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| Jason Jewell Class of 2017 |
As a nation we consistently give lip service to education yet continually place its importance on the back burner. We will never be the nation we want to or need to be unless we begin to properly invest and encourage education. It’s also more than just a task for the government to take on but individuals as well.
I have been fortunate enough to have received several scholarships to the University of Louisville, greatly improving my opportunities and transforming my life. The McConnell Center alone has opened doors for me to travel to Washington D.C., Boston and China. Just a few of the many experiences of a lifetime. I have learned more traveling and experiencing the world as I ever have in a classroom but those opportunities don’t come cheap.
Most of my friends and I have seen and felt the transformative power of education. It is this transformational power that has led my best friend and I, Lanisha Porter to start our own scholarship, called the Jewell-Porter Book Scholarship. It started with an idea and a passion to help those who have helped us. For now it is a $500 scholarship funded by ourselves, one day we hope to grow the scholarship providing more money to more students. This is just the beginning, but it begs the question, if two college seniors can support a small scholarship, why can’t you?
Education is the future, it’s the life of the nation. I want us to have strong schools not just because I will one day have kids that reap the benefits but as a society we all benefit from an educated population. Take the time to honestly ask yourself if there is more that you can do. For me as a student it was a scholarship, for me after graduation its altering my plans of law school to teach high school history. I believe in the power of education, I believe in the next generation and I choose to invest where my mouth is, will you?
Jason Jewell, of Louisville, Ky., is a senior McConnell Scholar studying political science and economics.