Give Nerds A Chance by Sasha

Give Nerds A Chance by Sasha - December 2014 Scholarship Essay

When I was younger I was never too pumped about school. I adored the social parts of it, but most of the learning concepts came very easily to me so it made school just feel like busy work. High school was when that all really changed for me. I was dead set on going to my zoned high school, Coronado. But against my wishes, I was sent to the number one school in Nevada, a magnet school known as Advanced Technologies Academy. My sister who is two years my elder went to that school so my mom wanted me to go there as well. Despite the tears, my mom sent me on a hour long bus ride to a school 23.7 miles away from my home on the first day of my freshman year. Soon my ideals would change. Until about my junior year I still wanted to leave the school, but one day, the huge opportunity I was just sitting on finally sank in.

My school was flooded with some of the smartest kids in the Las Vegas Valley. My class was only about 150 students and they came from all over the valley. Some, like me, lived an hour away and had a long commute to school. This just proved that most everyone I went to school with really wanted to be there. Although many would find these kids somewhat nerdy, I found their passion for school inspiring. My junior year I stepped up my game and followed in my peers’ footsteps. I joined more clubs and gave up my easy honors classes for spots in the AP world. I really started to value my education. Being around such dedicated learners made me work a lot harder. I started to really crack down and focus and grew closer to my peers at the same time. They all had really big dreams: to become president of the United States, to create the next Apple, to win a Nobel Prize in science, and so on. I started to dream big as well. I was planning on going out of state for college and one day become a very successful psychiatrist. But close to the end of my junior year my sister was diagnosed with a rare disease and my college funds were hindered. I knew it would be the right thing for my family to stay in state and go to my home university UNLV for my undergraduate degree. This obstacle has only made me stronger and more dedicated. Although I’m not at North Western, NYU, or George Washington University like many of my peers, I am working hard at my home university to be able to get into a respectable graduate program, leave home, and finally follow my dreams.

Going to A-TECH was hard to adjust to, having to go to a different school from my friends that I’ve had since elementary school, waking up at four in the morning to catch my bus and spending two hours on the bus every day, and staying up late into the night doing AP homework while working a part-time job, but it was all worth it. On top of the academics, I also made friends with great people I probably wouldn’t have associated with if I had gone to my zoned school because of their somewhat nerdy exterior.I was completely out of my element, but I have never loved school or the people I was surrounded with so much. I was even crowned prom queen and princess and started my own club senior year, Music Club. Now I'm a nerd myself. A-TECH made me a better, stronger, less judgmental, and more determined person. My education taught me to never give up when you’re challenged. Dive in and embrace what’s under the surface. You will be a stronger person when you come up.