Revised GE-Ronald Reagan Scholarship Essay

After getting a couple of second opinions, I decided that I needed to revamp my essay, so here it is:

Before he became America’s 40th President, Ronald Reagan pursued leadership roles to inspire and advocate for those around him. Describe how your leadership and service has made a positive difference in your school, in your community, in your family and/or on the job, and how it will continue to make a difference in college and beyond.




 I believe that I must have a defining character and a consistent dedication to my beliefs and values in order to stand out against the massive tide of humanity. I have learned how to faithfully carry out my goals as I watched a church elder work his way back up to walking three miles every day after a major open-heart surgery. I have seen leadership exemplified in a twice-retired electrical engineer who took me under his wing and taught me much of what I know about handyman work. His wife showed me the true meaning of service as she overcame illness in order to make food for our family while my mom has battled breast cancer. From these examples, I have been taught the dedication to leadership and service that I have modeled in my local community, work experience, and planned future.

My local church has been the source of three main avenues of service. I had the opportunity to lead my youth group through a study on how to study the Bible for yourself for six months under the supervision of our assistant pastor. I have also been able to be involved in First Friday, which is an outreach group at my church. Through our evangelism efforts on the first Friday of each month, I have learned to connect with people from various backgrounds. Over the past three years, I have written the lessons for and led a weekly Bible study for a group of high school and college age young men. As we have progressed through four different books, I have improved my study and presentation skills in order to bring lessons that reveal areas for improvement in all of our lives and solutions that will bring about those changes.

My work experience has also provided many opportunities for me in the areas of leadership and independence. My former employer continued to seek me out with job openings for a full year because of my diligent work ethic after I left work at Robins Air Force Base Commissary. Beginning with building my own bedroom and its furniture at age fifteen, I then ventured out as an entrepreneur. For one of our deacons, I prepared and excavated the ground for a concrete pad for his mobile home. We also landscaped his front yard with flowerbeds and new sod. Because of my reputation for low cost and personable service, one man hired me to repair the damage from a ruptured water line in his master bath and repaint the exterior of his house. Lastly, I was able to put down laminate wood flooring in the office and two bedrooms of a gentleman who saw my ability to take on new tasks and provide quality work.

In closing, I plan to continue my leadership and service in college and even beyond that. I anticipate leading other independent Bible studies when I reach college in order to gain more experience teaching and to provide an outlet through which I can share with others what I am learning. Personally, I look forward to the examples and influences that my professors will provide me with so that I can grow in my own maturity. At college, I want to major in Biblical Studies so that I can train people to find saving fulfillment in their Creator God. After graduate schooling in seminary, I plan to either obtain a pastorate or teach Bible at a college in a foreign country so that their natives can learn to lead their own people.

Throughout my high school career, I have proven my dedication to putting others first in the ways I have stepped forward in my community, expanded my work experience, and planned for the future. First, the community around me has been changed as I have found ways to employ the gift of leadership that the Lord blessed me with. Second, my work experience has taught me to understand interpersonal relationships and to work diligently without supervision. Finally, if I am given the privilege of receiving this scholarship, I intend to continue to develop my leadership skills as I prepare for my future career.