Beyond The Screen by Karmen

Beyond The Screen by Karmen - January 2020 Scholarship Essay

The summer before I entered college, I managed to gather enough money to purchase my very own laptop for the new academic journey I was going to embark on. In addition to increasing my level of tech-savviness, I underestimated how my laptop would become my voice in my English writing course during the fall semester.
Having a technological tool was not only convenient and accessible for assignments, but it greatly enhanced my relationships with my peers. In my English class, we peer reviewed a lot; often times we were not always paired with the same partner. We had to share the essay with our partner and allow them to add comments to our document which would provide suggestions for improvement. It was so easy to switch laptops and to be able to give feedback about the other's essay openly and constructively. I felt closely connected to my classmates because we were able to be honest about one another's writings which revealed so much about the context of our lives. It seemed so minuscule, but it was an act that made me feel as if they cared about what I had to say and what I had experienced. Because of our bond over editing essays, I became friends with people I know I would not have gotten to know otherwise during the foreign transition to college where I knew nobody at first. It was welcoming and warm to know I had people there with me.
I reached out to my professor a lot through email as well to ask questions or to schedule meetings in her office to discuss my writing. Through our emails and our hour-long chats in her office with my Mac and her Google Chromebook, I was able to network and develop a deeper tie with my English teacher. She easily became one of the friendliest and most selfless teachers I have ever met as she openly welcomed any emails over break from me if I hit a roadblock in my writing. We even reached a point where we were able to laugh over conversations unrelated to our class. At the end of the semester, she became a friend and a mentor of mine that I can surely see myself reaching out to again in the future for guidance.
Being able to shoot emails and exchange honest commentary online with my fellow classmates allowed me to feel more at home in my English classroom. I became more confident in expressing myself and voicing my opinions during discussions, peer reviews, and essay writing. The confidence I have acquired through my interactions is a quality that I hope to incorporate into other courses I will take beyond my freshman year of college to not only succeed at being a better student, but also a better person.