WI by Kelsey

WI by Kelsey - June 2016 Scholarship Essay

The importance of academia was stressed for me during my high school years to make a lasting impact on my schooling through the start of college. Throughout school I kept a high standard for what I expected of myself from both school and sports. This included being involved in many clubs and organizations, being a 3 sport varsity athlete, having a job, and maintaining a 4.0 and being an honors student. My academia was challenged very much due to all these extracurriculars though. The biggest challenge I faced wasn't making the time, as I tend to be very organized, but was faced my sophomore year when I got a severe concussion playing softball. Traumatic head injuries athletes are faced with when playing sports can be very limiting when it comes to keeping up both on and off the field. My injury resulted to me being out of school for two months. This meant two months of missing out on classes and being set behind the rest of my peers. However much this injury impaired me and stopped me from completing my softball season it drove me to work harder to catch back up in school.
After two months of being restricted to staying at home I was finally able to return to school. I had to work harder than I ever had to before in order to not only cover the old material I had missed but learn the same material as the rest of my class. I went into school early every day and stayed late to work on material I had missed. It took me the rest of the semester but in the end I was able to finish all my work and maintain a 4.0 grade point average. This unfortunate event gave me a new appreciation for school. Not only for working hard and putting in extra time, but for the people who pushed me and believed in me. If not for my teachers that gave up their time to help tutor me back to where I should be I may never have been able to get back to the point I wanted to be at in school. This event also gave me a new appreciation for school work. I began to work harder than I ever had before to stay at the top and prepare to the best of my ability to stay ahead of work in case of unexpected events. I continued to be a part of extracurricular activities every chance I got to build relationships with both peers and staff that guided me throughout my academic years. They also taught me to better myself and cope with stress and other events I may be faced with. Because of this I am better prepared to take on any challenges both academically and externally I may face.
Being involved in academics and extracurricular events have prepared me for many challenges I may face down the road. Whether they be big or small, the struggles we face better prepare us to rise up and accept the challenge. That is the best thing we can learn from these negative experiences a way to turn them around and use them to our advantage.