| Please write an essay delineating the reasons why you believe you qualify for a Service Above Self scholarship. | 500 service hours, two President’s Volunteer Service Awards, and eight National Charity League awards mean nothing to me as statistics, but everything as markers of my beaming passion for volunteerism.
I feel immensely privileged to have a life that enables me to give back to others through time and service. In sixth grade, I joined the Lake Oswego chapter of NCL, a mother-daughter volunteer organization. Our chapter works with organizations throughout the Portland metro area, volunteering in group and individual settings. I quickly understood that while NCL provided an accessible way for me to volunteer with a diverse collection of local organizations, the impact I would make as a member would depend on my individual involvement and drive.
My premier year of NCL was spent as the president of my class, a job I took quite seriously for a middle schooler who had braces and wore sparkly Converse. All jokes aside, holding this position was the first step I took to fully immerse myself in the organization. Now in my final year with NCL, that bud of my love for service that first sprouted six years ago is fully in bloom.
From coaching sports camps with DSNO, to driving lunches for the houseless into Portland every weekend of the pandemic, to ushering dozens of plays at the Lakewood Center, NCL has provided me with the greatest reward of understanding the difference I can make in others’ lives. No matter how busy I become with school, sports, student government, my retail job, or anything else on my excessive list of commitments, volunteering always remains my top priority due to how visibly it improves the lives of those I am serving.
My favorite of these volunteer commitments has been my involvement with Abby’s Closet, a local non-profit that provides students with free prom dresses, instilling confidence in them in the process. I joined the AC Student Advisory Board last year, serving nearly 100 hours with the organization since. It is through this organization that I have truly learned how to empower myself through empowering others. My work with AC directly represents my overall identity as a volunteer: an individual who is truly passionate about helping others and building connections in the process.
I believe I qualify for the Service Above Self Scholarship, for I have continuously exhibited that volunteering is not a resume enhancer or pastime to me. It would be impossible for me to describe myself without mentioning my zeal for serving others.
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| Please answer the following three questions in the box below. | Applied to: American University, Barnard College, Boston College, Boston University, Brown University, Cornell University, Northwestern University, Syracuse University, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of Oregon, Princeton University, Fordham University, Columbia University, Yale University, New York University
Accepted to: Cornell University, University of Michigan, Boston University, University of Oregon, American University, Syracuse University, Fordham University, University of Chicago (Waitlisted), Barnard College (Waitlisted)
Attending: I will be attending the University of Michigan to major in Anthropology with a sub-major in Culture and Media and a minor in Law, Justice, and Social Change.
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