Application Essay

1) In what ways has your campus and community involvement impacted your growth and development?

2) How has your co-curricular involvement on campus impacted your academic success?

I have grown and seen myself develop within the Bridgewater community and my academics. I’ve done so by joining clubs on campus and an intramural sport. I have joined a club that has values I have been passionate about all throughout high school and I am able to continue developing that passion through participating in Relay for Life, which is part of the American Cancer Society.

Through Relay for Life, I have found a new community. This has helped me feel at home at Bridgewater. I was struggling to fit in and feel a part of Bridgewater. After finding a society of people I could connect with, I was able to branch out. Because of that I found myself expanding my social group very quickly.

I had felt extremely home sick and alone the first few weeks of school. It had made me consider transferring schools because of the distance from home. I hadn’t allowed myself to stop focusing on being away from home, and start looking for ways to get involved at Bridgewater. Once I realized my fault in perspective, I made a goal to get involved. I started with joining one club, which became a catalyst to my involvement expanding. I then wanted to create my own club and joined an intramural.

This has positively affected my academics in many ways. Now that I feel comfortable at Bridgewater, meeting new people has become easy and useful. Such as in my Public Speaking class, I found myself struggling to keep track of assignments due and what exactly the teacher was asking for even after seeking clarification after class. I looked around and realized I wasn’t the only one. Immediately after class that day, I looked up everyone’s email and sent them a request to be involved in a group outside class specifically to help each other understand the requirements of our class, state any common problems, and ask any questions we have.

I didn’t expect my group to become anything spectacular. It turned out that on the contrary of my expectations, my idea caught like wildfire. Before I knew it, more than half my classmates responded and joined my group outside class. It has profoundly improved my clarity in class, and now I can participate while fully understanding what my teacher is asking of me.
            I believe that I have changed and developed as a student and a person after joining groups outside class. It has altered my perspective to become more aware of challenges, which I am eager to face, and opportunities that I can apply for.