Our Degree, Our Future by Kaiya

Our Degree, Our Future by Kaiya - April 2020 Scholarship Essay

Attending college is extremely important, and something I have always been told by my family to cherish in every way possible. By going to college, you are able to open up so many more opportunities not only for yourself, but for your family and future generations of scholars.
Higher education directly exposes you to more communities you can connect with and build personal relationships that will benefit you in the future. Whether you’re going to public or private university, college is a great way to meet new people, but also create conversations on a scholarly level with like-minded people. It teaches you to empathize with those surrounding you, and to seek out people to bring into your circle, a life skill that will help tremendously in adult life.
College also opens the door for opportunities not just during your four years of school, but also the path you choose to take afterwards. The relationships you make with professors, guest and keynote speakers, student organizations or even the administration themselves are crucial ways to build connections in your work life after college. It can also help your own community to know that these resources and insightful people are out there and willing to help. The impacts of going to college are long lasting, and can benefit a student even after they get their degrees.
Some people may say that college is not necessary. You can survive without it, and it’s really expensive anyways. While some of this may be true, and financial aid and student debt are big issues in current American society, a degree is still something that will help your lifestyle afterwards when it comes to things like jobs, finding housing, and even future relationships built. The people who usually say that college is optional are also people who might have the luxury to believe that because their own lifestyle is already secure and safe. Essentially, if you are in a situation where you feel overall secure in your lifestyle, you would have nothing to lose if you potentially didn’t obtain a degree.
However, this is definitely not the case for many students of color and oppressed communities who have to face so many more barriers to reach that level of comfort in living. From job interviews to simply supporting your family, students from these minoritized groups are constantly needing to validate their level of education and proof of academic achievement in any setting. To say that college is just a single part of your life that doesn’t affect your future dismisses the hard work and endless achievements made by students in harsher circumstances who still plan to get their degrees and build their future.
As the daughter of an immigrant single mom, I grew up in a household that valued education to the fullest. I went to the only Japanese Immersion program in my city just so I could communicate with my family back home. I will never forget the daily commute across town to school, the late nights doing homework packets in our apartments, and the stress put on my family just so we could continue to have a good education for ourselves. Through it all, my mom still got her college degrees, showing me the value of education even in the hardest times. And just like many other students in this country who are first-generation college students, or don’t have family members in the country to support their passions, or even students who don’t have a safe place they can call home to study at, going to college means everything to us.
For many of us, college is the start of some of the most important years in our lives. It’s the place where we can learn to critically think about the world around us and how we can change it for the better. It’s where we could make some of our closest friends in life, and join communities that feel like home. It’s a place that helps you find “your people,” and teaches you the long lasting effects of higher education on your future. It’s also something you would be able to tell your kids and grandkids about, and inspire future generations of scholars and leaders to pursue their education. College opens doors for hundreds of thousands of people every year, and creates all the critical thinkers, inventors, activists, and scholars we strive to be. As I finish my senior year of high school, even in the circumstances we are facing right now, I am really looking forward to my college experience and the places it will take me throughout this journey of striving for academic success.