Malala Yousafzai: A Living Example of Humility and Earnestness by Nicholas

Malala Yousafzai: A Living Example of Humility and Earnestness by Nicholas - December 2018 Scholarship Essay

Two qualities that a nominee must possess if I were on the award committee are one, humility and two, earnestness. In this essay, I will illustrate both qualities in the work of 2014 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Malala Yousafzai.

Humility is found in individuals who put other people’s needs before their own or who consider the bigger picture. Yousafzai earned the prize for her work to ensure all children have the right to education. When the Taliban took control of her town in Pakistan in 2008, girls were banned from going to school. Yousafzai’s father, a teacher at a girls’ school, could have kept teaching his daughter in the confines of their family home. Yousafzai instead took a stand for all girls and their right to learn, a true act of humility by putting an entire population before herself.

Earnestness is the drive and passion one has about something. Yousafzai’s publicity and popularity among Pakistanis made her a target for extremist rulers. In October of 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the face on her way home from school for speaking out. Yousafzai’s earnestness continues to this day, by her ambition to ensure no girl in the world gets denied access to education. She has set up a charity, called the Malala Fund, to support girls achieve their academic dreams.

Yousafzai is a clear example of an individual who acts with both humility and earnestness in her humanitarian efforts. Individuals who demonstrate these qualities as pronounced as Yousafzai would earn my unconditional support as a committee member.

Note: All information and dates were adapted from the Malala Fund website (www.malala.org).