Describe an academic goal you have for the upcoming year. by Jordan

Describe an academic goal you have for the upcoming year. by Jordan - August 2022 Scholarship Essay

I have a ton of academic goals that I strive to achieve during my final year of high school like maintaining above a 4.0 gpa, and challenging myself to get all A’s in all of my classes regardless of how difficult those classes may be. Those goals are all great and there is nothing wrong with them, however grades don't always accurately reflect how well prepared I am to succeed in the real world. School academics are very important, however I believe that the academics I partake in outside of school are equally, if not more important, because I get to apply what I've learned in school out into the real world. So I decided to shift my priorities for my final year of high school. Of course, I am still going to strive and put in all of my best effort to get all A’s and to keep my cumulative GPA over 4.1, but my main academic goal for this year will be to enrich myself and to challenge myself outside of school.

I feel that I am challenged with my in-school course load of AP and honors classes, but outside of school, I haven’t yet searched for opportunities to learn and challenge myself in areas that I am interested in. I want to search for possible internships and shadowing opportunities with people in the exercise science and physical therapy workforce. By doing this, I am challenging and enriching myself in two ways. First, I will be working on my communication skills. By emailing and communicating with people already in the exercise science and physical therapy workforce, I will be able to sharpen my communication skills and learn how to communicate with different people. Another benefit of reaching out and communicating with people I may not know is how it forces me outside of my comfort zone in a good way. Communication can be a hard skill to learn, however practicing it makes it easier and I will need strong communication skills for every part of my life. Secondly, I will learn what it's like day-to-day in professions of my interest. By experiencing what a normal day looks like for professions of my interest, I can gauge whether or not I believe a career would be a good fit for me based off of my actual experiences. By challenging myself and leaving my comfort zone to seek out these opportunities, I will gain vital communication skills that will help me thrive in life, as well as valuable knowledge and experience on what my potential career as a kinesiologist or physical therapist will look like.

Enriching myself and actively communicating with people in the workforce of my interest is my most important academic goal for my senior year. I have already been in contact with a family member who is a physical therapist, and I plan to reach out to more people who have careers in my area of interest. This academic goal will be difficult to balance and work at while I stay on top of my in-school studies, however I know that if I apply myself and manage my time appropriately, I will be able to thrive.