My Major and Why I Chose It by Morgan

My Major and Why I Chose It by Morgan - April 2025 Scholarship Essay

The major that I plan to pursue is Kinesiology. What inspired me to choose to major in Kinesiology is my lifelong love for both dance and sports. Growing up, I started taking dance classes at the age of three, and I am currently in my fourteenth season of dance. In addition to dance, I tried out for my first travel competition cheerleading team at the age of nine with a Philadelphia-based team. In my Freshman year of High School, I tried out for the school cheerleading team and earned a spot on the varsity basketball cheerleading team. In addition to dance and cheer, the love of sports has played a major role in my life. My father played basketball throughout his youth as well as on the collegiate level. I’ve watched my brother play now in his tenth season of basketball in local leagues, for his school and on a travel AAU team. With so many close connections to sports and being an athlete myself, I both witnessed and experienced many different types of injuries. Seeing and personally experiencing being sidelined from participating in dance or cheer competitions or watching a favorite athlete have to sit out of a game inspired my decision to major in Kinesiology. My goal is to pursue a degree in Kinesiology with the intent to prepare myself for the opportunity to become a certified athletic trainer for both collegiate level and professional athletes.

I am very passionate about helping others in any way that I can support them and I love seeing people achieve their goals. As captain of the cheerleading team, a senior member of my dance team, member of student council committee, and the black student union at my high school and member of the National Honor Society I’ve always strived to support and encourage others through assisting with extra support with learning routines, encouraging my peers to participate in community volunteer opportunities and supporting my peers through encouragement to try new things, face their fears and never be afraid of a challenge.

As an athlete, I know what it is like to experience injuries, as I have dealt with them personally. The first major injury I experienced was a sprained ankle, for which I had to wear a boot and was instructed to be on crutches, sidelining me from participating in practice and missing several competitions and being faced with having to forfeit a solo in my recital, which I had worked so hard to earn. On top of experiencing the disappointment of not being able to participate, I felt myself experiencing feelings of guilt for not being able to actively play my role and felt like I was letting my teammates down. In opening up about these feelings that I experienced, I talked with my father about how disappointed I was and how badly I wanted to rush the healing process to get back on the floor. My father, in return, talked to me about injuries he experienced through his basketball career and how his athletic trainers were able to help him rehab and guide him through the healing process. He expressed the importance of taking the proper steps to get back on the track I wanted to be on so that I could get back on the floor where I wanted to be. That conversation played a big role in peaking my interest and inspiring me to want to work with, train, and help rehab athletes.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to participate in the Reach program through Thomas Jefferson University. Through this program, I learned about athletic training and physical therapy. I had the pleasure of being presented with information from current practicing physical therapists and athletic trainers for athletes at the University. This information helped confirm that I was on the right path for what I wanted to pursue in this next chapter of my life. My ultimate goal is to work with these professional and collegiate-level athletes to help them get back to themselves after experiencing unfortunate setbacks. Through majoring in Kinesiology, I will be able to master and apply the skills I learned to provide the support needed to prepare athletes to perform to their best ability, recovering both physically and mentally and potentially staying injury-free, prolonging their careers while maintaining their health.