Bold Encouraging Others Scholarship

Anatole France once said, “Nine-tenths of education is encouragement.” This is a belief I try to display and embody for all the students I work with. As an Advocate Counselor at a transfer high school, my most meaningful experiences have been supporting student’s social-emotional learning and growth inside and outside of the classroom. When students are struggling, I actively seek to address their concerns. An effective strategy I’ve found for building self-determination and boosting resilience is consistent encouragement. This past year, one of my most fulfilling experiences has been helping a student begin to come to terms with the trauma of abuse through writing. When I learned about a writing program I thought might suit her, I encouraged her to apply and helped with her application. I had never directly facilitated narrative therapy as a form of counseling and encouragement before. She went from traumatized and not being able to identify with aspects of her story, to fully engaging with and processing her experiences and reaching for a cathartic resolution. Helping this student go from disempowered and apprehensive to proud, self-assured, and self-advocating reaffirmed my passion for using encouragement as a method to inspire empowerment and motivation. Since then, she has been accepted to the Youth Communications NYC writing program. Continuing to support this student socially and academically has solidified my belief in the importance of encouragement. Every single one of us needs encouragement to help us strive and reach our full potential.

Being a light in a darker world, definitely involves encouraging others. Unfortunately too many people are insecure and let it escape their bodies in the form of cruel words of or to others. Words can cut so much deeper than one realizes. “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind” said the great poet Rudyard Kipling. Encouraging others requires choosing your words carefully. I am the Captain of my high school soccer team, in a small rural area. With the pandemic, we were uncertain if we would even have enough to be able to have a team. I had to actively recruit players. Some of these players had never played before, and I had to encourage them that they would be able to be helpful to the team, and that they were wanted. Once on the team, I had to encourage everyone that even though we were losing games, we were getting better and having some great moments together on the field. I have a sister that had significant depression. I wasn’t aware at the time, but I learned from listening to her, how to encourage someone. She let me know just how upsetting it was for her to be interrupted, and she would shut down. I learned that to encourage someone, you have to be a good listener as to what their real feelings and fears are. With my team, they were worried that they would be blamed for a bad play. Some people aren’t good team players, and they can scar a person when they are young. Blaming one person doesn’t help a team effort. It tears them apart. Encouraging my team wasn't always easy but it is important for morale. As a sports fan, you can see teams fall apart when they lose encouragement.