Education Empowerment Scholarship

My mom immigrated to America from Poland when she learned she was pregnant. She decided, for my future living in America was the best choice. At home I only spoke polish. For the first 4 years of my life, the only language I knew was polish. I only began to learn some English when I went to kindergarten at the age of 5. During that year of school, I struggled immensely. I couldn't understand anything, I never finished my assignments and I was very unmotivated to do anything. I faced many obstacles growing up because of my language barrier. From not having any friends to never understanding what was being said to me, I decided I needed a change. I realized that in order to advance I need to put in more effort into my English speaking skills. As a result I started rewriting English books and summarizing them in English. I would have my teachers "grade them" and give me feed back to learn from. On top of that I listened to many English songs and podcasts because for me, hearing the language helped me understand how to use it. From then on, for many years, I continued to struggle less and less until my English became better than my Polish. During my journey I looked up to one person and one person only. My mom. This may be a very common answer but to me my mom is the smartest and most hardworking person I have ever known. She decided to come to America, despite the challenges, knowing that she won't understand anything. She sacrificed a comfortable life in her home country, for a life in a whole new country with a different language. On top of working almost two jobs she was also enrolled in an English course where many polish adults became students and learned English. She worked hard day and night to provide food on the table and help her have a somewhat better paying job. Although to this day, her English isn't perfect, its good enough where she can make her way through some obstacles. I plan to continue my education by attending a four year college where I will get a degree in Kinesiology. Afterwards I plan to attend a chiropractic college to get my doctorate in chiropractics. During this journey of around eight years, I will continue to learn. On top of a degree in Kinesiology I want to have a minor in Spanish. I feel that the Spanish language is used very frequently and it might benefit me to learn more. Although I have the seal of bi-literacy for Spanish, I believe I can continue enhancing my language skills. Afterwards I want to help as many people as possible through taking care of their pains. Outside of school, I volunteer at many different places that require the help. From nursing homes to animal shelters I try at least two to three times a month to help someone out even if it is just helping them carry something. I volunteer at a martial arts school and help teach children the art of taekwondo three times a week. I love seeing the faces light up after they learned a new kicking combination or break their board at their ranking test. I believe that my language barrier from the beginning has set me on a path of hard work. From learning a new language, English, to learning yet another language, Spanish. From being inspired by my mom, to helping others in different ways. This journey is something I am very proud of no matter what. It is something that defines me and I am not ashamed of it. This is a part of me and I believe I have grown to become a better version of myself.