In my enrollment at the University of Central Florida, I believe my particular background and abilities will serve me well in contributing to the student body and the academic/social makeup of the school.
First, I am a devout Christian. Through my faith in God, I hold to certain principles of kindness, fairness, and compassion. At the same time, I fully understand the concepts of tolerance and diversity, and completely respect the faiths and beliefs of others. It is my belief that, through communication and respect, we can all learn new things from each other. I wish to bring an attitude of happiness, inclusiveness and open-mindedness to my experiences with other students and faculty.
I have been on my school football team all four years of high school. Some people may say, well it is only football not the debate team. Yet, it requires practice for three hours Monday through Thursday, games on Friday evening with preparation earlier on Friday, and then three more hours of practice on Saturday. My school has a very strong football program, and being on our team is demanding. It takes dedication and commitment, as it would be if one were on the debate team, or any other team. I love being on a team and have enjoyed the camaraderie more than I can say. I will not be talented enough to play at the college level, but once I am at UCF I definitely want to try and work with the UCF team or at a minimum join an intermural football program at UCF and thus stay involved with a team of some sort.
While dedicating the time to be on the football team, I had to learn how to best manage my time and dedicate myself to all course in order to maintain good grades and excellent study skills. While I am not the highest GPA scorer in my school, I am an extremely hard worker and will be steadfast about engaging fully with my courses, responding with effectively completed and thoughtful responses to assignments. My attendance and discipline in high school has been very intensively cultivated throughout my academic career, and I wish to bring that same zeal for learning to UCF.
While I have learned how to work effectively by myself, I am no stranger to teamwork and collaboration either; through class group assignments and my four years in high school football, I fully understand the importance of working together to achieve a common goal. With that in mind, I want to engage with other students and learn how to cooperate and develop camaraderie with said peers; it is my belief we can come out of the exchange with greater acceptance of each other and a genuine enjoyment of each other's company.
This desire to help and work with others extends to the rest of the community as well. In my high school career, I have performed more than 60 hours of community service thus far, and plan to perform 20 more before I finish my senior year. Giving back to my community is something I treasure, as it permits me to return my affection for the people around me in tangible, productive ways that help those in need. I wish to bring those attitudes to UCF as well, dedicating myself to helping others in whatever capacity I can best contribute.
These aspects of charity, cooperation, tolerance and hard work are the things I work hardest to bring to the table in all aspects of my life, and they are traits I know I can bring to my academic career at UCF. I am grateful for whatever I can do for others, I work as hard as I can every day, and I always look for new ways to expand my understanding of the world around me. I believe UCF is the perfect college environment in which to develop these traits further.
