1st Quarter, 2006
Science Scholarship Winner
Lauren Griffin
“Understanding of science is essential to understanding of life. This has been my motivation for academic pursuit and intellectual development. However, this was not always so. When I was creating my schedule for my first year of high school, my guidance counselor gave me the choice of taking an art class or a science class. Being a young, naive thirteen-year-old, I saw no comparison, and quickly chose the art class. Since my school only requires three years of science courses, this seemed to me, at the time, a logical choice.”
A Portion of Lauren Griffin’s Winning Essay:
Understanding of science is essential to understanding of life. This has been my motivation for academic pursuit and intellectual development. However, this was not always so. When I was creating my schedule for my first year of high school, my guidance counselor gave me the choice of taking an art class or a science class. Being a young, naive thirteen-year-old I saw no comparison and quickly chose the art class. Since my school only requires three years of science courses this seemed to me, at the time, a logical choice.
I did not realize the error of my ways until the beginning of my sophomore year. At this time, my science requirement was Biology. Due to my high Math and English grades I qualified for the honors class. Here, I fell in love with biology. I thoroughly regret not taking science that first year, despite how much I enjoyed the art class.
What surprises me now is that I never realized how much science was already an important part of my life outside of the classroom. I have always been drawn to the natural world. On family vacations to the beach I would spend hours observing life in a tide pool. During the summer months I would examine the different butterflies that emerged in our flower garden. This affinity for science has always been with me, but it took a talented teacher and a rigorous course to introduce me to the academic world of science and attract me to its further investigation. My naturally inquisitive nature prodded me to delve further into this subject, and my continual interest in numerous biological topics led to the choice of biology as my future college major.
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This decision was not made rashly. I seriously considered several fields of science, including chemistry, before settling on biology. I tried to picture myself twenty years from now and imagined what I could be doing. In all of my scenarios, despite the small details that varied, the white coat and laboratory remained constant.
When I was young my father encouraged me to become a doctor, as many fathers might. He was convinced that I was going to be a doctor. I was going to be a doctor no matter what anyone else said. When I was learning to speak, I called myself ‘Lorni’ since Lauren seemed impossible to pronounce. Unfortunately, it stuck as a family nickname for me. My father’s desire for me to go into medicine even went as far as his addressing me as “Dr. Lorni.” While I considered this possibility as well, certain aspects of my personality veered away from this path.
I am self-proclaimed indecisive. From small decisions such as menu choices at a restaurant to the major task of college choice, one of my flaws is my inability to make quick definitive selections. On the bright side, this same indecisive personality flaw can be viewed as an asset. ‘Indecisive’ is easily interpreted as ‘thorough.’ While this is not always desirable at a restaurant, in the field of science research it is beneficial. Quick interpretations of results are rarely accurate, and thorough is the key to research success.
Medicine, however, requires quick thinking, not in the fact-based sense but in regards to making life-or-death decisions. As I matured through high school, I leaned more and more towards research and less towards medicine. While this may disappoint my father, I know he will be equally supportive in whatever aspect of science I choose.
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