being the first in my family to be granted the opportunity to become a doctor holds a distinct honor. It comes with the awesome responsibility to “change a generation,” as my father would say. With him being the only one in his poor 13-sibling Mississippi family to earn a college degree, my father has continually inspired and instilled in me the importance of gaining an education and using it to help others. Many people suffer from discomforts such as pain or low self-esteem due to not having the means to receive adequate dental care. Relieving such problems would be a joy to accomplish as a dentist.

Because close to 1/5 of this nation's population do not have access to dental care, I consider it a passionate and somewhat personal duty to gain the necessary education to become a dentist and possess the knowledge needed to profoundly help people with their oral health. It is my goal that from my college education and dental education to offer free dental services and carry out mission trips to provide care to those in need. From the opportunity at Oakwood University to participate in a week-long ministerial mission trip and serve as the canvassing director exposed me to the deprivation of health care in low-income communities and helped develop my leadership skills for the ability to work in such environments. As I met people in those communities and shared my encouraging words to them along with my goal to become a dentist, many of them encouraged me to one day return and provided for them.

Ultimately, I desire to be the dentist that someone tells others about because I made a positive and influential impact on his or her life. As a member of my family I aim to “change a generation,” and as a member of my community, I intend to modify the world the best way I can. With the opportunity to attend college and strive to gain knowledge, I look forward to being trained to help people with complications of the oral cavity and providing services that culminate smiles. As an aspiring dentist, I am confident that I will enhance the lives of all the patients with whom I come in contact because I was granted the opportunity to attend college and pursue higher education.