a Failing Grade With a Successful Future by Raumia

a Failing Grade With a Successful Future by Raumia - August 2014 Scholarship Essay

A failure experienced along my academic path allowed me the mental strength to decide my long-term academic goals and that failure was my performance in a particular subject. To begin with, I got accepted to an university as an Astronomy major. After registering, I was confident that I would succeed in the classes I choose for the semester. My first semester classes consisted of some required GE’s in addition to the core class of Calculus I. I studied hard, although when the tests came back it did not seem like it. I ended my first semester at college with all passing grades as well as a F in Calculus I.

Next semester I retook the class and got a B, but then came Calculus II. Even though I was getting A’s in my calculus-based physics classes and labs, I just wasn’t reflecting the same performance in the actual calculus class. No way was it a consequence of lacking motivation towards my major, I had a great time volunteering at the Mount Laguna Observatory and physics helps you understand the world around you. I did end up getting the credits for Calculus II, but I found out that the Astronomy major was not for me. So I focussed my second year at the college in choosing some classes that would push me towards a new major. My decided class list was History 441: Unnatural Disasters, ISCOR[1] 310: Our Global Future, Sustainability[2] 353: Sustainability and Culture, and Sustainability[3] 100: Environmental Sciences.

When looking over the textbooks and syllabi, I knew these classes were going to be nothing like learning physics or calculus. As the semester went by I absorbed so much information about our world and the environmental and social conflicts of the past, present, and possible future. The Unnatural Disasters class taught me about how technology evolved with resource exploitation. At the same time, the classes Sustainability 353 and 100 engaged me on how currently we can manage the environment and its resources to keep it from being overexploited. It is interesting learning about why, how, and where humans are degrading the Earth and the consequences of it. All while at the same others are trying to find ways to be more sustainable. My ISCOR 310 class taught me about what the future will be like if current environmentally destructive practices continue. However, this class also educated me on how future generations to come can live healthy if we changed to living more sustainably now. On a global scale, the ISCOR 310 class enlightened me with informative predictions projected by the United Nations (U.N.) population and environmental impact estimates for years 2030 and 2050. Even now mandates are being put forth by the U.N. to minimize those future negative impacts. All in all, I was inspired by this class to make sure that our global future is one with clean air, water, and energy.

So I researched the major of International Security and Conflict Resolution (ISCOR). The requirements were inviting with a few political science and many ISCOR classes. I also would be able to pick a specialization where six classes of my choosing, as long as were internationally related, would satisfy. Not only that, I was required to learn a language, participate in an internship or thesis project, and study abroad. Taking it all in, this major was something that I was passionate about. By having this major I would be able to have a career concerning environmental and social risks on an international level. So after one semester I was able to turn my academic failure experienced when I was an Astronomy major into a successful academic path with a desirable future career path.

I am stronger now because I am more self-assured in my career path which rooted from my unsuccessful academic experience. Now at San Diego State University, I am an International Security and Conflict Resolution major specializing in Environment and Security. I am currently learning spanish and accepting an internship of “Food Security” for Fall 2014. In addition, with the help of scholarships I want to go to Latin America to fulfill my study abroad requirement. A desirable future career for me would involve international relations with a Latin American country because Latin America’s deforestation is a critical situation for our global environment. There are a few programs offered by my college which I have researched and would be thrilled to experience.

A few of these programs are sustainability and development in Bolivia, global citizenship and community empowerment in Ecuador, or to be involved with community-based watershed conservation in Peru. My top choice would be to go to Bolivia because after much research I believe that it is most related to fieldwork that I want to pursue in a career. With that said, there is a study abroad program to Spain that I might consider because the program offers intercultural communication and conflict resolution skills that would help me prepare for a future career in international relations. In conclusion, I am able to continue on a strong and successful academic path and look back at my failure as the detour that made it possible.
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[1] International Security and Conflict Resolution
[2] Also Anthropology 353
[3] Also Environmental Science 100