The Educator Who Shaped Me by Melanie

The Educator Who Shaped Me by Melanie - September 2025 Scholarship Essay

To be an educator of young minds is a privilege. To have the opportunity to shape their curiosity from learning how to sing the ABC's, to teaching them how to do the multiplication-trick-on-their-hands, can shape a young mind to the person they are today. For me, having many different educators in my life-time has made me the person I am today. To say that, for one is a huge deal, however, spending more time in a classroom with an instructor telling you, "good job" after a math problem, to "have fun in gym class", creates the young adults we are today. It's not often we are touched by such faculty who shape us to become the best versions of ourselves, however when there is an educator who makes us excited to learn, you know you have encountered someone truly impactful; leaving behind an impact forever.
Sometimes feeling like school was never designed for people who are chasing a dream while juggling everything else life throws at them. Being a nursing student and an athlete means my days start early and end late, and even then, it feels like there’s never enough time in a 24 hour day. I’ve had to learn how to push through when I’m tired, how to stay focused when my mind is in ten different places, and how to keep going even when it feels like no one sees how hard I’m trying. That’s why when I think about the future of education, I don’t just want more resources or newer technology. I want it to be more understanding, more flexible, and more built for real students with real lives.
It feels as though I have been in school forever, and for all these years, I have been so abundantly lucky with lucking out the best preceptors I could ask for and an amazing support team. Losing my grandfather was one of my most challenging battles to digest. My grandfather always wanted me to stay in school, knowing it has always been my dream of becoming a nurse. He was always the one who had seen me as the resilient and determined niece. Someone he admired as being similar to his older sister, the one who works jobs inside and outside of school, to buy books and pay for tutors when courses can get tough. My grandfather always instilled the ideology of the education system being about having the right support system and learning the most important life-long skills from our preceptors.
As a two-sport student-athlete and nursing student, I’ve learned that balancing academics, clinicals, and practice isn’t the easiest thing I have ever done, but it’s taught me discipline, sacrifice, and the importance of the right support system. It has had me learn that with a supportive education system, I really can do this. In the next ten years, I want to be able to see education evolve to better support students like myself, ones juggling more than what’s on paper. To be able to see more flexibility in scheduling, more mental health resources for students under pressure, and more professors who understand that life doesn’t pause just because a test is coming, I believe any student can find success. I also hope nursing education continues to become more hands-on and supportive, preparing us for the emotional and physical realities of the field, not just textbook scenarios but feeling like we made a difference. Students bring more to the table than just their grades, and with an abundance of support within the education system, future education systems can better recognize the stories, resilience, and diverse paths each of us carry.