Scholarship Essay Entry – Marlo M.

While I was growing up I wanted to be everything from a brain surgeon to a dancer to a professional world traveler, but it was after I got my first job at fourteen working as a cashier for a large Canadian corporation that I immediately knew what I truly wanted to spend the rest of my life doing. Since then I have completed high school and will be entering my third year of university in a Bachelor of Management program, majoring in Marketing.

There is no other place in the world that is more bombarded and manipulated then North America by the endless stream of images flooding out from corporate offices. And I want to be right in the middle of it all. I don't want to be there to pressure someone to buy a $2,000 handbag or a brand new car to fill their three car garage, but instead to inform people that every choice they make today will affect other in the future. I want to be the voice for companies and individuals that want to make a difference, whether by creating products made from sustainable resources or simply by doing everything in their power to make their company as 'green' as possible. I believe these are the individuals and companies that will play a key role in changing the world and I hope that by working with them, some of my passions, beliefs and ideas may help to influence others.

My vision started out big, I was prepared to single handedly change the world, but being in a Management program gave me the opportunity to take many courses both in marketing and other aspects of business, as well as several courses exploring different branches of sociology. It was a combination of all the classes together that made me realize that even if I can just influence the behaviours of one individual, family or community, than my vision, whether big or small, has impacted the lived of others.

I do not think that one person or even one group of persons has the ability to completely change the world; however I do think that if one person can influence one other person to make a change and that person can pass that one, then maybe this amazing place that we call home can have a fighting chance. After all is said and done, if my only impact is making a few people recycle with newspapers or reduce their carbon footprint by biking or change the light bulbs in their house, then I will be able to say that I was part of a change that can have amazing results.