Helping Others by Jolene

Helping Others by Jolene - February 2025 Scholarship Essay

A few months after I was born, my family went through a huge loss. My uncle, who was only 21, passed away. He was a volunteer firefighter, completely dedicated to his community, and from everything I've heard, he was everyone's hero. My parents serve the community too, working as kindergarten teachers right next door to each other. They've always shown me that learning can be fun and that teaching is about more than just facts, it's about inspiring others. Growing up surrounded by all these
people who serve others, I've always known I have the ability to help my community too. Right now, I do that through tutoring. A few days a week, I help elementary and middle
school kids with math and reading and support them as they study for tests. When I first started tutoring, I realized something important. More often than not, what the kids really need isn't just help with their homework or memorizing facts. They need someone to believe in them. I can explain how to solve a math problem or help them remember a formula, but I learned that telling them I'm proud of them, that I believe they can do it, is often even more important than getting the right answer. That's when I knew I wanted to spend my life helping my community by helping the community
of the future: kids. For now, tutoring is fulfilling, but I know I won't be doing this forever. After a lot of thinking and research, I realized that the career that truly excites me is law. When I used
to think of lawyers, I imagined people in expensive suits fighting for big corporations. But as I've learned more, I discovered that being a lawyer doesn't always mean that. If I become a lawyer, I want to be a child advocate lawyer. I learned that someone I'm close to has been able to live a happy and stable life thanks to a child advocate lawyer who stood up for them in court. The more I research this career path, the more I feel like it's
the right fit for me. At times, this will mean standing up for a child's decisions in difficult custody battles or advocating for them in juvenile delinquency cases. I understand that this work will be emotionally challenging and will likely expose me to unimaginable horrors that no child should have to endure. It is precisely for these reasons that I feel compelled to
help, no child should ever have to face such struggles alone. I still have a lot of years of school ahead of me, so I'm sure my plans could
change along the way, but one thing I know for sure is that I want to help my community. Whether it's tutoring kids now or working to protect them in the future, I'm committed to
doing everything I can to make a difference in their lives.