A Diamond in the Making by Julia

A Diamond in the Making by Julia - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

All students pursuing a higher education have a common goal: to become learned professionals in their field of interest. However, employers tend to look for sophisticated workers who are well-educated, ready to experience the unknown and willing to take on challenges. They are looking for well-rounded people who, like a diamond, have many facets of experience and knowledge. Accordingly, I believe that in order for students to be complete “diamonds”, they must expose themselves to cultures not their own and the challenges that comes from this exposure. This, of course, is done through study-abroad programs.

Many study-abroad opportunities may seem daunting to the average college student. Singapore sounds like an interesting place to study mechanical engineering, but the language barrier could prove difficult. Reading a biomedical textbook on the beaches of Cuba would be perfect, but what of the tropical storms, disease-carrying bugs, and lizards that know no boundaries? The money is different in each country, jetlag is a possibility, time differences throw off calls to home, and the culture’s themselves can sometimes be so different from what we are used too. And that’s not even mentioning the expenses that can be involved. Studying abroad sounds difficult.

The mature student, however, takes all of these scenarios in stride. To them, each challenge is another notch on the belt of life. Every trip to the Singapore market is a language class, and, like the Native Americans, touching a lizard becomes the same as “counting coup”. The student learns how to face a challenge and to come out the victor, an invaluable skill for any career. In the process of adapting and with every “Non-American” experience, a new facet develops on the gem. A brilliant gleam develops and the sparkle intensifies.

In order to be prepared for a competitive corporate world, students need to be able to stand out and showcase their quality. And what catches the eye quite like the sparkle of a diamond in the sun? Each facet refracts and reflects the light in a dazzling display. Each and every student is a diamond that, with polishing and well placed facets, can catch the eye of an employer and be snatched up into success. And that polish, and those facets, are found in studying abroad.