The Supreme Commander by Andrew

The Supreme Commander by Andrew - January 2025 Scholarship Essay

You need to start studying these!

Confused, I look down to see a list of 800 spelling words with the assumption that I will win the city spelling bee. Since 1985, my school has never won. UGH, dread filled my heart as I knew the pressure was on me.

Who is this person that believes in me more than I believe in myself?

Ms Wilkins was my school principal for 9 years and knew my potential before I did. As a small child, I had a speech impediment and required speech classes several days a week. The speech pathologist would come to our school each, and I would be taken out of class. Many were not sure of my abilities, but not Ms. Wilkins. She saw within me much more than a kid with slow speech. I often wondered what it was that made her believe in me so strongly, but that is who she is. She sees within students the zeal and passion that is innately there.

Reflecting on my time with her, I realize that an excellent teacher is someone who truly immerses you in a subject and makes you fall in love with what they’re teaching. Due to this, it inspired me to look at any course material and find something appealing about it. I took this quality with me as I entered high school, and it has helped me to have an open mind while learning.

As I began to apply for high school, her faith in my abilities never wavered. Stanford Online High School has stretched me in ways I never imagined, but she knew I could do it. We have stayed intertwined throughout my high school years with her proctoring exams for me and helping guide me in humanities classes. She’s been one of my greatest supporters encouraging me when the odds have been stacked against me. As I enter college, she once again wholeheartedly believed I could attend my stretch school as I applied Early Decision. It has been my dream school since I was eight years old, and she knew I was eager to hear. I received the acceptance in December and called her immediately with the good news.

Throughout the years, she has shown me that respect has to be earned not given. Her compassion mixed with strength for others earned her the admiration of our entire school. She was immensely respected in our class, and we even nicknamed her our Supreme Commander which we still call her as our way of showing her how proud we are to be her former students.

Ms Wilkins will be in my life forever helping me in any way she can, and I am eternally grateful.

By the way, I did come through and win the spelling bee for her. I don’t think she stopped smiling for weeks.