While I enjoy my education, there is one aspect of it that I absolutely despise: the financial burden. School is already challenging enough, so having additional stress is not healthy. Once I was notified that I won this scholarship, I felt two emotions simultaneously: a wave of relief and a sense of pride. It was relieving to know my extremely terrifying amount of student loan debt had been reduced, and I was proud because someone immensely far away read a very brief application and decided I was worthy enough to receive such a prestigious award. This has inspired me to continue working towards my goals, as I have people who desire to see me succeed. There was a dark and devastating time in my life where no one thought I possessed the characteristics of success and they wished to see me fail. I will always be appreciative of the financial assistance from Pearson but more importantly, I will be grateful for their consideration and recognition.
A feature of my scholarship includes the access to a mentorship program. Over the next few years, I am able to communicate with a Pearson employee to have thought-provoking and profound discussions. After just a single meeting with my mentor, I can already tell I will find benefit from our relationship. When I learned about this portion of the scholarship, I was not sure what to expect. This concern was irrelevant as this mentorship has proven to be helpful to me in regard to my personal objectives. Despite being from a different field, my mentor has utilized her network of contacts to aid me in my journey by offering resources. She also reminds me of why I work so hard: to prove some people wrong, and to prove other people right.