Send your essay in the body of the email (no attachments) to scholarship@zippia.com with the subject line: "My Dream Job Scholarship Contest Entry".
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Open to everyone 18 years of age or older.
No purchase necessary. Skill contest. Must be US resident. See official rules for complete details.
Olivia Shifflett
Marion, Iowa
2020 Zippia Dream Job Scholarship Winner
During the beginning of my high school career, I started spiraling. At the start of my freshman year, I was bubbly, happy, and excited for all the new experiences that came with being a high schooler. I had drive, an excellent work ethic, and was ready to learn, not long after I started losing my battle with mental illness. It felt similar to watching myself in third person, I was watching as this girl I once knew began to ruin her life. I no longer had any motivation to apply myself at school, it was enough of a chore to get out of bed. My grades were slipping and all I could do about it was watch. Teachers sat back and observed as their student who once turned stuff in early with straight A’s began drowning in a pile of late work and C’s. Maybe they didn’t realize what was happening, or maybe they didn’t care, regardless, I lost all credibility to my name as a student. My teachers made that obvious, from the looks of disapproval, to the vocalization of disappointment, all except my English teacher, Ms. Kelley. Where other teachers saw a kid, who brought down their class average, Ms. Kelley saw a spark that just needed a bit of nurturing to become that flame it once was. She pushed me to be everything she knew I was, she reminded me that this wasn’t who I was, and I owed myself better.
The world needs more Ms. Kelleys. Teachers who not only see a student but also an individual. She fueled this passion in me to become like her and ever since then I have been working down the path of teaching. I believe that in many instances we aren't sympathizing with our students. High school is a life changing period, and these kids are trying to discover who they are while also dealing with the stress of preparing their futures. It is my goal to create a safe, positive, and exciting learning environment for all those kids who are overlooked, who feel like their potential isn’t being seen. I want to be a steppingstone for my future students to become everything that everyone told them they couldn’t be. I know it’s not glamorous, not every kid is going to want to hear what you have to say, but if I am able to leave an impact on even a handful of students, then I have done my job.
My dream job would be to work as a researcher in the environmental science field.Specifically my dream job would be to work at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, doing research on climate change or ecosystems. The environment is important to me and I have been working hard to make this dream a reality.
The ocean has always been a part of my life. Nearly daily I am either sailing in the bay with the Islander Sailing team or surfing at the beach at the Shores. After being in the ocean for so long I began to notice things that others may not, mainly pollution. After every rain the ocean smells like it's sick from the residential runoff. Each year there is more and more trash floating in the water. As long as I can remember the bay was a place you never ate the fish you caught. There are an array of problems that affect our part of the ocean here in San Diego, but too few people notice. It hurt me that such a huge component of my life was not being cared for, and that this was happening on a global scale. I tried my best to do what I could to help the environment, but my efforts alone are not enough to fix the problem. I decided that I want to make a career out of working on solving our negative impacts on the environment. Working as a research biologist for NOAA is a career that would achieve this goal.
My dream is to become a quantitative analyst.Patterns and math fascinate me. Math has been my favorite school subject starting in elementary school, and I have always sought to take the most challenging math courses I could. Recently, I’ve enjoyed computer science and discovering the patterns and math similarities within computer science. Additionally, the inconsistencies and complex trends in the stock market capture my interest--this inspired me to save up my money for a year and purchase stocks for myself.
Daily, I check to see how they are doing and enjoy comparing their performances to those of other stocks in the market, or how their year-long growth differentiates from the market as a whole’s year-long growth. For a while, I have known that I would like to have a job that deals with the stock market at some point in my life, but I didn’t see myself working as a traditional banker or broker. I realized that I want more of a math and science aspect to the "stereotypical" Wall Street job.
December 31, 2021 at 11:00 PM EST
The winner will be contacted directly.