Giving Back by Madison

Giving Back by Madison - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

At this point in my life as a graduate level student, I’ve come across many types of educators in the form of school teachers, university professors, work colleagues, and friends. They’ve all taught me countless lessons ranging from academic subjects to ethics. So if asked to choose only one particular lesson, I find myself in quite a predicament – and I’m very fortunate and blessed to have met such role models who have provided me with such knowledge. Before I dive into the details of the lesson of choice, I must share how and why I chose it.

This past year was a year of many changes for me. I chose to apply to business school and left a job with steady paychecks that provided stability and a level of comfort. It was personally a tough decision for me as I’ve never been much of a risk taker and have always chosen the safe, easy path. Switching career paths and cutting off my source of income for a couple of years was a big risk for me but I decided it was worth it when I found myself unhappy with my job. Day after day I found myself reflecting on what I had done at work and whether I had made a meaningful difference and my answer left me silent. My work didn’t display my passion and didn’t make any statement about who I was as a person. So here I am, an MBA student with the first year of the program completed with one more to go.

Choosing to go back to school was by far the best decision I have ever made. I’ve met so many wonderful people who have the same fire in their belly to make a difference in the world, people who actually walk the talk. One of my professors is an amazing woman who I look up to tremendously. If I can achieve a tenth of what she has accomplished at the end of my life, I would call it a success. She could have been anywhere in the world doing anything she wanted to do but she chose to live in a small town in the Midwest to teach us because it's her passion. She inspires her students to absorb as much they can because her passion radiates when she’s standing up by that wooden podium, lecturing about how to tackle the toughest problems in the world.

Her class is about problem solving. What kinds of problems? That’s the thing. All kinds of problems. I’ve dissected problems ranging from deciding whether acquiring a certain company was the right call to deciding whether firing the head of a company was the right call – real life problems I will have to face one day in this dog-eat-dog world. She has taught all of us so many invaluable lessons but looking back, I think they accumulate to one: give back. I find myself complaining over so many trivial things without even realizing how lucky I am to live a life where complaining is an option. I wake up to an alarm I set on my smartphone every morning and grumble about having to wake up early when some people wake up to the sounds of bombs detonating in the distance. I have a closet full of clothes and whine about having nothing to wear when some people don’t even know if they’ll be able to put food on the table for their children. She has taught me to put things in perspective and has taught me to put everything I learn to good use and apply it to help people in need. Her stories of facing the toughest problems in war torn countries and where poverty prevails has inspired me to always ask “How can I serve?”

Many people in this world do not have the luxury of getting an education. They don’t have a choice. I’ve come to learn that giving back and helping people is the least I can do as someone who is a part of this world. Being born into a first world country is not an expectation and it is not a right – it is a privilege. There are many problems in this world that need to be solved and it wouldn’t be right to turn the other cheek and not even try to make a difference.