| Students are asked to write a creative essay regarding their qualifications as a student leader. A $500 award is provided to the winning essay through the Angelo and Jenny Mastrian Charitable Trust. The 2008 winner was Benjamin T. Sochor. Below is a copy of his winning essay. |
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| Benjamin T. Sochor |
Service to one’s country has always been a hallmark of my family. My ancestors were once lords of both Scotland and England. During the Scottish war of independence, my family fought on both sides, even going so far as to slay one another. Service to their homeland was more important to them than the ties of blood.
This attitude of servitude to one's home has been passed down through the generations of my family. My grandfather spent most of his life in the service of the United States of America, working as a member of the United States Navy as a merchant marine.
Currently, my older brother is enrolled in the ROTC training program at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He fully intends to make a career out of serving his country. He means to fulfill his duty to America through military service. I have the same debt as he, but I chose to repay it in my own way.
The generations before me have often said that the pen is mightier than the sword. I have found this to be true. Throughout history, literature has changed more of the world than any amount of swords. No war has nearly had the effect on the world that a single book has.
The early religious texts were perhaps the most influential that were ever written. Thousands of years after their genesis, they still fascinate the entire world. Mankind fights wars over their words. Even those religions to which mankind has ceased to give credence, such as those of the ancient Romans and Greeks, are still a source of perpetual fascination for most of the civilized world.
Social and political works have affected the modern world more than wars have. Such works as Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifesto have altered the world forever. They have created short-lived empires and killed millions. Others such as the United States Declaration of Independence have resulted in powerful, enduring nations of freedom and justice.
All this is to illustrate how strong the pen can be. When swords are moved, it’s is because of the strokes of a pen. I intend to lead my country by being the hand that wields the pen. I mean this not in a metaphorical sense but in a literal one.
Others have often told me that I am a talented writer. I have been blessed with a creative mind and an ability to transcribe said mind on paper. It is my intention to become a professional writer.
I consider myself something of a philosopher. I have studied various works of philosophy from the Chinese Tao to Ayn Rand’s Egoism. The works of Confucius stand side by side in my mind with those of Douglas Adams. Philosophy is what drives men, and nowhere is philosophy more present than in literature.
My goal is to show America and the world what I believe and what I think through my own works of literature. A sword dies with its wielder, but a book will live for generations, its message resounding throughout the halls of time until the end of the universe. To be a writer is to hold the strands of eternity in one’s hand. Such is my intent.
I doubt that the American people will ever elect me as their president. Nor shall I serve in the armed forces. Such tasks are best often left to others. My service shall be with the pen, my battlefield the and minds yet to come. Such will be my contribution. |
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