Sparking Curiosity by Kylee

Sparking Curiosity by Kylee - February 2025 Scholarship Essay

A subject or topic that has sparked my intellectual curiosity is the idea of helping others. This past year, I have been thinking about all the careers I wanted to pursue, which all lead back to helping others. The main career that I have decided to pursue is becoming an elementary teacher, where I will help students and families every single day. All my life, I have wanted to become a leader and a helping hand to others. Now that I am older, I finally get the chance to pursue my dreams of doing just what I have always wanted to do. While in my last two years of high school, I was a teacher's aide for a first-grade class. I have worked with this teacher's class, and she has made me realize that this is truly what I am passionate about. I want to help others learn new things and watch them grow over time. During my school day, I go down to her classroom multiple times and help her with her class. I do things like crafting activities, reading with kids, helping them with vocabulary tests, and so much more. Overall, I have been allowed to do something that has helped me make my decision for my future career confirmed and official. Helping out her class makes me want to work hard in my classes so I can become just like her. I work hard in my classes to keep my grades up and ensure that I will keep my place at my college of choice for the fall semester. My main educational goal this last semester is to not give up and continue working hard to help myself in the future.

This past year, I have also gotten a job where I help others every single time I work. I wanted something to do over the summer, and what better thing to do than get a job where I could provide for others in my free time? I work as a barista, where I serve customers with their requests. I do my best to help them in any way I can and ensure they are satisfied. It is very important to me to make others happy and put others before myself. I planned on quitting the job after school had started, but it has been such a welcoming experience that I cannot let it go. I love the idea of working and making sure customers are having a better day than when they first walked into the building. I was raised to always help others when I see they need it, and that is what I do when I work. It may seem silly because I am just serving coffee, but you never know what a person is going through just by looking at them. This is why I always greet customers with a smile and ask them how they are doing because it is that simple. Many people could be going through so much, and all they need is some caffeine or someone to check up on them. That is why I love my job and love getting the opportunity to help others all the time.