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Quynn Sander-Olhoeft

8-31-18
Block 4
Alumni Association Scholarship Essay
1. Throughout my high school career I’ve been engaged in several supportive and
invigorating clubs and groups.The beginning of my freshman year 2 of my teachers
recommended me for a new school group called Sources of Strength. This group is
dedicated to suicide-prevention through increasing awareness; we provide a student
support system where other students can come to us as a resource to combat
depression and thoughts of suicide. The following year I also joined Animal Advocacy
club; as the name suggests we spent our free time hosting adoption events and
advocating to protect animals by finding them safe and loving homes. In my junior year,
in addition to Sources of Strength and Animal Advocacy Club, I was inducted into the
National Honor Society, which became an important facet of my life as each week I
volunteer for an hour or more in the tutoring lab here at Golden, helping my younger
peers to understand difficult concepts, just as my older peers helped me. I also joined
Film Club in my junior year, which I greatly enjoyed as it introduced me to new people
who share my interests and allowed me to discover new and engaging movies I had
never seen.
2. I also met new people who shared my interests through an organization called
Westernaires. When I turned nine I joined Westernaires, which I fondly refer to this “Girl
Scouts on horseback.” My Westernaires peers and I came from differing backgrounds
with a wide spectrum of diverse personalities and beliefs, however, throughout nine
years of shared experiences and equestrian interest, we became inexpressibly bonded Commented [1]: THAT'S a neat word
into a family. This community taught me all the same principles Girl Scouts are
renowned for: from developing ineffable bonds with their fellows, to acquiring countless
valuable traits that are applicable in the ‘adult world’. Westernaires requires a year-round
commitment to missing fewer than five practices annually, in addition to passing classes
which progressively increase in difficulty. The volunteer parents strive to shape youth to
be their best, their demand for accountability and excellence taught me dependability,
responsibility, and time management. Like many school sports, Westernaires is
comprised of teams separated by ability and age. Yearly, as my teammates changed, so
did my drills, horses, and instructors. From this, I learned flexibility and how to make
lasting bonds despite constantly-changing circumstances. This community taught me to
respect everyone around me, from my elders to those with contrary beliefs and
personalities. This diverse community takes childish strangers with a shared interest,
and makes them into a tight-knit family of leaders, with all the characteristics necessary
to thrive independently in an overwhelming and mature world. Commented [2]: A good paragraph, not much fixing
3. When I go to college I hope to major in the Biological Sciences because of the great needed
passion I have developed in that subject in my life. I’ve been curious about the innermost
workings of everything around me since I was a child, and in high school, my Honors
Biology class fed that curiosity until it solidified into a clear career interest. I have applied
to Colorado State University, University of Colorado Boulder, Colgate, and Colorado
College. Of those, Colorado College (otherwise known as CC), and Colgate are the two
universities I most aspire to be accepted into because of their phenomenal reputations.
Colgate is a step below an ivy league school and because of that, I have no doubt my
peers there will be dedicated to learning and focused in the same way I am. Colorado
College has a unique learning system, dividing their classes into 8 blocks focused on
one class for three and a half weeks, rather than a semester system. I love this as it will
allow me to more intensely engage in my education, rather than splitting my time and
focus between multiple classes. This will also allow me a chance to study abroad without
taking away from my class time. I believe studying abroad is a valuable experience
because it gives a student the opportunity to broaden their perspectives by interacting
with colorful and diverse cultures that are extremely different from our own.
4. In October of my sophomore year, my 68 year old father fell from an elevated table saw
and fractured his pelvis and spine. No one was home to find or help him for two hours,
and as he has been afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease for 20+ years, this was life
threatening. This event was terrifying to my entire family and instead of bringing us
together, we became separated by our grief. The months of worry, surgery, and
rehabilitation pulled my family apart and taught me to be independent of them. In this
time we all became stronger emotionally, and I became more appreciative of the things I
have. My friends and family, and all of the exceptional opportunities I have in my
wonderful life are just a few of the things I learned not to take for granted. I learned the
value of hard work and perseverance as I watched my father working to function again
despite extreme pain and the conflict of his disease. I realized that life isn’t always fair,
but that if one works hard they can achieve anything. Those values I apply every day
academically and personally to live a more fulfilled and successful life. I realized strength
is a mental attribute more than a physical one because of the strength my mother had
for us in those months when my father and my siblings and I had so little. I became more
aware of life’s downfalls, but because of that I also learned to seize opportunities
(academic and personal) and to take nothing for granted. Commented [3]: Damn good para

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