Color me a College Student, Color me Successful by Christine

Color me a College Student, Color me Successful by Christine - April 2020 Scholarship Essay

“I got in!”
This expression is used by over three million high school seniors across the world after anxiously awaiting to click that blue “Application Status Update” link. Above a pandemonium of screams, they read out their admissions letters, beginning with the 15-letter word “Congratulations.” Elated yet apprehensive, they open their financial packages, and grow dumbfounded at the possibility of even attending college. With questions racing through their minds, they begin to question the purpose of even obtaining a college education, especially at the expense of being subject to student debt and long nights of exhaustion from studying. Nevertheless, they accept their offers, while still feeling a sense of discouragement from the lack of adequate financial aid and other factors that hinder them from working to better their futures. However, it is important to realize that it is through those college experiences that an individual learns to develop better networking skills, and ultimately adjust to a real world setting filled with responsibilities and a sense of independence.
That being said, obtaining a college education certainly provides an array of opportunities for one to explore, following the completion of a Bachelor’s Degree. From social to self-advocacy skills, students are placed in unfamiliar settings where competition thrives and there is a greater drive in the student body to obtain internships, externships, and even job opportunities at any cost. In fact, studies have shown that “70 percent of [college graduates] ended up in their current [positions] thanks to networking.” Certainly, it is through those networking scenarios that college students are immersed in that equips them with the fundamental understanding of ways to better thrive in a socially-driven society.
To further prove this claim on the importance of obtaining a college education, I offer an example of my father and his journey in using his Bachelor’s Degree as a tool for success despite his personal challenges. Born in Nigeria in the year 1971, my father, George Okoro, lived in the village of Umodeche with his twelve siblings. Without the luxury of sustainable electricity, his family, as well as other members of the community, experienced frequent, unexpected blackouts year-round. This made it difficult to complete school work and get adequate sleep due to lack of ventilation. During his primary and secondary years of school, he studied rigorously, despite unfortunate circumstances, and graduated with honors. In 1994, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Enugu State University of Science and Technology. After graduating college, he struggled to find a job, waiting in endless lines under the blistering heat. With sweat dripping from his forehead to his disheveled suit, he returned job-seeking on the streets, month after month, believing that God would guide him on the path to success. He then reached a dead end, and saw a mob of people conglomerating around an office. He rushed to the crowd and realized that they were accepting applications. Immediately, he too filled out an application, and submitted it. Two interviews later, he was hired to work for Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield services company.
Without a doubt, my father could have simply given up on his job search after the first few rejections; but, he refused to. He continued to persevere in the face of difficulty and was ultimately able to obtain a job, as a result of the skills that he had developed as a college student. While some individuals may object to this claim and otherwise emphasize his complex background as a justification for his sense of determination, it is important to recognize that his office scene was very much similar to the average college setting. At college job fairs today, there are swarms of faces gathering around the tables, waving their resumes at employers, while hoping and praying that they get selected out of the thousands of other applicants. Surely, this setting is similar to my father’s job-hunting experience, and provides a basis for my argument, which stands in favor of obtaining a college education.
From providing research experiences to science-loving geeks to fostering entrepreneurial ideas in the minds of future millionaires, obtaining a college education truly provides opportunities for error and growth for budding adults. It is that intermission between dependency and complete independence that shapes an individual socially, academically, and mentally. Though external challenges may turn prospective students away from that Bachelor’s Degree, I am certain that attending college will lead to a world of greater work and academic opportunities that are fundamental to one’s success in the future. Therefore, we must always recognize that that fifteen-letter word of “Congratulations” far exceeds that of a college acceptance, but of an assurance of success in the future.