Scholarship / Hispanic Scholarship Fund-Describe a recent academic challenge you have faced Essay [3]

HCF Scholarship Essay- Describe extracurricular activities you have been involved in.

The Test that Changed My Life

Last week my class was given the scariest of all tests--- physics. This test could have scared Chuck Norris. A week later the test were graded. When our teacher came out of his cave the class became consumed in quiet. A stack of papers containing our tests came marching toward us. One by one he passed them out. When my classmates received their tests, some almost went to the bathroom in their pants, some fell out of their chairs, and some glistened with a smile. Finally, my teacher came to me and gave me my test front facing down.

Physics was a class I suffered outstandingly at. From day one I felt like I was learning another language. It was so difficult for me to understand this subject. At first I did not care, but one day I received a progress report. On the front was a fat D-. My eyes almost imploded when they saw this grade. This was a huge wake up call. I realized that it was my senior year and it was not the time to hinder my progress. I took action by trying to find ways to understand physics better. I tried reading the chapter with a more open mind. The only result I got was that I knew the material better, but still did not understand it.

While I was at church one day I came across an older gentleman. We started chatting and during the conversation he told me he had a passion for physics. A light bulb in my head turned on. This is what I have been looking for all along. I told him that I was having a hard time understanding physics. He told me to give him a call next time I was stuck on a problem. One night while I was staring right through my physics assignment I remembered that I could call up that man from church. I called him up and told him the problem. We went through it together step-by-step with him explaining it to me in great detail. After an hour on the phone I became a new man, a man that didn't just know physics but understood physics. I thanked him for his time and promised I would tell him how my next test went. After that day I took each physics assignment with ease, conquering each problem like I was Chuck Norris fighting an unarmed opponent.

The day had come when it was time for the next test. I was ready; I knew the material and I understood it. My teacher passed the tests out and I blew threw the pages so fast that there was a few ashes I had to hide under my table. As I walked to the front of the room to turn in my test I felt accomplished that I had taken the initiative to find a solution to my problem with Physics. Now I had to wait to see if all the work paid off.

I flipped it over and my mouth dropped. A big fat A dressed in red was on the top of my paper. I felt very pleased inside. This result happened because I took the initiative to seek out help past my comfort zone. The older gentleman's assistance gave me enlightenment to the subject of physics. His simple to the point teaching method allowed me to understand it. Thanks to him I overcame my academic challenge in physics. From this experience I learned to go past my usual resources and seek out new ones.

Scholarship / "A Passion Driven Team" - HSF Scholarship Essay- Extracurricular Activities [3]

A Passion Driven Team

High school has been given the implication: "Get the best grades, whatever way you can so you can go to the best college to have the best chance to succeed". In my opinion I think otherwise. High school is not about trying to get the best grades. It is about taking advantage of your free time by joining extracurricular activities that will gain you valuable experience and help you later down the road. After school, instead of using my free time to play videogames or go on Facebook, I use this valuable time to do something productive by investing in my interests through extracurricular activities in my school.

Since my freshmen year I have been part of the yearbook team. When I walk into the yearbook lab, I hear computers humming, editors delegating, and passion being involved. Yearbook is the place where I dwell, where I can go into my sweet spot and thrive. I have learned how to use various computer applications from Photoshop to Final Cut Pro (A video editing software). Every year the yearbook staff produces a yearbook and video yearbook and displays them at the end of the year.

This year I was promoted to editor of the video yearbook. My passion lies in video and leading the video yearbook team has been so far a blast. Our focus is to tell a story, a story that will remind students that they are blessed to go to school like this. My job as editor of the yearbook is to delegate, be creative, and inspire. Our most recent project was to create a Public Relations video to be shown at the various local churches in the area.

We took on the project full force by first creating a motive: How can we get thirty more students to attend our school? We started brainstorming ideas. We listed all the events we wanted to be put into the video. As we started filming the events and putting them together we realized that a piece of the puzzle was missing. We were showing cool events that were happening at the school, but we weren't showing how the school affected a person's life. A solution to the problem arose: interview an alumnus that gradated from our school. We found a well-known alumnus and arranged a time to interview him. On the day of the interview we set up lights, hooked up microphones, and set up cameras capturing from two different sides. I asked him the questions that would be adequate for inserting into the promotional video. We placed a minute from the interview into the video on how attending the school affected his life in a positive way. It took us two more gruesome months to complete the project, but at the end, all our hard work had turned it into a masterpiece.

From being editor this year I have gained valuable experience in creativity and management. Thinking outside of the box stretched my creativity. I also learned that managing a team needs to be carried out through encouragement and structure. Through those key points, my team was able to complete task after task with ease and poise. After graduation, I plan to turn my passion into a career. After college, when I go to apply for a job I will get the job over the 4.0 G.P.A graduate because I have the experience to back my self up. I am glad I didn't just sit on the couch, but used my time productively to do something enjoyable.