Scholarship Entry #5: Jake H.

A quote that I have heard all of my life is, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing,” which I now know came from author Steven Covey. At times I would question what the “main thing” was only to hear “the main thing is the main thing”. I have come to know now that the “main thing” is not the same to anyone at any particular point on any particular day. The “main thing” can change from moment to moment, day to day. Last night the “main thing” was attending my high school graduation and celebrating with friends. Today, I see a new day and endless opportunities for the future.

While many people bypass education as a career opportunity, due to perceived low annual salaries and long working hours, following in the foot steps of my mother and sister, I desire nothing more than to teach and coach students. While I have considered other career choices, my love of math and athletics ultimately brought me back to my first, and final, choice which is to major in Math Education with a minor in coaching at the University of North Alabama. By combining the knowledge I have already learned, and what is yet to come, I hope to be an effective educator in the classroom and also be able to help develop student athletes on the basketball court. Educators are some of the most important influences in children's lives, and I feel that I would like to share in this process and help others set their own goals and understand the importance of education and discovering the “main thing” in their own lives.

An area of concern in our local community and nation which I hope to address, and contribute to, is lowering the high school drop out rate. As I looked out at the 78 students who graduated with me, I could not help but remember the others that were not there. Students that were left behind due to the fact, for one reason or another, that they felt that they could not succeed and finish high school. Was it math, the class that I love, that kept them from being there at graduation with my class and I? If so, then part of that responsibility lies within me. Who could I have helped more, explained things to, encouraged more. Several years ago I volunteered at a Math Counts competition which encourages participation in math clubs at an early age. I would like to see competitions of this type become a part of schools in our local area.

Today I begin my day by looking towards the future. Thanks to my education and upbringing, I know that patience, and wisdom from above, will guide my new path. Now the “wisdom from above” would launch my dad into his other quote, “You can only have one quarter back,” but that's a story for another day.