2011 Scholarship Entry #82: Michelle Albrecht

In today's society, there is a significant difference between the educational opportunities available to young people in developed and other less developed countries. In countries like Canada and the United States for example, each young person has the chance to go to school and receive an education. Although, this is not the case for young people living in third world or developing countries. In fact, in certain African countries 60% of the population is illiterate, which of course includes young adults. The illiteracy rate in Canada cannot even be compared to that percentage. In my opinion, it is this difference that represents the biggest challenge facing my generation. There are many ways that I plan to help solve this problem and encourage my friends and those around me to become involved as well.

First of all, this lack of educational opportunities in some countries is an immense challenge for my generation because it causes a definite difference in poverty rates around the world. Those young adults who begin their adult lives without a proper education will ultimately not be able to provide for themselves and possibly die from starvation or disease. It is unfair that other young adults are not facing this reality because they can easily access education. Also, it is educated people who can help make the world a better place. If only a few possess this advantage then we cannot hope to be able to work together to improve society. Moreover, graduating high school and knowing that I have the skills to support myself and become an active citizen who can help improve the lives of other people gives me a great sense of accomplishment, which I feel everyone in the world should also experience.

Secondly, I plan to take action in order to resolve this issue and help my peers take action as well. In some ways, I have already taken action by volunteering with my high school to help collect donations in order to establish educational opportunities in a small mountain village in Nicaragua in collaboration with the Roots of Change foundation. I also raised awareness in my community for this same organization and plan to volunteer with similar foundations in the future. As well, I volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters as a mentor for a disadvantaged child in my community and helped that child overcome certain learning difficulties. In the future I plan to become involved with other non-profit organizations to help inform the population about the problems with education worldwide. My ambition is to become a teacher and my most important goal as an educator will be to travel to different parts of Canada to promote the importance of education and also to visit under developed countries to teach those who need it the most.

Finally, as a young adult I believe that if we all make an effort, one day all young adults will experience graduation and being able to hold a diploma in their hands.