Devin Dixon

Can you imagine living a life full of trials and tribulations due to the lack of financial stability and not having the career of your dreams? Going to college can avoid this turmoil in your life. Going to college can help benefit not only your life but also make a profound impact on the community in which we live. However, leaving home alone for the first time can bring about challenges a high school student such as myself may struggle to overcome.

Families value going to college. For some, it has been instilled in them since birth that going to college is a must for them. Going after your dream may require you to leave home for the first time. This will probably be a struggle for some high school students. Leaving home will require students to manage their own schedule as they will be living alone in a new town, making new friends, and building life skills to succeed.

Yes, all the above can be challenging for high school students who are matriculating to college. However, as for me, I have a different struggle. My struggle is the cost of rising tuition for college.

After earning my Eagle Scout rank with Boy Scouts of America, I knew I wanted to work with animals. Later, I discovered the best place for me to study animals is at Tuskegee University! Getting accepted into one of the Top Three HBCUs in the country has been one of my greatest accomplishments, other than earning my Eagle Scout rank. I was overjoyed when I received my acceptance letter. Afterwards, I began to research the cost of tuition and my excitement began to dwindle downwards. You see, I am raised by a single mom and the thought of adding pressure to her daily struggles saddens me. All I want is to make my mom happy and proud of me, not add to her struggles. According to research, the cost of college tuition has risen more than 180% making it difficult for people such as myself to attend college. Even with grants, scholarships, and discounts, many families find it difficult to manage the rising cost of tuition and consider higher education no longer an option, leading them to consider service in the military, which is another level of stress.

High family expectations could also become stressful to students. Students will concentrate more on pleasing their family than enjoying their experience. Whether going to college or into the military, the result will allow an opportunity for the student to be a public servant who will be a valuable resource to the community in which they live. As an Eagle Scout, it is my promise to leave the world a better place for all living organisms including plants and animals which is why I will overcome the stresses that may come my way, follow my dream, and become a certified veterinarian.

Agricultural science is a broad field of study. It encompasses various parts of nature including but not limited to food and animal production or farming and animal science. As a future veterinarian, I need to understand how agricultural sciences include animal science. Animal sciences comprises of animal health and nutrition. The diseases of animals are why veterinarians exist. There have been many discoveries about animal metabolism and nutrition requirements that have improved animal health. Animal health is essential to the production of animal products. I have learned a lot about plants and animals through Boy Scouts of America which eventually led me to becoming an Eagle Scout. The knowledge I gained from Scouts taught me to leave the world a better place for all living organisms including plants and animals. This scholarship will help me to continue my love for the world and all living things around me.

As you can see, going to college is important to me. It is especially important to me because it will help me to achieve my life-long dream of becoming a certified veterinarian and owning my own veterinary business. My plans include creating a valuable impact within today’s society as I ensure the health and care for animals through sustainable practices that will benefit our economy and community. It will allow me the ability to be a public servant in my community who will be a valuable resource and give back to the community which I live in and beyond.