Best Foot Forward Scholarship

Congratulations to our Scholarship Winners!

The trial lawyers at Grant Law Office would like to congratulate all of our scholarship winners. We launched our Best Foot Forward scholarship in 2018 to assist deserving college-bound students in paying for secondary educational expenses. We hope that by offering this money, we are helping not only one student, but an entire community that will reap the benefits of that student's drive for success.

Grant Law Office would like to thank all who applied. Please check our blog and Facebook page for announcements and other scholarship opportunities.

2023 Winning Entry

"...I learned more in that one class than during an entire semester on my first try."

- Austin M., 2023 Scholarship Winner

Short Essay

“Okay, fresh start!”

After locking my car and making my way up the entrance steps towards my designated campus building, a feeling of nervousness and excitement washes over me. So, maybe I didn’t pass my studio art class with flying colors last semester, but the professor had a teaching method that wasn’t working for me. Too structural. Too restricting. I’m a free-flowing person and I need an environment to match. Things were going to be different this time. With power in my approach, I thrust the door confidently with no hesitation. I made my way up the stairs and down the hallway passing various paintings and sculptures littered throughout. I had to stop and admire the craft; these students were in good hands. Large canvases covered the walls leading to the classroom, with paint covering every inch of white. Perspective drawings were using some techniques I’d never even seen before. Excitement washed out the anxiety as I made my final steps toward my destination. Okay, “Mosier”, what do you get for me?”

I entered the classroom. Quiet. Quiet?

At the time, not seeing a professor was pretty jarring. After all, I’d come a few moments late after becoming too enthralled in the artwork. I asked a few students who were already seated if they might know where he was. No one did. I took a seat and started to doodle, hoping he wouldn’t be too long. I was willing to do anything to get the typical “first-day professor diatribe” out of the way as soon as possible. After waiting almost half an hour, a middle-aged man walks confidently into the classroom. He doesn’t say a word. Instead, the man grabs a stool and seats himself in the middle of the classroom. Finally, he greets us. “Good morning class. My name is Mr. Mosier. Now with that out of the way-” he stands up and approaches a long table scattered with art supplies and paper. With no anticipation, he tears out sheets of pastel paper and places one in front of every student.

“For our first assignment, you will make a poem and then draw an image with pastel chalk to go with it. Critique is due at the end of class.”

“What?!” The class’ silence was finally broken.

My desk neighbors and I stared at each other with confusion. An assignment on the first day? Not just that, but an assignment we don’t even know how to do. What were the steps, the technique, and the parameters? What were we being graded on, and how? It felt like we were missing some steps here. Desperate to get a perfect grade, I raised my hand to get his attention. Thankfully I was called on and asked if we were going over the syllabus during the first meeting. With zero emotion in his eyes, he replies, “You’re more than welcome to teach the class if you’d like.”

Crazy. No worse, a narcissist. I’m out of here the next chance I get. That’s all I could think about after hearing that. This wouldn’t be the fresh start I was hoping for if the professor is this brazen and irrational. I pulled out my phone in anger and texted a friend that this class is a dud. After a while of working, the silence became noticeable. Mosier stood up from his chair and walked to me to see what I was doing. Sighing heavily, I responded saucily, “I don’t know because you won’t tell me” He stares at me, eyes unchanging. “I don’t know what you want me to do. I want to get an A.” Mosier continues staring, then speaks with gusto. “It’s not about what I want, it’s about what I want to see from you.” Obviously. After hearing that, I just did what my heart wanted. Who cared at that point? I was dropping the class.

An hour passes; it’s time for critique. I finished my piece just as other students walked to the front of the classroom. Anxiety followed. I look up only to be greeted by large empty music stands perched upright and in clear view of everyone. I walked my piece up to a stand and placed it gently down. It was amazing seeing everyone’s unique approach to this vague assignment. We return to our seats to begin. Mosier walks up to the stands with his arms crossed behind his back, scanning every piece in front of him. The class discusses every student’s piece consecutively before progressing to my own. He stops and takes it in intensely. The man shifts to look at me with a perceived scowl of disapproval. Feeling defensive, I preemptively explained that I did what I thought was right because he’d never taught me how to do this assignment. He didn’t teach anyone. I needed him to tell me what he wanted me to do. After a beat of silence, Mosier folds his glasses and sits on his stool. Looking directly at me and clasping his hands tightly on his lap, he spoke.

“Art is an answer, not a question, and there is no right answer. It's your job as an artist to answer questions in your own way. You’ve answered my question, and it’s a damn fine answer.” I've never heard anything like it. He walked me through my approach to color, style, and ways I could improve. I learned new techniques from the other students, and they learned a few from me. In hindsight, I missed the point. We needed to create and share ideas, try new things, and use our own voices to answer questions.

I wrote him off as some prudish old man who couldn't teach me anything. However, I learned more in that one class than during an entire semester on my first try. After leaving the building, I opened my phone to a text I hadn’t responded to.

“Are you really gonna drop the class after just one day?”

“No, I think I changed my mind.”

- Austin M.


2022 Winning Entry

"What began as a project hoping to learn more about how music can be used as therapy for those with dementia became my first experience in a medical setting that spurred me on towards becoming a physician. I had this itch to fill my brain with as much knowledge as possible in order to eventually share it with others and bring healing to my patients as a physician."

- Hannah G., 2022 Scholarship Winner

Short Essay

My family’s baby grand piano has been a place of solace and joy for me as long as I can remember. Whenever the world felt overwhelming and I needed time and space to think, I would retreat to the piano room in our house and play until my soul found some rest. I always saw my time playing piano as healing for myself and purely for my own benefit, that is, until I met Donald.

Donald was one of the residents at a nursing home I visited every weekend to chat with the residents and play their piano. After playing my limited repertoire, I sat with Donald, usually longer than intended, talking about his life and experiences. I listened as he told me of his wife, who he insisted was the real-life Eliza Doolittle, and his travels to New York, Dubai, and a host of other wonderful places. Suddenly, he told me how my piano playing had brought him back to his time in Paris with his wife whom he missed dearly, and he began to cry as he was sharing his heart and memories. I thought I was the one gaining from him sharing his experiences, but here he told me what an impact my imperfect performance had on him. It was at this moment I realized how sharing something I enjoy and love can bring joy and healing not only to myself, but to those I share with.

"I realized a career as a physician sometimes means abandoning whatever agenda you may have coming into the day and being willing to set your needs aside for those of your patient. A physician makes sacrifices and serves altruistically, but also experiences growth within themself in making those sacrifices. It is this selflessness and servitude that continues to draw me towards this career above all others."
- Hannah G.

What began as a project hoping to learn more about how music can be used as therapy for those with dementia became my first experience in a medical setting that spurred me on towards becoming a physician. I had this itch to fill my brain with as much knowledge as possible in order to eventually share it with others and bring healing to my patients as a physician. I made it my goal to become the human embodiment of the healing music brought me, Donald, and many others through gaining and sharing knowledge and experience.

When I moved away from home to attend Georgia Tech, my place of solace in the piano room became further away. I had to find other ways to expand my learning and inform others; I had to find other avenues of bringing healing. This presented the challenge for me to move beyond my comfort zone and dive deeper into exploring the medical profession.

Thus, I worked as a personal care assistant for a student with cerebral palsy on Tech’s campus to better understand what everyday life is like for many patients I might interact with in the future. I had always considered my patience one of my strengths until this experience showed me how much room there was for my patience to grow. My relationship with this student inspired me to rethink how I might approach my work as a physician. I realized a career as a physician sometimes means abandoning whatever agenda you may have coming into the day and being willing to set your needs aside for those of your patient. A physician makes sacrifices and serves altruistically, but also experiences growth within themself in making those sacrifices. It is this selflessness and servitude that continues to draw me towards this career above all others.

"In my quest to immerse myself in the medical profession as much as possible, I found physicians are not strictly limited to the clinical setting. They are researchers, humanitarians, and servant leaders who make it their mission to change the lives of those around them. This aspect of a multifaceted career with a cohesive goal was also a draw to medicine for me."
- Hannah G.

In my quest to immerse myself in the medical profession as much as possible, I found physicians are not strictly limited to the clinical setting. They are researchers, humanitarians, and servant leaders who make it their mission to change the lives of those around them. This aspect of a multifaceted career with a cohesive goal was also a draw to medicine for me.

When I first explored the research side of the medical profession, I felt somewhat disconnected to the research I conducted related to cystic fibrosis. It was difficult to see the impact it was having on real patients when all I saw were my petri dishes covered in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. My perspective did not extend past hours of SCFM preparation and Congo red colony morphology assays.

However in my work with For The Kids, I met a little girl named Sutton and her family at our biggest fundraising event of the year, the FTK Dance Marathon. In the midst of the excitement and chaos of the day, I listened to her and her family share her story of living with cystic fibrosis, and in that moment I realized the true purpose of my research. It was not just about looking at different aspects of bacterial growth and antibiotic resistance. My research had an individual connection to all patients living with cystic fibrosis and had the potential to improve their lives without me ever meeting them. In becoming a physician, I would not only be able to change the trajectory of someone’s life through research, but also in a more impactful and meaningful way, through direct patient care.

With each exposure to a different aspect of the medical profession, my appreciation and passion for the field grew. Whether tracking antibiotic resistance in cystic fibrosis, working with the student with cerebral palsy, or playing piano for Donald, I witnessed how this career is unlike any other and exactly the one I want to pursue. I observed firsthand the impact clinical care, research, and philanthropic endeavors each contribute to changing the lives of patients and intersect to make a career as a physician one truly of sacrifice and service to others. This is the only career that can bring that sense of healing the piano brought myself and Donald, and I am confident medical school is the next step in my journey to embodying that sense of healing.

- Hannah G.


2021 Winning Entry

"I have always had an instinctive love for helping others build confidence; I strive to enter a career field where I can pursue this passion on a daily basis."

- Glory O., 2021 Scholarship Winner

Short Essay

Day 1. I walked into the atrium of Grady Memorial Hospital for my volunteer shift. As I distributed ice to patients, I heard a mother in a nearby room yell in agony. I went into the hallway and saw a group of nurses huddled around the charge nurse. “He's turning blue!" the mother exclaimed. "POW! POW! POW!" The charge nurse performed a back thrust on the mother’s choking baby. One nurse checked to see if the baby expelled a foreign object; one nurse fired up the AED; one nurse performed CPR.

Day 2. I entered a crowded elevator for my next volunteer shift. The elevator doors gradually inched to a close when a well-manicured hand entered the crack between the doors. The doors slowly opened, revealing a woman hunched over and panting in pain. My eyes met her pregnant belly and I quickly realized she was having contractions. A visitor hastily searched for a wheelchair; a patient helped the woman into the wheelchair; a healthcare worker directed the woman to the labor and delivery floor.

"I will not just be a professional who sees a patient once a month—I will be a role model who inspires my co-workers and patients through servant-leadership."
- Glory O.

Day 3. I entered the neonatal intensive care unit for another shift. It was silent, albeit the continuous beeps from the various machines keeping the babies breathing. Across the unit, a dark silhouette approached a baby's incubator. An emotional father closely watched his newborn, who was in critical condition. Fortunately, healthcare professionals ensure quality health service for the newborn. A neonatologist directs the newborn’s care; a neonatal nurse practitioner assists the neonatologist; a clinical nurse specialist teaches the father about the newborn’s condition. Having seen the importance of healthcare workers during these scenarios, I made it my goal to promote equal access to quality health services.

As a student at Chamblee Charter High School, I've done just that by being an active member of Health Occupations Students of America where I promote career opportunities in healthcare. Additionally, I was one of the first amongst three members of Chamblee’s new HOSA chapter to compete at state level. To fundraise for our chapter to attend the State Leadership Conference, I sold baked goods after school.

My endeavors as a hospital volunteer and as a student at Chamblee have directly influenced my postsecondary aspirations and career goals. In the fall, I will be attending Duke University. With a major in Global Health, I plan to focus on the intersection of social impact and dental care access. Duke University's courses, including "Global Health: Social Determinants," will help me understand how poverty, education, and stigma influence the health of communities; Duke will equip me with the knowledge to create a strategic plan to eliminate oral health disparities.

"Orthodontists literally change lives by changing smiles every day and I can envision the significant impact I will make by becoming one."
- Glory O.

While the levels of dental caries are decreasing in developed countries like the United States, dental caries and other health issues are becoming more prevalent in developing nations—44% of the world's population has untreated tooth decay. By participating in Duke’s Pre-Dental Society, I will conduct an individual research project in collaboration with professors who are preeminent experts in their field to examine the social causes for an increasing trend in dental caries in developing nations.

To give back to Duke's community, I hope to initiate a dental product drive; I will invite students to donate dental care kits to those in need. I will also work with student organizations to reframe how health is understood by the public by creating and sharing educational resources in underserved communities. Additionally, I hope to collaborate with Global Dental Relief, a non-profit organization that sends teams of dentists, hygienists, and general volunteers to underprivileged nations to deliver treatment and preventive care in remote villages; I will work directly with children following their treatment to apply fluoride to their teeth which will protect them from future cavities.

Beyond college, I will pursue my career goal of entering the healthcare field as an orthodontist. Why? I have always had an instinctive love for helping others build confidence; I strive to enter a career field where I can pursue this passion on a daily basis. By becoming an orthodontist, I will not just restore people’s teeth—I will inspire confidence in youth by creating beautiful smiles. I will not just be a professional who sees a patient once a month—I will be a role model who inspires my co-workers and patients through servant-leadership. Orthodontists literally change lives by changing smiles every day and I can envision the significant impact I will make by becoming one.

Receiving the Best Foot Forward Scholarship will help me achieve personal and academic success by offering the financial support needed to pursue my goals at Duke University and beyond. I am grateful to be considered for this scholarship opportunity, and should I be selected, I will use it to advance my passions for solving healthcare disparities and promoting equality.

- Glory O.


2020 Winning Entry

"Loving something won’t always be so easy. Sometimes loving something means being able to fall back in love once you’ve fallen out so many times."

- Kalvin N., 2020 Scholarship Winner

Short Essay

“I did it! I did it! I finally did it!” I yelled in excitement.

I tapped my friend on the shoulder to tell him all about what I just made.

“Oh, oh, and check out its strut. And look how fast it’s going! Cool, isn’t it?” I said enthusiastically.

In an apathetic manner, he responded, “Yeah, I guess so.”

"It was so simplistic, yet it had so much meaning behind it (or at least for me.) It’s a feeling that I can’t explain, much like looking at Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans. "
- Kalvin N.

It might not have been the response I was expecting, but I went with it. What I built may not mean much to many people, but it meant the world to me. In that moment, I truly felt like no one could ever be as excited as I was. I had done it. I had created something that I loved with my very own two hands. It was at that moment that I knew what I wanted to be: a creator. That memory from sixth grade computer class was the first time that I discovered my passion. But as with any other passion, sometimes you have to rediscover your love for it.

A few years later, in sophomore year, a difficult programming assignment broke my spirit. No matter what I did, it would always go wrong: error here, crashed webpage there, and so on and so forth. In what seemed like a miracle, the same long-time friend approached me. In the meantime, he had improved his skills well beyond my caliber.

“How ya’ doin’, man?” he asked me.

“Just strugglin’ a bit. I can’t figure this out. I used to really like doin’ this stuff but not when it gets like super hard, ya’ know?”

“Well, I guess everybody’d be doin’ it if it was easy, right?” he responded.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Do you think you could help me?”

“No problem man. I gotchu.”

He helped me go through my program and he clarified all the lines of code that I didn’t understand. 30 minutes and one pack of Lays Chips later and, boom, it works.

“(Gasp) It worked! Thanks for helping me out.” I said excitedly.

“No problem. Come get me if you need any more help, alright?”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

"From an outside perspective, it might mean nothing to the observer. However, from the creator’s perspective, something as simple as a soup can or a running cat could speak to the heart and mind in a weird way."
- Kalvin N.

Although I had figured out the solution to that problem, I was not any closer to finding my passion again. Later that night, I thought about how good I used to be at this and how I can’t seem to look at it the same way. All of a sudden, a memory of that project from middle school flashed in my brain.

“I wonder where that project is. I must still have it somewhere,” I thought to myself.

I looked through my old school files until I found it: the “BEST PROJECT EVER.” That name gave me a chuckle once I saw it. I opened the file to look back at what twelve-year-old me thought was my greatest creation.

“That’s it?” I said quietly.

I immediately burst into laughter. It was the silliest thing I had ever seen. I don’t know why, but I found it hilarious at 12:00AM that Tuesday night. When I was in sixth grade, I created a computer program that animated a pixelated cat, running around the edge of the screen as if it were chasing a yarn ball. It had this goofy look on its face that brought back so many memories. It was so simplistic, yet it had so much meaning behind it (or at least for me). It’s a feeling that I can’t explain, much like looking at Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans. From an outside perspective, it might mean nothing to the observer. However, from the creator’s perspective, something as simple as a soup can or a running cat could speak to the heart and mind in a weird way.

That trip down memory lane opened my eyes to a hidden characteristic of passion. Loving something won’t always be so easy. Sometimes loving something means being able to fall back in love once you’ve fallen out so many times. After I figured that out, I couldn’t stop chasing it. I have started to build my own website and I’m looking toward college to hone my skills.

College, for me, is my path to growth. There are two facets to which my skills will develop in college. On one hand, college will give me the technical skills and knowledge necessary for a career in the technology industry. On the other hand, and perhaps most importantly, I will learn critical personal development skills that have gone underdeveloped for way too long. I may not be the first to admit this but figuring out how to be an adult is a long (and hard) journey. As a kid, I used to think that an adult is just something you become once you turn 18, but it is so much more than that. Adulthood is very much like a seed, in that it continues to grow until its very last day on earth. That is what I strive to be, no, that is what I will be. I am at the cusp of being who I want to be. I just need a little assistance, just like how my friend helped me out two years ago. With a helping hand, this is how I will walk with my best foot forward.

- Kalvin N.


2019 Winning Entry

"I gradually came to the realization that I wouldn’t change my major – education was where I needed to be."

- Madeline S., 2019 Scholarship Winner

Short Essay

“Why, when we say the word ‘something’ do we usually say ‘sumpthing?’”

“Umm, it’s...I don’t know. Can you explain that one again?”

"One day I just realized that I couldn’t declare anything else and that I had known that for a while. I loved kids and learning. Teaching felt like a good career for me. Nothing else seemed to fit the same."
- Madeline S.

It was late on a Monday night, and I sat next to my classmate, Jamie, at a long table on the second floor of the library. We had a linguistics quiz in the morning, and while I was eating up every bit of information from the class, it just didn’t click for everyone. Jamie was one of those people.

“It’s the insertion of a voiceless stop.” I slowly explained that it occurs when two specific types of sounds pronounced from the same place in the mouth follow each other.

“So, what’s the place of articulation for the ‘m’?”

I watched as Jamie leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, pressing his lips together and muttering “muh, muh.”

“It’s a, um, bilabial?”

"I gradually came to the realization that I wouldn’t change my major – education was where I needed to be. But I didn’t know why. I wasn’t burning with passion and motivation to one day step into a classroom. Until that Monday night in the library."
- Madeline S.

“Yep, and what’s the place of articulation for the ‘p’?”

He focused again, pressing his lips together to create a “puh, puh.”

“Oh, it’s bilabial.”

“Right, we add in the voiceless stop—the ‘p’ – that’s pronounced in the same place as the nasal sound – the ‘m.’” I was met with a big, beautiful “Ohhhh!” as I saw him make the connection.

“Man, I’m so glad you’re going to be a teacher.”

His comment caught me off guard, and I couldn’t help but smile. That night we had won a bunch of little battles, where he started to understand a topic better. But, seeing the brilliant light bulb come on in that moment gave me a joy I wasn’t expecting to find in the library at 9:30 on a Monday night.

When I was applying for colleges, I didn’t know what I wanted to major in. I had a couple of ideas, but I just wasn’t sure. During the spring of my senior year of high school, I gradually came to the conclusion that I would go into Early Childhood Education. There was no one moment where I made the decision, no divine revelation. One day I just realized that I couldn’t declare anything else and that I had known that for a while. I loved kids and learning. Teaching felt like a good career for me. Nothing else seemed to fit the same.

So, I adopted the facade of being sure of my major to wear, confidently, when distant relatives and parents’ friends interrogated me about my future. As I started my freshman year, I got excited about being a part of the education program at my school. Just as before, I gradually came to the realization that I wouldn’t change my major – education was where I needed to be. But I didn’t know why. I wasn’t burning with passion and motivation to, one day, step into a classroom, until that Monday night in the library.

After Jamie told me he was happy I was in education, I knew, for the first time, why I was, too.

"After Jamie told me he was happy I was in education, I knew, for the first time, why I was, too. After that night, I looked forward to walking through the topics of our class with Jamie. I craved the “lightbulb moment."
- Madeline S.

After that night, I looked forward to walking through the topics of our class with Jamie. I craved the “lightbulb moment.” I asked him what kinds of subjects were easiest for him, and found ways to present linguistics to him through that lens. Like the time I showed him that the 12 main verb tenses in English are like math. You identify the triggers of each tense and add them together to get the combined tense you want. I witnessed the gears turn in his head, and he came up with a sentence in past perfect progressive without referencing his notes. It made me proud of him and proud of myself, and zealous about becoming a teacher.

A few months later, as I walked to the porch of our humanities building, I received an email titled, “Tutoring Position.” My heart fluttered as I opened the email and read, “...your name has been recommended to us...” I sat down in a rocking chair and simply grinned for a few minutes. It wasn’t a guaranteed job, but even interviewing for a tutoring position made me excited.

I had calmed myself down enough to pull out some homework to do when a man in a suit stepped out of the building and politely asked me what the name of it was. Though his speech was excellent, he was clearly a non-native English speaker.

“It’s called Evans,” I said.

“Evan, like up there?” He pointed toward the sky.

“No, Evans.”

He still seemed confused, so I pulled out a notecard and wrote it for him.

“Ohhh, ee-vuns.”

“Evans,” I corrected.

He raised an eyebrow. “The whole of the United States calls it ‘Evans?’”

“Yes, some people have it as a name.” I laughed.

While he texted his friend directions to the building, he asked me what I studied. The word “education” had hardly left my mouth before he was nodding and expressing his approval. When he had finished up, he shook his head.

“Evans, really? So, what do you call that?” He pointed to the sky again.

“Heaven.”

“And what do you call this?” He pointed to the building.

“Evans. The difference is it doesn’t have the ‘huh’ sound.”

“Ahh,” was his sound of realization. He shook his finger, “See, this is why you are going to be a good teacher!”

The small moment made me laugh. I doubt it was a good reflection of my teaching capabilities, but it was another lightbulb moment. That man had provided me with a little bit of joy that took me back to the library. Jamie had helped me to realize my passion for helping people learn, figuring out what makes it click for them, and witnessing the lightbulb turn on. In a way, Jamie’s “Ohhh” moment as he understood an insertion rule of phonology was my “Ohhh” moment, as I understood why I was on the education path.

I typed up an email to the tutoring center: “I would love to interview!”

- Madeline S.


2018 Winning Entry

"Knowledge will never run out for any of us, and that’s the most joyous fact of all."

- Katie D., 2018 Scholarship Winner

Introduction

My name is Katie Davis; I am 17 years old and currently residing in Central Georgia. I have been dual-enrolling full-time at Middle Georgia State University for the past two years. I also happen to be the founder/CEO of a local nonprofit that donates necessities to foster children and supports indigenous Guatemalan women (check it out at samestarscanvas.org!). I have chosen to apply for the Grant Law Office scholarship in hopes of easing the financial burden that even in-state tuition would be on my family. I hope to use this scholarship to help me study architecture, which I aim to eventually get a PhD in. Thank you for the opportunity!

Short Essay

The shaggy-haired senior at the desk in front of me had his credit card and phone pulled out under his desk, not-so-discreetly ordering shoes online. My best friend at the desk beside me was doodling suns and cartoon pigs on her binder. It was the last day of school, but the documentary projected on the board as an afterthought by my tired Latin teacher made all the summer excitement fizzing in the room around me turn to static.

"Even if I set out to learn everything possible about just a single topic (say, crows, my favorite animal), there will never be enough time to read every book written on them."
- Katie D.

The broad and impossible arcs of the Coliseum, the perfect and effortless way they distributed unimaginable weights—it all seemed to make time stop for a moment. The three ancient architectural orders present struck me; a detail easily glossed over at first glance, but an aspect so pivotal it can’t be unseen even in the grainy light of a projector, victim of budget cuts. How could an ancient construction essentially made of just arches become so visually powerful and hold up such enormous weights?

The video slid to a new image, a rendering of Roman aqueducts. Again, it seemed impossible for the time. I imagined the dozens of miles of grassy plains that those precisely sloped structures traveled on. I thought of the bathhouses and fountains, hallmarks of Roman culture. None of it would be possible without architecture like this.

In that moment, more than anything, I wanted to create something just as impossible, just as beautiful. I want to be a part of earth's architecture. I want to contribute more beauty, purpose, and structure into the world, and celebrate the steady root it holds in culture.

One of my favorite lines of Shakespeare appears in As You like It: “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”

"The thing about education is that the further you get into it, the more you realize that you really do not know much at all about anything."
- Katie D.

The thing about education is that the further you get into it, the more you realize that you really do not know much at all about anything. After learning about fractions and division in 3rd-grade math, I was so sure that I knew every possible thing there was to learn about arithmetic. Almost a decade later, sitting in a college calculus class, I have never been more aware of just how little of mathematic theory I actually know. The other day, I was sitting in my local library and came to the heart-wrenching realization that even if I read every single one of the thousands of books in the building—which would literally take over a lifetime to do—I would only have been introduced to a practically nonexistent fraction of the knowledge there is to be discovered.

There would still be hundreds of thousands of libraries in the world filled with millions more books, including ones written in countless different languages that would take lifetimes to become proficient in. Even if I set out to learn everything possible about just a single topic (say, crows, my favorite animal), there will never be enough time to read every book written on them.

Though an initially discouraging thought to consider, it is also a humbling and thrilling one; no matter how many people you meet or experiences you’ve had or courses you’ve taken, there will always be even smarter people to learn from, more lessons to be discovered, and a further sense of understanding to capture. Knowledge will never run out for any of us, and that’s the most joyous fact of all.

We must not be third graders satisfied with knowing only a multiplication table. We must further our ventures in everything in hopes of reaching the point in which we fully realize that we know nothing. I am looking forward to furthering that realization through a collegiate study of architecture.

- Katie D.