Why Mount Leadership Scholars?
If I’m quite honest, I don’t think I knew what my 17 year old self was getting into. I challenged myself. Pushed myself to the very end and pulled myself back again. Despite my very low ACT score, my GPA was stellar, my resume was stacked with involvement and my essays would cloud a readers eyes with tears. I knew that Honors and Scholars was an OSU program for student achievers and I so desperately wanted that title.
What I have learned, a year and a half later, is that scholars is not merely a title: scholars is a family. I gained my initial community in Mount and a year later, it has remained steadfast. Secondly, scholars are challenged. Each week I have some assignment or task whether it be volunteering off campus, planning a meeting about the Social Change Model, or attending a social picnic with Mount Alumni. I am expected to give back to the program- the home- that has given so much to me.
Somehow my Honors and Scholars essay application remains true today and inspires me to use forward in all dimensions of my life. As I create my portfolio, I feel it is best suited to begin by quoting my Counting Stars essay;
“Overcoming adversity with such success was something of maturity and wisdom that was a reminiscent of the classic story, The Catcher in the Rye. She mirrored Holden Caulfield by experiencing adversity. Just as Holden searched for his answers in an ever-changing world, this young girl stands ready to embrace the future – the unknown. That girl who so fervently believed in fairy tales and fantasies resonates within me. I am who I am now becoming. As a five year old, I was hopeful, lively and excited to witness the world around me with the ones I love. Now, I still hold hope in its entire abundance, as the sky holds all the counted stars.”
