College is Important by Emre

College is Important by Emre - April 2020 Scholarship Essay

"We're moving to Cairo!" my dad exclaimed as he took off his muddy steel-toed boots. He had just arrived home from working in the oil fields. I quickly grabbed my phone and Googled the name but was taken aback. "Illinois?" I said. "Illinois?", my dad replied. "Cairo, Illinois, right? That's where we're moving?" I questioned. "No! Egypt. Cairo, Egypt". This is the pivotal moment in my life that I credit as the start to my interest in marketing. Having lived in the United States from Kindergarten up to Middle School and now moving overseas, I spent the first two years trying to understand the different culture I was living in. This is where I first began to really value college. I lived in an area that was located near the oil fields; however, it also has an immense level of poverty. I had never seen anything like this growing up in America. It was a very humbling experience.

I lived on the first floor of an old apartment building, and my neighbours lived in a fenced property with a tent. Their family was large, they told me they had twelve kids and that the third oldest had been the first to have won a scholarship to be able to attend college. He was a brilliant student and was recently offered a job in Apache Oil after graduation. His parents were telling me that they were excited for his income and their ability to potentially finally be able to move out of the tent. This is the value of college, having the knowledge to help not only your family but also others and society.