Academic Excellence by Kutler

Academic Excellence by Kutler - December 2024 Scholarship Essay

The value of overcoming life obstacles has always been preached to me at a young age. Realizing that you aren’t always dealt a good hand and have to work with what you've got. In elementary school, my reading and writing abilities weren’t where they should have been. I scored below average on several comprehension tests. My below-average numbers put me in a program called “READ180”. I was put in an unfortunate position that only I could get myself out of. Approving my skills and getting to do the same things other kids were doing was something I greatly admired. Falling and feeling like a failure was something put into my path so that I could learn to pick myself back up.
READ180 was intended to help students, much like myself, improve their reading skills through literature examination, practice, and teacher evaluation. This was a frustrating time for me as none of my friends were taking this course. Most of them were actually in advanced classes, and I could barely read. Thankfully, I was blessed with Mrs. Moss. She was the teacher of the program. She gave me insights into my failures so I could flip things around. We practiced every day. After lunch, I would go into her classroom, and we would work on various obstacles, whether reading a short poem, writing sentences, or going over punctuation. She completely revolutionized my comprehension. Things began to change in my life. I started finishing books and writing full-page essays. I had a sense of work ethic that forced a hunger to get better. I eventually worked my way up to finishing every book in J.K Rowling’s series, “Harry Potter.” By fifth grade, I had the reading level of a ninth-grader in high school. This hit deep at the time because I went from a kid behind in basic reading and writing skills, to a kid who finished Advanced Placement and college dual credit English courses. Not only did I finish, but I had an A+ by the end of each course. In addition, I scored twenty-eight on the English portion of the ACT and a 25 on the Reading test. After achieving things you never thought possible, it makes you feel like you can climb a mountain.
Failing at such an early age in life set the trajectory for my path in life. It forced me to understand that if I wanted something I had to work harder than everyone to get it. Nothing would ever be handed to me. Even in sports, I was never blessed with natural muscle or amazing speed. I had to work twice as hard as everybody else. Being average is never an option. Academics are the same thing. Taking advanced classes comes with being classmates with advanced students. Those who might not have to ever study, or understand something as soon as they see it. It has never come that easy to me. That’s why overcoming obstacles and dealing with bad hands only forces improvement. It allows you to grow as a person and achieve things that you might have deemed possible.