The Four-Coarse Meal of Success by Rutty

The Four-Coarse Meal of Success by Rutty - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

During my childhood, I recall the times my father returned home from work around midnight, tired and weak. It was the same routine for consecutive days, sometimes seven days a week. Similarly, my mom works as a cafeteria lady. From sore muscles to back pain, this was not uncommon discomfort for adults working as laborers. The media seems to suggest that Mexicans only work as day laborers. If I believed in the media, I would be satisfied with a laborer’s a-la-carte meal. American media often presents Mexican Americans as “less than.” Stereotypes like these only served me a sampling of the meal, always leaving me with an empty belly. However, I am hungry! I want much more than that!
My appetizer was first served at Ripley House, a nonprofit which helps the underserved achieve better options. There, I volunteered frequently through social outreach activities that begin satiating my hunger for community involvement. Often, the afternoons are spent tutoring children doing homework. Sessions often turned into advising conversations about the importance of college and staying in school. Despite my desire for a steak, I still did not have the teeth to chew it, which comes from a higher education. I had no other choice but to prepare my palate and inform my thinking to get properly fed.
My mashed potatoes, Genesys Works, offered me an internship. After an 8-week summer program, my palate was better prepared for the main course. Chosen as a Young Professional, I digested skills and abilities relevant to business as I gained the context to navigate in a corporate setting. Next as a contractor at EP Energy, I assisted in a variety of projects including tracking revenue, billing payments, reporting health and safety violations, and mailing company reports. This exposure further whet my appetite for the main course.
My parents, low-income, Mexican American, blue-collar workers, encouraged me to embrace and appreciate my background, while exploring the menu of other cultures, and raising my expectations for my academics and future. Through Ripley House and EP Energy, I learned to speak two languages - corporate vernacular and customer service, directing my ability to strive past my own expectations. Because I am a dual-language speaker, this opens the doors to more resources and experiences in future corporate organizations. Working in a white-collar job, meaning a corporate setting, is a must for me to rise beyond my family’s history as laborers. I need the preparation, the insights, and exposure that a competitive institution can provide so that I can fully digest the steak of corporate America. I plan to break the pattern of my family’s history. Additionally, it is my goal to convince my peers to pursue dining from the Four Seasons educational plate as opposed to the Jack in the Box carton. This is the mark I plan to leave - one that will turn my Ripley House and Genesys Works appetizers into the Director, Chairman, or CEO of a national nonprofit. Through extracurricular activities and the organizations with which I partnered, I am on the path to stand tall for myself and write a new story for my community. I will partake of the complete four course meal on the menu of my future career beginning with a singular collegiate education.