Being the difference by Iman

Being the difference by Iman - August 2025 Scholarship Essay

This fall, I’ll be walking into high school as a senior, my final chance to solidify my mark and make a difference for my school, and for the people who will be attending after me. I hope to leave a positive impact on my school that will remain even after I graduate, and I plan to do that by joining a variety of different clubs and participating in school events, while volunteering to help set these events up and voice my ideas.

I want to be able to help at least ten people in their education journey because some people may not be as fortunate to have a variety of resources available to them. I’ll do this by setting aside time from my day to help my peers, while also becoming more active in volunteering at non-profit organizations such as Attack Poverty. Feeling lost and thinking you're unable to do anything is a horrible feeling, coming from someone who felt alone and struggled during my freshman and sophomore years. I don't want anyone else to feel that way when I have the resources to stop something like that from happening.

This coming school year, I also want to maintain my academic excellence and move up in class rank. My rank is currently 40/663, but I want to try and move towards 35 to maintain a top 6% ranking position. My rank dropped by a few people last semester due to a death in the family and the weight and pressure we all dealt with afterwards. I tried to make up for those dropped grades, and I want to continue to work hard to raise my GPA and maintain it this coming year.

Lastly, I want to keep a positive attitude and have fun! I know many people around me have been going through a lot, and I will try my absolute best to keep a lighthearted mood so that my peers around me feel comfortable and help make school and their stressful situations at least a little bit lighter. Feeling like you have nobody to talk to is awful, so I still want to be available and be a shoulder that people can lean on.

I aspire to leave a positive impact on my community and my peers while striving to reach goals of my own to build the foundation for my future, all while making sure the people around me can feel that security and sense of belonging as well.