Standing Out in the Crowd by Sydney

Standing Out in the Crowd by Sydney - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

College is commonly defined as “an organized group of professional people with particular aims, duties, and privileges”. The words “professional people” stand out to me in this definition because success is equated with taking your future seriously and having a professional attitude towards your intended major or career path. Leaders, on the other hand, are defined as “those who guide in a way especially by going in advance”. Part of being a “professional person” is taking the initiative and going above and beyond what is expected of them - or, in other words, “going in advance”.

To be successful in college, one has to find a way to stand out. In the Fall of 2014, over 21 million students were enrolled in an American college, and in the Fall of 2015, I will be one of those millions. I could allow myself to be intimidated by this number. How am I supposed to be one of the best in such a tremendous pool of people? How will I ever be successful with this much competition? I will simply have to stand out. I will have to show what is unique about myself in comparison to these millions, just as anyone else who wants to have a successful college career does.

The best way to show your uniqueness and assert your opinions is through using leadership skills. Leaders are able to convince others. They are able to communicate and set an example for their peers. As captain of both my varsity volleyball team and my club volleyball team this year, I have learned that these skills are not only the characteristics of a good leader, but they are skills that bring success to a team. As the only senior on my varsity team, I had to set an example of discipline and perseverance as the season progressed - when we lost a match, I had to let the team know that everything would be okay, and that losing is a learning experience. This lesson helped us to win the Georgia 4A State Championship, a success that I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.

Just as the State Championship was an evaluation of our team’s season and ability to overcome challenges, college is a series of similar evaluations. With leadership skills, one can be most successful with these evaluations. Leadership inspires others - it is the skill that makes a person more than a statistic. Leadership entails qualities like organization, problem solving, and collaboration - all skills that a student needs to find success not only in college, but later in life. Communication with others is crucial because no matter how many math problems you can solve or essays you can write, people won’t easily know how amazing you are unless you assert yourself.

As I mentioned earlier, being successful in college can be basically defined as becoming a “professional”, or a leader in your field. With this being the goal of one’s college career, leadership skills are absolutely necessary in order to stand out and find success for the future.