"Academic Autobiography" Essay
In view of the fact that most autobiographies start at the beginning - I will do the same with mine. I was born March 7, 1978 at 2:24 AM. At that time we lived in Eugene, Oregon, but my education actually began when we moved north to Lebanon, Oregon. I attended pre-school for two years at the local church. When I was old enough to enter the public school system I found out that we were moving again. We took off and flew to the mid-western town of Champaign, Illinois where my father had recently accepted a job with a sports book publishing company. I started my first year there in kindergarten. When I passed on to first grade I was originally placed in a very full class but then moved into Mrs. Valentine's class. She was the first teacher that I remember. Perhaps it was because she was the first teacher that was really nice. I was only seven so I don't have any flashy adjectives to describe her but from a first-grader's point of view I think "really nice" covers it all. I continued my education there at Westview Elementary through the second grade. I also made my writing debut in the second grade when I wrote "The Ignorant Desk" which won me a trip to a creative writing workshop at one of the local community colleges. Then it was time for another "change of scenery" - you guessed it, we moved again.
This time we flew back to the Northwest. We flew to "a pretty little valley in the center of the state named Ellensburg, Washington." My dad had received a job as Director of Physical Education at Central Washington University. I started my third grade year at Lincoln Elementary and quickly made many of the same friends that I still have today. I continued on into the fourth grade and was also placed in the REACH program - a class for students who had better comprehension of the material. My elementary career ended at Lincoln, then picked up again at Morgan Middle School. I attended sixth, seventh, and eighth grades at Morgan. I also believe I acquired my love and discipline for school sports when I was introduced to football, wrestling, and track.
I graduated Morgan with Honors and relief. Finally, the big time, Ellensburg High School. I began at Ellensburg in September of 1991 and quite frankly, I was lost and scared. Instead of being the "head hauncho", I was the low man on the totem pole. I enjoyed my classes and received good marks and awards such as Honor Roll, Scholar Athlete, and 1st Place in the "Voice of Democracy" Essay Contest. I stuck with it and over the years I have learned that it's not such a bad place. Now I have one more "change of scenery" to make. The only difference is I choose the scenery. With my graduation at Ellensburg approaching fast I have some important decisions to make. It seems as if I've been swamped with college information and scholarship applications, and the right choice should appear to me by some form of divine intervention. Well I waited unsuccessfully for divine intervention, then began to sort through and find the options that interested me.
I have narrowed down my options to a few private and public colleges and universities, including the University of Puget Sound, Western Washington University, the University of Washington, and Lewis and Clark College in Portland. I have based these decisions on my interests which include writing, fine arts, football, and most definitely the scenery. I know that I will be expected to pay tuition and costs and I appreciate the opportunity to apply for this scholarship. Thank you for your consideration.
Kyle
Jefferies
January 30, 1996