Scholarship Answers

If I wasn’t afraid I would travel to third world countries during the summer to teach English.  I love volunteering, I love teaching, and I love traveling.  I have always looked for an opportunity to do all three.  My mother is a teacher and she told me about one of her friends who volunteers during the summer to go abroad to disadvantaged countries and teach English.  Ever since that moment, that idea has always been in the back of my mind.  When I decided to study elementary mathematics education at the University of New Hampshire and pursue a degree in teaching, I knew I was one step closer to helping those children.  I mentioned my plans to my parents and they reminded me how dangerous it would be to go alone to one of these countries where violence and death is an everyday occurrence.  That thought had never really crossed my mind.  I guess in my vision it was a safe and kind thing to do.  Now that I’ve come to realize how dangerous it would be for me to travel to one of these countries and how much stress and worry it would cause my friends and family, I have had to put my dream on the back burner.  I hope that I can one day find a way to still do this safely or at least have the courage to face my fears and travel to one of these countries.

I want to change the world through teaching.  I am currently studying elementary mathematics education at the University of New Hampshire.  I believe that a good elementary education is an important building block for better opportunities in life.  With my degree I can help students learn basic skills in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies.  By learning these skills they not only do well in school but later in life.  These basic skills make it possible to apply for college or for a job.  Giving these children a chance to do something is what America is all about.  The lives that some children are born into even here in America make it hard to ever change their path in life.  My goal is to give these children the opportunities there parents may not be able to provide for them.   I hope that I can change a child’s life, even if it is just one.   For example, if I show one child a love of reading, they may go on to read a book about global warming, and that same child may find a way an alternative source of energy.  The possibilities are endless but my dream is to create those possibilities and in turn, change the world.