A Visible Impact by Zachary

A Visible Impact by Zachary - November 2019 Scholarship Essay

I believe that every student has a chance to impact their high school and student body in some way throughout their high school career. Each person has their strengths and weaknesses, things they like to do and things they don’t prefer. Being able to use your strengths and doing what you enjoy is a good way to be a positive influence in your school. I think two of my greatest strengths are first, being able to do what is right even when others judge and second, my problem solving skills.

I joined the National Honor Society last year to get more involved as well as volunteer more in my school. I have been actively helping lead and volunteer at many events at my school. I helped plan and create ideas for raising money at our school for cancer research. I also helped plan and spread the word about the blood drive at our school. I also think I am able to positively impact those in my school including those that are younger that probably look up to older students. This is one of the reasons I volunteered to help at an 8th grade “Courage Retreat.” I was a leader and helped the kids by showing them and leading by example how to have courage and respect towards others. I talked with them about problems they were facing and how to solve them. I hope my involvement showed them we care about them and they can make a difference too.

I also think it’s important for everyone to feel welcomed and included. I believe I made an especially big impact in one of my classmate’s lives after a leadership session last year. After the session, one of my classmates came up to me and told me that she thought she could trust me to tell me something she was struggling with. She had been feeling left out and wanted to cry because she had to sit by herself at lunch recently. I had no idea she felt like this, but when she told me I felt terrible. I invited her to sit with my friends and me at our table the next day. So the next day came and she ended up coming over to sit with us. We did our best to make her feel welcome at our table. Then she sat with us for the rest of the year. At the end of the year, she came up to me and thanked me because I had listened and given her a chance when no one else had. It made me really happy knowing I made a difference for someone. It is a great feeling. I know there were some people who made fun of us because she was sitting at our table, but I knew that didn’t matter and we were doing the right thing.

I think of all the time and effort I have put into becoming a better leader and classmate. It has helped me develop my character to impact those around me. I think when you lead by example then it shows people better than telling them. This is how I tried to act in my school in order to try to make it a better place for everyone.