Essay About My American Dream

In the year 1998, my parents had one goal and one goal only. That goal was to bring my younger brother and me to the United States from our home place of Omou-Ekiti, Nigeria. They literally left their jobs, homes, families, churches, and everything you could imagine to start completely over in a completely foreign city of Chicago, Illinois. Why you may ask, why anyone would make such a drastic move such as that. And the answer was quite simple, education. The United States of America has the some finest institutions of higher learning in the world. There was such a better life to be lived in the U.S. that simply, Nigeria could not provide for a young married couple with three and five year old sons. They believed that the true pursuit of the

Every school that I went to, I excelled in my studies. I wouldn’t bring anything more than a ‘B’ on my report card, even throughout high school. I was essentially the ideal student, but that was not enough for me. Being a student was a very important part of my life, but I could not hide the burning passion inside to be an athlete. Contrary to the views of my parents, I believed that athletics would one day grant me the American Dream in such a way that education could not. I grew very fond of the sport of football in 2005, and excelled in it very quickly. I wanted to become this new student-athlete prototype that could excel in the two at the same time. It was very hard, but I was a starter and a captain on my high school varsity football team, as well as an Outstanding Senior recipient graduating 15th in my class with a Grade Point Average of 3.98. Being both an outstanding student, as well as an above average set me at the very cross roads introduced earlier with my family wanting me to focus on being a student in college, and I was so head strong on being an

I received the highest G.P.A. I have ever experienced in any summer, fall, or spring semesters preceding. I was initiated into Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity, Inc. in which I preside as the Pi Psi Chapter President. I served on the Black Greek Council’s executive board as the Recording Secretary. I found employment as a Help Desk Technician for the Applied Technologies for Learning in the Arts and Sciences in the University’s College of Liberal Arts and Science. In addition I worked for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Athletic Development department under the IFUND. I was selected to join the University’s La Casa Cultural Latina and the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center, in committee planning efforts for the 2016 Black and Latino Male Summit. I was humbly proud to serve on this year’s 2015 Homecoming Court, an honor and experience that I will forever be grateful to the University for granting me. The recognition received for my academic achievements, campus leadership, and community involvement at the University of Illinois is one in which I would love to reciprocate in my graduate school