| Please write an essay delineating the reasons why you believe you qualify for a Service Above Self scholarship. | As a dance instructor, I’ve always been acutely aware of the role of our hands in ballet. Yet, in teaching Ndalwenhle– a young girl missing three fingers– I began to realize how much more they represent.
When she first entered the studio, her shyness was palpable. She wore a soft, uncertain smile, and her small hands were gently curled, revealing only her thumb and pinky. So, instead of focusing on what she couldn’t do, I helped her explore what she could do with her thumb and pinky to create lines that were uniquely hers. She learned quickly, and I was amazed to see that she didn't need all ten fingers to dance: she simply needed the will to move.
Our hands are often the first to experience the world’s harshness. They grasp, protect, hold, and release. They carry both our burdens and our gifts. Her hands told a story of perseverance, and in her movements, I saw not absence, but presence. In witnessing her triumph, I began to reconsider my own hands: what they hold, what they create, and what they offer to others.
I’ve used my hands to lift students into confidence, to write grants for arts access, and to carry boxes of donated pointe shoes across oceans. I’ve used them to tutor younger students in science, guide a child through choreography, and comfort a friend overwhelmed by illness. My hands have built stages, stitched costumes, and written letters to cancer patients I met while volunteering at the Knight Cancer Institute. In all these acts—small and large—I’ve come to understand that service is not flashy. It is intentional, and deeply human.
The Rotary motto, Service Above Self, is not just an ideal—it is a practice, one that begins with choosing to see the worth in others. And perhaps nothing symbolizes that more than our hands: tools of empathy, creativity, and care. I do not believe I qualify for this scholarship solely because of the number of hours I’ve served, but because of the heart I bring to that service. Whether through dance, science, or daily kindness, I strive to lead with compassion and connect with others on an individual level.
I plan to study biomedical engineering so I can continue to empower others through movement—this time not just through art, but through science. I hope to use both my hands and my heart to design solutions that restore mobility, dignity, and possibility to those who need it most.
Because in the end, it is not about the hands we are given, but what we choose to do with them.
|
|---|