My Passion by Jessica

My Passion by Jessica - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

Through my childhood and into the substantial years of my high school career, I have had a passion for helping and caring for others. I was given an opportunity at the beginning of junior year to watch a little boy who had been diagnosed with Lissencephaly, a form of Cerebral Palsy. This started out as an occasional, weekly job while his parents would go to the gym and later turned into a daily, nine to five job during the summer.

After the time I spent with him had increased to this extent, I looked for other ways in my community I could be help serve others. When in pursuit of this one morning, I came across a volunteer position at Bon Secours Saint Francis Medical Center. Immediately I downloaded the application and followed each step carefully, to ensure I was not missing anything. After Saint Francis Staff reviewed my application, put me through training, and met with me to discuss different volunteer areas within the hospital, they gave me my official name badge and put me on the schedule to volunteer every other week. Since then, I have enjoyed the opportunity to serve others in their time of need alongside the clinical staff. Volunteering at Saint Francis regularly has given me a new appreciation for my health and even more so motivates me to genuinely care for others.

Being in an atmosphere where I can physically see the fruits of medical care in people's lives has shown me that it is an important part of having a long, well-lived life. Through this opportunity my care for my own community has grown significantly because I have learned through meeting people at the hospital the importance of caring for others and giving honest help when they cannot help themselves. For this reason, I plan to pursue a Bachelors of Science in Nursing after graduating high school. This degree will enable me to continue this passion that was started in me at a young age, continuously encouraged by different opportunities through high school.