Winning Academically by Lauren

Winning Academically by Lauren - April 2018 Scholarship Essay

When it comes to school and getting an education I'm #Allin!, are you #Allin? My high school has taught me to prioritize my schoolwork and my education by learning what I am being taught, help others if they need the help, and being a optimistic person to be around.

I went to school in Illinois at Neuqua Valley High School and one thing that they focused on a lot was the idea to understand what I was learning rather than memorizing. If you memorize, you will only remember it for the school year and will sooner or later have to learn it all over again rather than just understanding the material from the beginning. Understanding the material is talking through the problems and being able to make sense of why the formulas are used the way that theyre used. The material makes more sense that way and it will not come hard to you when you are taking a test are having to use it in real life. This is important to me because I caught myself memorizing things rather than taking the time to understand what I was learning. I do more better in my classes because I go that extra mile to understand.

There are so many hobbies, interests, and ideas that people like to pursue and Neuqua has a class for almost everything that you could think of. Having the ability to go to a blue ribbon school with more than 5,000 students everyone is not going to be able to master every class without some help. This year I was very good in Precalculus but needed help with my Chemistry work; I found someone who was good in Chemistry, but needed help in Precalculus. We helped each other and seeing the other ones point of view of things made it more easier to master; that is why getting the help I need is important to me and my education because I can sometimes gain more knowledge from my fellow peers. Something I have learned in life is that there are multiple ways of doing something and one way is not going to fit for everyone. That is why it is important to share your ideas if you understand something in a different point of view, someone can benefit from it.

Lastly, building the mentality that you can and will do good in all you put in the work for. Being thrown multiple assignments everyday and having to keep all of the classes balanced can be very stressful to 9-12 students... especially if you have trouble with the material. At my High School everyone wants to watch you prosper and be the best you that you can possibly be, you just have to want that for yourself too. They have created academic resources for every subject that they provide and you can go and get professional help from teachers who don't teach that period. Our teachers talk to us about how to receive a bad grade on a test or not getting the correct answer right away. Making mistakes are a part of life and are okay to do; no one is perfect and no one is expecting us to be. The teachers just expect us to have determination to prosper. This is important to me because the teachers care about my well being as well as making sure that I am getting a quality education.

To conclude, this is what it means to me to be #Allin! Being able to be all in mentally, emotionally, and physically is important to me and my teachers. Understanding what I being taught, helping others if needed, and being optimistic while learning is crucial in being successful. Education to me is very valuable and can open the doors to many things in the future, and I want to make sure that I am ready for it. I believe that all 3 of these qualities will be able to push me to my goal.