Carolyn Hawkins Memorial Scholarship

A caring nature is a fundamental aspect of being human that enables us to connect with others and positively impact their lives. Connection with people is very important to me, and my worldview leaves me with no choice but to strive to positively impact others’ lives. I demonstrate a caring nature in my character, allowing it to influence every aspect of my life, and then overflow into other's lives. The people in my life mean a great amount to me. I strive to care for them as I would myself. In any interaction I have, I try to look out for others and take the time to acknowledge them, being intentional about talking through things with them. I want to make sure I have a correct understanding of the situation, and then I try to respond in a way that leaves everyone better off. By making sure that people’s voices are heard, it is easier to come to a resolution in a situation that is more beneficial to everyone involved. Another way I strive to care for others is by being willing to lend a hand in any situation. If possible, I want to be able to serve the people I care about in a practical way. If this is physically helping them through service, then I will gladly offer my help to them. For example, I love offering rides to my younger friends that are not able to drive. It offers me a chance to spend quality time with them, but it also allows me to help with the resources I have. If the need is just listening to others, I can do that. I understand that not everyone needs advice, sometimes things just need to be thought through out loud. If the need is guidance, I strive to give unbiased but also relevant advice. Someone very important in my life once told me, “A friend as a therapist should not be an exceptional surprise, it should be the bare minimum.” This is something I have tried my best to apply to my life, and my care for others helps me listen, advise, and love others to the largest extent possible. I demonstrate this with my friends, classmates, and coworkers by just being there for them if they ever need someone to talk to. With that being said, I will not hold back when it comes to honesty. I will be gentle, but I will not blatantly lie to make a person feel better about a bad situation. Because I care for others, I must tell them the truth. Sometimes the truth is hard to hear, but it is necessary. I would rather people I care about know the truth and be better off for it than to be stuck in a lie, possibly feeling slightly better for the moment, yet significantly worse off because of it. Often people are afraid to tell people what they think, yet I think that honesty is one of the defining qualities of truly caring for others. Ultimately, I think my character is best described as being caring. I value my relationships and connections with everyone, and I want them to feel that in my interactions with them. A little bit of care can go such a long way. As such, I strive to care for everyone I interact with and pray that this is noticed by others, so that they may feel loved, appreciated, and overwhelmingly cared for.