Ben Chavez
Biography
My family background is one of perseverance and hard work. My great grandparents only have a sixth grade education as they both grew up on farms. At that time assisting the family was more important than pursuing an education. My grandmother went farther than her parents and has achieved a high school diploma. My grandfather has his GED because he decided that he wanted to join the U.S Army and go to Vietnam. Despite this, my grandparents were both very successful in their lives. My mother is also a high school graduate, like my grandmother. My father, however, dropped out his sophomore year. We do not have higher learning in our family. Although that didn’t seem to hinder our successes, it did make us have to work so much harder to prove who we were and what we could do. I hear from all of them that they wish they took advantage of their educations while they could, and that is a reason why I am going to pursue higher education.
Going more into my personal and family life, I have had to overcome many hardships and adversities. For many years now I have lived in a single parent household. I’ve lived exclusively with my mother since I was about 6 years old. That in itself has always been tough to deal with. I have always had to help my mother around the house, and from the day I turned 16, I have had a job to cover some of my own expenses. My parents were divorced, and my father would help when he could. On October 18th 2015, my father passed away. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through. Our family was lost and in utter disbelief. It was a struggle adjusting back into things with that on my mind, but I overcame. I still am not completely over it, as it was a huge loss and it took enormous emotional impact on me for quite some time. For a brief period I was working two jobs at once to cover everything that needed to be taken care of.
For my time in college, I have many goals I will work on achieving. As a first generation college student, my first goal is to be the first in my family to get a college degree. In my time at college I will always look for new ways to challenge myself, like I have been in high school. My next goal would have to be even deciding what I would want to major in and spend my life doing. I have gone in and out of many ideas, and I would say it is about time to narrow it down. I do know, however, that whatever I will pick, I will be passionate and completely determined about.
The diversity of students at college has always interested me. Seeing such a varied student body is always a refreshing sight to see. I absolutely love seeing people of all different backgrounds and lives coming together and pursuing all of their individual dreams. I feel like I will be a great addition to the University, and I am very eager to be a part of the community. Being of Hispanic background, I feel like I can add to the diversity. People often tell me that I am very personal and friendly, so there will be no problem with me being a part of the complex student community.
There are many reasons why I feel like I am qualified for this scholarship. I have been a hard worker my entire life, and always have taken a pride in that. Through my scholarly life, I have always maintained a certain level of care and finesse in my schoolwork. I always try my hardest and give it my all when it comes to any aspect of intellectual work I put my name on. I have maintained a strong GPA and I am always looking to challenge myself. I have consistently been in honors courses and I have even been in an university class. I am passionate about everything I put my mind to and I always set out to do the best for myself. I have seen through many tragedies and hardships, and I always come out stronger and I learn from them.
Going more into my personal and family life, I have had to overcome many hardships and adversities. For many years now I have lived in a single parent household. I’ve lived exclusively with my mother since I was about 6 years old. That in itself has always been tough to deal with. I have always had to help my mother around the house, and from the day I turned 16, I have had a job to cover some of my own expenses. My parents were divorced, and my father would help when he could. On October 18th 2015, my father passed away. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through. Our family was lost and in utter disbelief. It was a struggle adjusting back into things with that on my mind, but I overcame. I still am not completely over it, as it was a huge loss and it took enormous emotional impact on me for quite some time. For a brief period I was working two jobs at once to cover everything that needed to be taken care of.
For my time in college, I have many goals I will work on achieving. As a first generation college student, my first goal is to be the first in my family to get a college degree. In my time at college I will always look for new ways to challenge myself, like I have been in high school. My next goal would have to be even deciding what I would want to major in and spend my life doing. I have gone in and out of many ideas, and I would say it is about time to narrow it down. I do know, however, that whatever I will pick, I will be passionate and completely determined about.
The diversity of students at college has always interested me. Seeing such a varied student body is always a refreshing sight to see. I absolutely love seeing people of all different backgrounds and lives coming together and pursuing all of their individual dreams. I feel like I will be a great addition to the University, and I am very eager to be a part of the community. Being of Hispanic background, I feel like I can add to the diversity. People often tell me that I am very personal and friendly, so there will be no problem with me being a part of the complex student community.
There are many reasons why I feel like I am qualified for this scholarship. I have been a hard worker my entire life, and always have taken a pride in that. Through my scholarly life, I have always maintained a certain level of care and finesse in my schoolwork. I always try my hardest and give it my all when it comes to any aspect of intellectual work I put my name on. I have maintained a strong GPA and I am always looking to challenge myself. I have consistently been in honors courses and I have even been in an university class. I am passionate about everything I put my mind to and I always set out to do the best for myself. I have seen through many tragedies and hardships, and I always come out stronger and I learn from them.