Purpose by Lane

Purpose by Lane - March 2026 Scholarship Essay

A time in my life when I helped someone in a meaningful way was when I begun my journey in my agricultural welding class, where I learned what I wanted to do with my life someday.

Back in junior year, I realized that desk work was never for me. I struggled in classes that had me sitting down doing practice sheets every single day, and I struggled in general in most of my classes. But then I decided to take my first year class in Agricultural Mechanics and Metal Technology, where a lot of my work would be done outside of the classroom and instead in a shop where I get to work with my hands. I absolutely fell in love, and I took the class inspired with the desire to be a welder someday. When Spring rolled around in 2025, we finally started to start our welding unit where I found I excelled exponentially more than everyone else. It just clicked for me. While I fell in love, I still hadn't fully dedicated myself yet though and I didn't really take my time to help anyone else then.

Then came my senior year, when I took the next class in the program called Agricultural Metal Fabrication, where we've been welding pretty much all year. I fell deeper in love, and again I seem to excel in this class more than others. I started to really dedicate myself to this craft, and I even spend my lunch periods welding leading into the double block class. I would spend at least half of my school day welding. But then people started to ask me questions, I made friends and I started helping people when I already finished my welding assignment or finished practicing for the day. I made an impact on people's skills and I realized maybe one day I might want to do this someday. Helping others in this class made me understand that I've always really had a passion in me to foster a new generation of people, or to be a guide for others. I want to be a welder, but above that I believe that one day I will be a great teacher, whether in a welding institution or in a high school, so that others can thrive just like I did. So that I can teach the lessons that I had to learn the hard way.

Throughout my life, I've never really understood where I was headed. But in the last 2 years, dedicating myself to what I fell in love with and even dedicating myself to others made me understand what I was put on this Earth to do. My purpose is to help other people find their purpose through teaching and instructing.