Recently I applied to the University of South Carolina's Honors College. For all those who are applying to college and need a tangible college essay to read for inspiration, I have attached my prompt and essay below. Enjoy!

Tell us about your engagement with your family, friends, school, community, and/or world. Are you a leader in any sense of the word? What have you accomplished and what do you hope to accomplish? Who are you as a person within a community? 500-1000 words

I am a seventeen year old young man from the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. I live in a small, yet congested community and have attended the same school system and church my entire life. I have one sister, two happily married parents, and a small little house dog. I have great friends at home and at church, most of whom I have known for the majority of my life. I love the life I have come to know. This life I live has provided me with a strong foundation and has in large part made me the person I am today.

I am very active in my church youth group, and over the years, I have been fortunate to become involved in meaningful organizations that serve other communities in need. I joined my youth group in December of 2011, and the following summer I was able to go on my first mission trip. I went with my church to Nashville, Tennessee where I was assigned to a small work group that was volunteering at a local day care that served the low income population within that community.

Our assignment was straightforward, we were responsible for fixing anything broken around the facility as well as sprucing up the grounds. This work was hard, the weather was sweltering hot, and we started off with a building that was run down and needed a lot of work. The group I was assigned to was comprised of teens and adults, some people I knew, many I did not. We had to work together to get the job done, and we did just that. My first mission trip was a truly transformational experience. Not only was I removed from my comfortable culture and inserted into a poverty stricken area, but I was also able to see the authentic gratitude from those who benefited from our efforts. Seeing the smiles on the children's faces and feeling the charisma pulsate from them, I found myself inspired to continue on a journey of servitude. For the next two years, I attended two more mission trips, one to Charleston, South Carolina, and one to Hardeeville, South Carolina, and each mission only added to my desire to serve.

My desire to serve has led me down many different paths over the last several years. Most recently, I was fortunate enough to travel with my youth group to Nicaragua where we served three different Nicaraguan communities in one week. Our main mission was to dig ditches that would provide sanitary water to several communities that did not have clean drinking water; however, we came across so much more work that needed to be done. The joy in this mission trip was working side by side with the people of the Nicaraguan communities. They were present everyday, working side by side with our volunteers. In just one week's time, I was able to develop lifelong relationships with people who spoke a language that I could not even begin to comprehend. I can vividly remember the soccer games I played with Ricky, Jimmy, and Esteban. I remember dancing with Vicky and Paola. I can still see the smiles of the people who were so willing to invite us into their homes and cook food for us that could have fed their family for another week. When I think back to Nicaragua, I do not remember the poverty that engulfed us, but rather I think back to a place that was simple, where people do what they say, help out their neighbors, and then gather in the evening hours to celebrate with their community through sharing a meal.

I see a future for myself in places like Nicaragua, in communities that are suffering and just need a hand or a voice. I see a future for myself, serving those who find themselves in poverty, or in trouble, or in need. I find true fulfillment and passion helping those who have not been as blessed as I have. I know I can not spend my life in Nicaragua, but I do not have to. I have the ability to make an impact in my own community. My church has been instrumental in providing me with these opportunities to serve, and recently I was accepted to serve on the United Way’s Youth United Leadership Board, which will provide me with additional opportunities to serve those in local surrounding communities. Through both of these mediums, I serve others, and by serving others I am answering a call that is greater than myself.