Just another scholarship, but I'd appreciate your input!
When ***** said, "compassion first, bend the rules if you must, but make sure when a person in need reaches out, that [we reach] back with a warm and gentle hand," what did he mean and how would you do that? How might pursuing your interests continue *****'s legacy of community service?
Note: the foundation providing this scholarship is providing it in memory of the director of a Senior Citizens avocation group.
The Big Picture
Don't forget the big picture.
***** is remembered as a humanitarian because he never forgot the most important part of his work: the humans.
It's surprisingly easy to forget this element of community service: even when a project's sole aim is to help a group of people, the mission of that project can become easily distracted by costs, standards, rules, and red tape. Seeing past these distractions, though, and pushing forward until the end goal is reached- and the people are helped- is what ****** has called on us to do.
I want to study engineering. No, it's not advocacy, it's not health care, it's not counseling. Nonetheless, engineers are vitally important figures when it comes to serving the community. Engineers are problem-solvers; their jobs are focused on solutions, not obstacles. More than that, engineers focus on efficiency- just like *****, engineers are concerned not with "what is... [but] on what ought to be".
A good example of engineering in the human service field is the summer of 2008: along with my father and my church group, I spent a week in New Orleans building houses. My father, also an engineer, took charge of our work site. When the week was over, the program representative approached him and thanked him, saying that our group "had made more progress in the last week than all of the groups in the preceding month". With the mind and organization of an engineer, the service we provided had much more results.
Of course, not every engineer is also a humanitarian. I am confident, though, that I will continue to give back to my community for the rest of my life. Community service is a core value for me: I have been extremely active in my community. In 2004, for example- I started a Walk Team for Project Bread's Walk for Hunger. Since then, I've lead the group every year, the group has had more than 50 members, and we've raised more than $16,000 for the hungry in Massachusetts. Or in 2007- I began playing free concerts for seniors at senior living homes in the North Shore with my jazz band. Or in 2009- perceiving a need for a workshop in my school, I organized a team of 40 students and adults in raising money for, designing, and building a workshop in my school.
My point is that community service is something I enjoy. I feel like it's my civil duty to society, yes, but it has double rewards: not only are the people who need help helped, but I get the satisfaction of knowing that I've done my part and I've done it well.
Next year I'll be going to college. Right now I'm not exactly sure where- I've been accepted to several universities and am deliberating the programs- and costs- of each one. Wherever I go, though, I will take my commitment to community with me. And, as I study engineering, I hope to increase my potential: with a strong education, the next time I am reached out to, I will be able to reach back "with a warm and gentle hand".
It was under the vision of ****** that ***** grew into the vast social agency that it is today. His passing, though, was not the passing of this vision- in his memory, we can all try "to meet the needs of the neediest", and carry on his mission- I thank you for helping me to carry this mission onward.
When ***** said, "compassion first, bend the rules if you must, but make sure when a person in need reaches out, that [we reach] back with a warm and gentle hand," what did he mean and how would you do that? How might pursuing your interests continue *****'s legacy of community service?
Note: the foundation providing this scholarship is providing it in memory of the director of a Senior Citizens avocation group.
The Big Picture
Don't forget the big picture.
***** is remembered as a humanitarian because he never forgot the most important part of his work: the humans.
It's surprisingly easy to forget this element of community service: even when a project's sole aim is to help a group of people, the mission of that project can become easily distracted by costs, standards, rules, and red tape. Seeing past these distractions, though, and pushing forward until the end goal is reached- and the people are helped- is what ****** has called on us to do.
I want to study engineering. No, it's not advocacy, it's not health care, it's not counseling. Nonetheless, engineers are vitally important figures when it comes to serving the community. Engineers are problem-solvers; their jobs are focused on solutions, not obstacles. More than that, engineers focus on efficiency- just like *****, engineers are concerned not with "what is... [but] on what ought to be".
A good example of engineering in the human service field is the summer of 2008: along with my father and my church group, I spent a week in New Orleans building houses. My father, also an engineer, took charge of our work site. When the week was over, the program representative approached him and thanked him, saying that our group "had made more progress in the last week than all of the groups in the preceding month". With the mind and organization of an engineer, the service we provided had much more results.
Of course, not every engineer is also a humanitarian. I am confident, though, that I will continue to give back to my community for the rest of my life. Community service is a core value for me: I have been extremely active in my community. In 2004, for example- I started a Walk Team for Project Bread's Walk for Hunger. Since then, I've lead the group every year, the group has had more than 50 members, and we've raised more than $16,000 for the hungry in Massachusetts. Or in 2007- I began playing free concerts for seniors at senior living homes in the North Shore with my jazz band. Or in 2009- perceiving a need for a workshop in my school, I organized a team of 40 students and adults in raising money for, designing, and building a workshop in my school.
My point is that community service is something I enjoy. I feel like it's my civil duty to society, yes, but it has double rewards: not only are the people who need help helped, but I get the satisfaction of knowing that I've done my part and I've done it well.
Next year I'll be going to college. Right now I'm not exactly sure where- I've been accepted to several universities and am deliberating the programs- and costs- of each one. Wherever I go, though, I will take my commitment to community with me. And, as I study engineering, I hope to increase my potential: with a strong education, the next time I am reached out to, I will be able to reach back "with a warm and gentle hand".
It was under the vision of ****** that ***** grew into the vast social agency that it is today. His passing, though, was not the passing of this vision- in his memory, we can all try "to meet the needs of the neediest", and carry on his mission- I thank you for helping me to carry this mission onward.