“We must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”[2]
About one year ago when I was making preparations to come to college, I found myself in one of the most important interviews of my life. The Terry Foundation, which is a foundation that grants full scholarships to approximately three hundred students from five Texas Universities, selected me as one of their candidates for their prestigious scholarship. The interview is the last stage of the application process, and I was blessed enough to be chosen among thousands for the opportunity to make a lasting impression on five individuals whose decision determined whether or not I would enter college with a financial burden. I was sitting in a comfortable leather black chair with my hands folded in my lap and nerves rushing all over my body at uncontrollable speeds when I was asked the question “Upon receiving the Terry Scholarship would you be willing to give back to the Terry Foundation with your time and/or financial support?” This was the last question I was asked and the most important one to the panel of judges because four of them were previous Terry Scholars recipients and one was the Vice-President of the foundation.
[3] (This is an image of my friend Hannah and me. We were at a Banquet Dinner for the Terry Scholar recipients. I was able to meet many individuals that were also fortunate to receive the scholarship and administrators that work for the foundation.)
Looking back on that day I realized that was the longest question discussed, which shows the importance of giving back. They ultimately wanted to know if I was just interested in taking their money to fund my college education or if I was going to in some way show my appreciation by helping future Terry Scholars.
This experience sets up my first leadership vision. I am going to establish a scholarship for my high school, Crosby High School. I actually began discussing this plan with my family last semester. The specific dollar amount has not been established because the scholarship will be funded by three different individuals and the geographical distance between my brother, grandfather and I has not given us an opportunity to talk face to face about the Collins Family Scholarship. I plan to have at least five hundred dollars awarded to the first recipient. First, I will have one scholarship recipient and increase the number every two or three years. I ultimately want to help students pay for more than just books. I believe that a scholarship that funds at least one third of tuition prices would be very beneficial to students.
I also have to be realistic. Since I will still be in college for the next seven or eight years, it will not be easy to contribute a vast amount of money to someone else unfortunately. When it comes to my contribution for the scholarship, I have several alternatives. Since I am fortunate enough to have my tuition and housing paid for by the Terry Foundation, I will contribute any excess financial aid towards the scholarship. If that results in a low amount, I will use a portion of my salary from my future job. I will start working this summer and part time once school begins in the fall. Once I start working, I will then determine how much I can save every week specifically for the scholarship. For the time being, the Collins Family Scholarship will only be able to pay for books.
The criteria for the scholarship will not be too difficult because I know how hard it is to balance school work, college applications, scholarship applications, and extracurricular activities at the same time. The main three qualities I will look for in candidates will be financial need, leadership experience, and academics, but the deciding factor will be the effort put into an essay explaining why they deserve this scholarship. I am sure that some specifics of the scholarship like the amount or criteria may change a little because time will develop better ideas, and I am open to change that will benefit the recipients.
I am very excited about this scholarship and proud that I have the chance to give back to the high school that paved the way for me to attend college. The scholarship will go into effect in the next two years. During this time I will also contribute to the Terry Foundation. Until I get out of college, I will volunteer my time on the panel of judges and interview potential Terry Scholars. I will also volunteer in the various community service activities all Terry Scholar recipients and staff members participate in annually. For example, I am in the process of registering for training so I can be a counselor in an organization called Safe Place. It is located in Austin and many "Terrys" have volunteered their time once a week to aid in the lives of women who have been abused mentally and physically. Once I have a steady job after law school, I will not only donate my time to the Terry Foundation but also my funds. At that time, I should be on the level of the typical thousand dollar donor to the foundation.
My passion for helping others mostly involves me having a one-on-one conversation with someone and coming up with a plan to make them feel better. The establishment of the Collins Family Scholarship and my contributions to the Terry Foundation with money and/or time will allow me to help strangers; individuals I probably would not have come in contact with if it was not for either of the two scholarships. That brings joy to my heart because they are in a sense just like me. We will have the common factor of being financially unable to attend college and the generosity of strangers allowing us to fulfill our dream of attending college. That is why I am thrilled to now have the power of influencing someone else’s life on a grand scale.
My second leadership vision will be one of the most important tasks I will ever accomplish in my life. It will allow me to help some of the people I love the most, children. In the next year, I will sponsor a child in Africa. Children are the innocent victims of life's mistakes; they have no control over what happens to them in the first part of their life especially in Africa. The conditions in most parts of Africa are not suitable and adequate enough for children. There are internal conflicts and wars plaguing the continent. There is the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in many of Africa’s villages. There is inadequate education and sanitation for the precious lives of children. I know that sponsoring one child from the whole continent will not fix the problems of Africa, but it is a start. I believe that I could change the life of a beautiful little girl or a curious little boy in a way that could be prevent him from joining a guerrilla warfare group that rapes young girls or if she is the first female in her family to attend school and not become a mother at the age of fourteen.
“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”[4]
[5] (The image shows a village of children. Looking at these beautiful children, the eye sees that they are in need of food. Their rib cages are showing, and their stomachs are poking out more than they should. I hope that I will bring joy and food to a village or one child like the ones pictured above.)
At first, I wanted to adopt to a baby from Africa, but recently learned that taking a baby from their country have the possibility of doing more harm than good. Marie Manil stated “Babies need to be raised in their environment and by their parents.”[6] I recently attended a panel about the war and conflicts in Africa. That is where I learned separating children from their homes and families may not be the right thing to do was first introduced to me. I believe that allowing a baby to grow up in an environment that is filled with his or her culture and being helped by an outsider will be the best alternative. I would not want to be taken away from my mother and family because we are living in poverty. When there are no material things and other luxuries, all you have is each other, your family. It is wrong to take a mother’s baby away because she lives in poverty. Helping her provide for her children will be the best solution. Family and culture help shape an individual’s identity.
Once I become a sponsor for a child in Africa in the next year: “[I] can change the world one orphaned child at a time by sponsoring a child or village in one of 132 countries worldwide. In addition to providing the basic necessities of food, clothing, education and medical treatment, [my] sponsorship will provide the most important gift of all to children who have nothing - a family." As a sponsor, I will be able to do various things such as "[getting] to know [my] sponsored child through letters and pictures, [receiving] updates about [my] child's progress, and [supporting] the needs of all the children living in [my] chosen village." [7]
I will start off with twenty-eight dollars a month. Again I am faced with the reality of being a college student with not a lot of income. I will set aside “X” amount of money each week, which will be determined once I get a job. This leadership vision or goal is not hard to accomplish because it only requires a withdrawal from my bank account each month with not a lot of hard work on my part besides making sure the funds are there, but most importantly it will allow me to express my passion for helping children.
Both of my leadership visions are very attainable in the next two years and being in college is the perfect place for me to fulfill my visions and improve them in the future. First, college provides me with a degree that will allow me to have a good paying job in the future. I am a government major and plan on attending law school. A government degree can open up doors to become a government professor, lawyer, or government administrator. It does not matter which profession I choose because I will still be able to fund the Collins Family Scholarship and a child in Africa. When I look at some of the courses I am taking, the fact that I am in college seems more and more meaningful. Presently, I am in The History of Modern Africa taught by Professor Falola, which is one of the non-United States History classes Plan II requires of its students. Learning about the history of Africa enables me to know exactly how I am making a difference in a child who was born into a country with a profound effect on the world economically and politically. I am also currently taking and will take more government classes, which will help me get my Bachelor’s Degree and acceptance into law school. It is like a chain reaction; the government class will assist me in getting the government degree which will help me get into law school which will influence the profession I choose. Lastly, my profession will provide me with the funds for the Collins Family Scholarship and children in Africa.
[8] (This image illustrates the domino effect or a chain reaction. As soon as one domino falls, the rest will fall one after another. It shows how one event or action starts the process of collapse; the falling of one domino is caused by the falling of the previous one.)
My passion for helping others will make my life worthwhile and a blast to see how each day plays out. I anticipate the moments when I can hand out my first scholarship and when I send off my first check or withdrawal to a beautiful child in Africa. Even though I will not be in their lives everyday, I hope they will always remember the moment when a stranger showed them love and compassion. “The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.”[9] I hope that they can one day too sit down in front of a computer and write about their leadership vision that will play a profound role in someone else’s life.
[1] http://99percenthappyjess.blogspot.com/2008/03/p4-revised.html
[2] Acts 20:35 God’s Words of Life For Teens
[3] my own picture
[4] Edward Everett Hale http://www.quotegarden.com/helping.html
[5]http://images.wildmadagascar.org/pictures/ankavandra/akavandra_kids_07.JPG
[7]https://www.sos-usa.org/cgi-bin/sos/jsp/US_sponsor.do?lang=en&site=US&nav=3.2¤tStep=1&submission=1_1206997506194&et_cid=2&et_lid=2&et_sub=sponsor%20a%20child%20in%20africa&BV_SessionID=@@@@1281308744.1206997506@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfadedjieidmfcfngcfkmdhkhdffj.0
[8] Benjamin Disraeli http://www.quotegarden.com/helping.html
[9] http://www.affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/us/falling_dominos_small.jpg
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