Peter Van Doren's Analysis

Without a doubt, I feel that my response to a difficult challenge is reflective of what Peter Van Doren was looking for in scholars to award his scholarship. The way I handled adverse conditions speaks for itself. Rather than choosing to quit on my education and athletic career when things got difficult, I chose to formulate a plan for success with a clear goal. Van Doren wanted to reward people who are willing to make a strong effort in order to pursue their education. The amount of effort and sacrifice made in order to be a successful student in high school and eventually college displays my extraordinary value for the pursuit of knowledge. I’ve always had a deep admiration for learning because learning is the only path to growth. While education certainly does not stop in the classroom, it is certainly a key place to expand one’s comprehension of a variety of skills and topics. Being in a learning environment like a classroom not only exposes one to a seasoned instructor that can impart knowledge on you but a surplus of different classmates with different upbrings and ideology that expands perception on an idea in a way that gives new light on a concept one may have never seen before.

Being able to expand knowledge with such simplicity is one of the most beneficial things of the Informational Age, and knowledge is what Peter Van Doren wanted the winners of his scholarship to