Below are excerpts from Sunny Ross’ winning essay for the Global Awareness portion of the 2018 Building A Better World Scholarship. Go here to find the 2018 BBW Winners.
Understanding is Key – “In order to live in a world with less prejudice and more understanding, people need to be more globally aware. If people are aware of others and their situations, then they would not be so easy to jump to conclusions and discriminate against people. Global awareness brings on globalization which creates more connections to assist and benefit from each other. That exchange will create bonds that connect nations through trading, assistance in reducing poverty, lead to more 
advancements, and overall make a better world. To think of a world where people can understand the situations and cultural aspects of a people, would offer so much more to life.”
Thank you Mom – “Whether she knows it or not, it is most definitely my mother who set me on this track to become globally aware, and as I start my life, more exposure to different lives has continued that momentum. As a daughter of a mother who is from South Korea, I have learned so much from her and about Korean culture. I have had the exposure that many people I know do not experience. I hear the language, speak with the people, and visit their country. The exposure my mother has given me is the initial push to go out into the world myself, learn conventions different from mine, and gain as a person from it.”
Through the Church – “Through my mother’s church consisting of a Korean congregation, I have met people who are similar to me who were born in the U.S with a parent or two from Korea, I have met students attending school through a VISA, and even people who have emigrated to the U.S permanently. As a church, we have volunteered at homeless shelters to cook meals and also volunteered at retirement homes to give instrumental entertainment and massages to the older folk. In my mind, these are small steps that my mother has given me to expand my scope of different people and develop compassion which I believe are baby steps to global awareness.”
Through the Shelter – “Cooking, then sitting and eating with the homeless has shown me at a young age that they are simply just people who are trying to get by. Many had kids and through their mannerisms, you could just tell that that child is their whole world. It makes me think that there are more like them but in even worse conditions around the world, such as countries that are underdeveloped and have governments that do not protect its people, or does little to nothing to help them.”
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...and check out Sunny’s plans– “To put this awareness to good use, my plan starts now as I 
prepare for my future. It is truly put into motion when I am financially able to travel to other countries and learn more through my experiences and interactions. In my future career, I plan to finish up at MCC and during the waiting period for their nursing program, I will go to Korea and teach English and probably take some cultural classes. In my time there I want to travel to other Asian countries nearby and get the full experience. From that journey, I hope to learn something that I can take back to my life in the U.S and grow closer to my mother, her family, other Asian-Americans and feel impacted by that visit. I strongly believe that through reaching out to other people, humanity can spread diversity and enhance understanding of other nations such as their economic, environmental, political, and social conventions and work with them symbiotically”
Thank you for your support through the years.
Together We Can
