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Personal Statement
I am originally from Kenya (Africa) and moving to the USA in January, 2012 was a huge life moment for me. Coming from a third world country, facing obstacles everyday like lack of food and materials to use in schools made me the bold person I am today. Going to school and completing eighth grade was considered a major accomplishment in my country. People had to pay to go to school, which prevented incapable families from educating their children. Even though there were public schools, they were so overcrowded that some students had to sit on the floor. Not having sufficient school resources was a major problem for us, but it was worse when the teachers were allowed to hit us whenever they felt was appropriate. Their reason for hitting us, they believed, was only to make us better people in the future.
School started normally at 5am and concluded roughly at 9pm. We would leave the classroom with at least one mark, if not many, from the vigorous hitting. Going through an entire school day was a nightmare, but it would drive us insane because we had to go to school for the whole week, from Sunday to Sunday.
Still bearing the pain, I managed to finish eighth grade with outstanding grades as I passed the required national test to advance to high school. Even though education was important in my country, there were no opportunities for succeeding. No one was guaranteed to go to college after high school and pursue their dreams. The people who succeeded were mostly the wealthy.
As I moved to Akron, Ohio (USA), I looked back at my previous life which motivated me to do better and take advantage of any opportunity at sight. I always keep my head up and continue to work hard because I believe it will be beneficial at the end. They say fortune knocks once at every man’s door. Whenever I get any chance to move one step ahead, I tend to create more and other opportunities from it.
A lot of my friends back in Kenya dropped out of school because they could not bear the pain that is worth nothing at the end. Others were even killed because life became hard and they decided to be thieves and get involved in illegal activities.
As I was on the plane flying to the USA, I challenged myself and made a promise that I will do what it takes to become successful and go back to Kenya and help out by creating opportunities for students and make them realize that their dreams are achievable.
Starting in a new learning environment in the USA was a memorable moment in my life because I have never been in such a sophisticated environment.Just living in the United States for 4 years, I have made a lot of accomplishments that I am proud of. My grades in school were not as good when I started because I was still learning the new school system. After a while, I got used to the system and became more comfortable. I started doing well in school and participated in sports like soccer, track, and football which also created some opportunities for me.
Proudly, I made first team and academic team for all those sports. I also participated in a medical diagnostic program. In that program, we competed with different programs in Ohio, went to job shadowings, and volunteering as well. Leaving high school, I was one of the students with the most scholarship and an average gpa of 3.7, finishing fifth in my class of 150. Still having my ambition of success and going back to help other people makes my passion to succeed even greater. Knowing where I came from, and where I am now, is considered a huge blessing because there are millions of students and families in Africa who want to change their lifestyle as well.
