Helping Others by Adelyn

Helping Others by Adelyn - March 2026 Scholarship Essay

Helping others is not just something that I get to do once in a while, but it is something that I have the privilege of doing every day. I have the blessing of being an assistant preschool teacher, which requires a lot of patience, service, and a strong willingness to help out. These are all skills that I have had the opportunity to develop through my job, but there have been a few specific instances where the ways that I have been able to help my students or the other teachers that have really changed the way that I view being able to serve.

Before my time working as an assistant preschool teacher, I had the opportunity to serve at a summer camp which taught me many valuable lessons about servant leadership, seeing the needs of others, and being a cheerful helper. However, this position only lasted for about five weeks, which was the duration that the camp was open during the summer. My teaching job is an everyday opportunity, and it has truly changed how I interact with others and what I know about myself. By getting to be in a position to serve and to help, and by being someone who kids have to rely on for all that they need daily is a very unique experience to have but is such a blessing.

The most transformative, sweet time that I have gotten to help one of these kids was when one of boys in my class was having a very rough day emotionally. The whole class was a little chaotic at the time, and my patience was running thin, so the fact that one of my normally sweet and kind kids was acting up was not helping. He was not interacting with the other kids well or being kind, and he was having a really hard time controlling his emotions. He is one of the kids that I typically enjoy having in my class as a sweet, peaceful presence, but something was off about him that day, which again, did not help with all of the chaos already in the classroom. He got to the point where he threw a toy at another kid, which prompted me to then pull him aside, kneel down, and talk to him. I asked him what was going on, and I initially was incredibly frustrated, but he just started crying and gave me a big hug. He told me that he knew he wasn't being a "good kid" and he was really sorry but today was a really hard day. Instantly, I felt my frustration draining. I gave him a big squeeze, and I told him that he was okay, he was safe, and I still loved him even though he was having a hard day. I got to speak words of encouragement over him, help him sort through what he was feeling, and remind him that he could do hard things. When I got done talking with him, he looked up at me with a big smile on his face and the rest of the afternoon, when I would see him start to get angry, I would also see him stop and say out loud "I can do hard things" and then regulate himself. I am still so impressed with him- he is seriously only four years old.

Through getting to help one of my preschoolers in this way, I realized how much of an influence I get to have on these kids every day, and how often I take that for granted. I realized that my frustrations, while they were valid, were not helpful, and did not take into account the bigger picture. I learned how to see the needs of the little ones in my care over my own emotions, how to comfort and encourage a child who is hurting with grace but truth, and how I am so blessed to be able to have these little ones in my life.