A Chance for Quality Education by Drew

A Chance for Quality Education by Drew - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

In the summer of my junior year, I was appointed as the Florida Key Club Endowment Fund Committee Chair, in which I was responsible for leading a group of six students and adults to promote, fundraise, and grow a 501 (c)(3) endowed account that provides senior members with college scholarships.

The tasks were at first difficult for me because an endowment fund is not a simple concept, and I had no history to draw on. However, these challenges did not hinder me from working to accomplish the committee’s first year objectives; we experienced unprecedented success, setting a significant $1 million fundraising goal over the next five years, establishing a strategic marketing plan, creating an online donation tool, organizing a fundraiser at Disney, and awarding ten $1,000 scholarships in April 2016.

Through our many discussions and meetings, I learned that I am happiest when supporting others and discovered what it means to be a servant leader: placing other people’s needs before yours to achieve altruistic aspirations. This important character trait allows me to use my skills for the benefit of others, and it will be crucial in the global role I plan to take.

In chairing the Endowment Committee, I assisted in creating something that will last forever­ a scholarship fund that can potentially give thousands the opportunity to earn an education and use their knowledge for societal advancement. My ambition is to found an educational outreach program and start an international scholarship endowment fund for underprivileged children, which has been influenced by my leadership role.

Like the Endowment Fund helped ten seniors pay for college, this scholarship will equip me with the knowledge, connections, and experiential learning I need to fulfill my vision of providing the disadvantaged, here and abroad, a chance for quality education.