QGNT Scholarship 2010

Scholarship Application ( MS Word )

Scholarship Application ( PDF )

Essay for  QGNT Scholarship:

1.       As part of human, we all have strengths and areas which we can improve.  Describing your strength and weaknesses and how you took advantage of your strength as well as overcome your weaknesses.

“…lock…stay there until further notification,” Mr. Howell, our high school Vice Principal, exclaimed through the PA system.  What was going on?  As my fellow peers and I were selling tickets for the upcoming dance during lunch, we were all flustered with what had just been announced.  With fifty chatty high school students cramped in our minuscule student union, the decibel level was way too high to hear the announcement.  Only bits and pieces of the announcement could be heard; after thirty seconds of putting the pieces together, someone shouted, “Lockdown!”  Students were in a frantic scramble, not fully comprehending the information that had just been received.  Frenetically trying to figure out where to go, the student union had turned into the likes of a bumper car arena. 

As ASB President, I knew that I needed to take the initiative and try to maintain control in the room.  I rushed to the other side where the door was located and shut it.  Screaming, yelling, or shouting would definitely be counter productive to my goal; it would probably just make most of them even antsier.  Therefore, as elementary as it sounds, I did the infamous claps: Da--da-da-da--da- and waited for the rest of my peers to reply with da-da.  Miraculously, it did the job, and most of the students were quieting down. 

By that time, Mr. Howell came back onto the PA, “Please stay in the classroom until further notification.  Doors must be locked and don’t open the door for any reason.  We will update you later with more information as it becomes available to us. Stay calm.”  With everyone settling down from all the chaos that had just occurred, I knew that there was nothing else to do but make sure that everyone stayed composed and silent.  Knowing that people needed reassurance that everything was going to be alright, I decided to continue selling dance tickets.  This time, of course, much slower and less muddled.  People were actually patient, and hushed, while waiting in line. 

In the mean time, someone had notified us that there had been a shooting across the street at Bronco Billy’s, a local pizza parlor.  The police and paramedics had arrived, and the situation was being taken care of.  Just then, Mr. Howell came back onto the PA confirming the recent update. Yet once people knew someone had been shot, there was continuous murmuring.  Was it a student?  Were they hurt?  Did the person who shot the victim get away?  Inquiries were endless, and people started to get restless again. 

Honestly, I was quite petrified myself.  There was no adult in our room; there was no knowledge of if the perpetrator was on campus.  Yet I knew that if I started to show my qualms, people would start to worry even more.  Therefore, I started to do what always keeps me calm—stay busy.  Luckily for me, the following week was Spirit Week, which is the craziest, most hectic week at our school filled with spirit, skits, and decorations.  Knowing that I had a bundle to finish, I used that time to my advantage.  I got a small cluster of girls who seemed very apprehensive and got them to help me finish decorating chairs for the Homecoming Court.  They seemed very relieved when they had something to concentrate on aside from the lockdown.  Before long, more people started to ask how they could help and the student union was soon transformed into Santa’s workshop—there were students in small groups scattered all around helping construct decorations.  Before we knew it, Mr. Howell was back on the PA announcing that the lockdown was over and we could all go to sixth period. 

            With the calamity situated, I realized that leadership was more than positions: Freshmen Class Vice President, Sophomore Class President, ASB Ambassador, and even ASB President.  It was more than planning and hosting dances and noontime activities.  It was about using all the skills that I had learned from “leadership,” initiative, delegation, time management, to real life predicaments.  I was able to adapt and react quickly to the new environment as well as motivate and comfort others through this chaotic time.  Applying everyday lessons to real life will assist me with any obstacles that I will face in the future. 

Natalie Vu

Emily Thu Do
Essay for QGNT Scholarship
#3: As part of human, we all have strengths and areas which we can improve. Describing your strength and weaknesses and how you took advantage of your strength as well as overcome your weaknesses.

Running Away From Fear: A Dead End
Fear is an anxious feeling that stops human beings from realizing happiness. It only appears in a very little corner inside of your heart, yet it conquers all of your actions and thinking. People have different ways to deal with fear; in fact, they have tried and tried to walk away from it, not to face it. I deal with problems well but when it comes to fear, my feet still seem a bit unstable. High school life was the first time that I had tasted fear. Through the years, it’s not the achievements but fear that gives me the most important lesson in my life.
Back then when I was in middle school, I thought I was strong enough to stand on my own. In those days, some small problems of keeping up friendships did actually make me cry intensely with the thought “the sky is falling down”. I spent nights and days thinking about friends and forgetting my family and even my studying. I was totally frustrated and hopeless, asking myself why my friends didn’t pay attention to me. They didn’t even ask me why I was sad or mad and they left me out. At that moment, I was too naive to find out what was wrong with me to make them avoid me. Thus, I tried to seek another “greener” place that might be filled with smiles and happiness to which I belonged.
American Pacific University, which was an international high school combining college programs, was where I started my life all over again. As I expected, everybody was smiling, teachers were kind and most of all, my best friends would never let me down. Nevertheless, the old saying is never wrong: “You can run from fear, but the more you run, the more you fear”. Troubles and problems started happening everywhere I went. My friends started talking behind my back; I spent days and nights thinking about them. Therefore, my grades kept going down. This time, my initial happiness lasted for only a year and ended up worse. All of a sudden, I started to realize something, which I thought was the reason why people hated being around me, but I was totally out of control spending time figuring it out. Once again, the thought of moving to another school filled up every corner in my head. And that thought won; I one more time chose to run away from my own fear.
Then I moved to American International School in the middle of the semester. Someone has said: “What goes around comes around”. So though I ran forward, I ended up at the same starting line. Based on my English skills with some recommendations from my old teachers, I studied in 11th grade without paying tuition. Therefore, being hated by students in this school was an obvious result, which I should have been aware of before stepping in classes. However, a third time of being chased by fear, I finally chose to wake myself up. I was tired of moving from place to place, so I stood up and fought back for my own future. It was jealousy that led people into hatred. At last, I could see what life was like when you were a cool and exceptional girl with strong determination and self-independence followed by love and attention from teachers. I ignored the rumors and studied quietly. It didn’t even bother me when some classmates made fun of me in front of the classes to distract me from the lessons. Later on, I turned out to be the top student in 11th grade even though my total grades were not perfect. Everybody then looked up to me. It was even funnier when people started flattering me which quickly made me an unforgettable celebrity. Overall, honor from teachers and respect from every student in school were what made the monumental turning point in my life.
In conclusion, after so many times of running away from fear - fear of loneliness, fear of failures, fear of peer pressure didn’t make me any stronger. Facing fear has changed everything in me. If that day I weren’t be able to cope with fear, I wouldn’t dare to be in the US, a place of many unknowns. Fear might sound terrifying, yet it is happiness that lives within it. I wonder what I will be facing next in the future, but it doesn’t really matter anymore. What will be will be, all we have to do is get ready, get set and go for it.
 

QGNT is proud to continue its support for the Educational Grants/Scholarship Program in providing two special scholarships for qualified students for the 2010-2011 academic year.  These scholarships recognize the students’ academic excellence and exemplary leadership in their families, schools, and communities.   One scholarship will be $500 USD to a qualified high school senior entering college in the fall 2010.  The other scholarship will be $500 USD scholarship to a qualified college student (either undergraduate or post-graduate) at a 2-year, 4-year, or post-graduate accredited institution.  The recipients will be selected by a committee based on the application information provided. These scholarships are one-time cash award payable directly to the recipients.