A Solid Scholarship Essay Equals "Dinero Para Viajes"

By Nathanael Rubin on June 4, 2014

I have never read a book on essay writing, nor have I ever had any training other than what they make you go through before the writing portion of the FCAT in middle school. My goal with this essay for an application for a scholarship to study abroad was to create a really powerful line and build up to it, something the administrators would remember when sitting down to make their decision on who to choose.

Photo courtesy of Caleb Roenigk

Below is the essay I wrote applying for a scholarship to study abroad in Panama. All of the students applying for scholarships to study abroad must apply in virtually the same way at the same time and to the same people, and of course, funds are always limited.

     A Boy’s Dream: An Essay for the Application for Scholarships to Study in the Republic of Panama this Fall

     I have always been interested in Latin American culture, ever since I went to Mexico with my parents when I was fourteen. I love the language. I studied Spanish in high school, guided by my new found interest in the places it’s spoken and the people who speak it. I even brought in the lyrics for the teacher to help me translate from a hard rock band from Guatemala called Sangre Joven. She said the lyrics had a positive message but the music was too heavy for her taste! I had dreams of going to Central America to see one of their tours. I imagined myself speaking to the other fans at their concert and explaining that I had come all the way from America to experience their culture and to speak to them in their native language. Unfortunately, I never got to go. Sange Joven has been broken up for years now, and my interest in CentralAmerica has developed into something much more than just the music and the language.

     I want to study in Panama this fall to learn anything and everything I can, inside and outside of the classroom. It would be the perfect environment for me to complete my minor inBusiness, because Panama City is such a rich environment for understanding the relationship between the economies of many different nations, imports and exports in countless industries,the nature of business in Central and Latin America, and much more; all of which I am trulyinterested in learning as much as I can about. I also want to know about foreign businessetiquette and common practices. These are the kinds of things that I think really make adifference when an appropriate time comes for their use. Being familiar with someone’s culture is a great way to establish report, in and out of the business world.

      Studying in Panama, I would be getting an education on two levels, one, the knowledge from inside the context of the classroom, and two, an intimate understanding of what it’s like to live in Central America as a student, living and sharing with local Panamanian students. I amexcited about the prospect of learning from Latin American professors and experiencing theifference in their style of teaching compared to those I’m most used to here in Florida. The ideaof learning a different way from a different kind of teacher in a different environment isattractive enough, but to be able to have all the other wonderful opportunities that I will find inPanama as well makes it sound so incredible!
     If I get to go to Panama this fall, I will definitely make the most of my time there. Attwenty-six, I feel more confident in and enthusiastic about my education than ever before. I wantto get involved in the local community and learn through experiencing life with them. I want tocommunicate with locals using their language and feel the connection it creates inside of me to another culture. I want to offer whatever I can in exchange for everything I’ll be given while I’m
there. I want to learn as much as I can about Panama and the world of business. I want to study business in the Republic of Panama. Please help me get there.

 

In my acceptance letter, it said “the committee was impressed with your essay.” I’m just thankful I was able to get in the zone at the right time and pump out one of the best essays of my life.

Even though I wrote this essay in only about two hours, I knew exactly what I was going to say and how before I started writing it.  Before I begin an important writing assignment, I brain storm for a couple days and let ideas come to me.

With this essay, I wanted to share something personal in hopes of setting myself apart from the crowd of applicants.  So there is a concise build-up, and then the line (in this case it’s kind of two or three lines depending on how you look at it) that I think really defines the essay is:

“I imagined myself speaking to the other fans at their concert and explaining that I had come all the way from America to experience their culture and to speak to them in their native language,” followed by,  “Unfortunately, I never got to go.”

Taken out of context this way, it’s not very powerful, but with the succession of imagines preceding it, I think it helps a lot to see where I’m coming from.  I wanted to convey the image of me wishing for something really special, which for me was the brotherly moment I would have shared with a random fan at the Sangre Joven concert.

The first sentence, “I have always been interested in Latin American culture, ever since I went to Mexico with my parents when I was fourteen,” begins to voice that message. I probably could have chosen something a little stronger, but the tone of this essay is meant to be kind of innocent and inexperienced to demonstrate that I am still that boy with a dream. Compared to an essay that might gloat about qualifications and experiences, the focus of this one is lack of experience. I imagined myself as a young teen again so that I could take on a less mature tone overall.

I think my relationship with my teacher helped me as well. The part about me bringing something in for her to help me translate shows that I really cared about learning. Who would have thought that years down the road that would be one of the factors in winning me a scholarship to study in Panama?

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