Stephanie Garza wins student essay contest
Stephanie Garza of Woodridge has been named the 2011 College of DuPage Student Essay Contest Winner.
Garza receives $100 for her winning entry, which will be entered into the statewide essay contest. Second place was awarded to Kyle Wresinski of Aurora, who receives $50, and third place to Rebekah Castiello of Wood Dale, who receives $25. Honorable mentions went to Katie Bidstrup of LaGrange, Katelyn McNamara of Glen Ellyn and Sasha Nicole Kruger of Warrenville.
Click cod.edu to read the 2011 winning essays.
In her essay “My Remedy,” Garza describes her feelings of unhappiness while attending a large university, where professors didn't know her name. Homesickness and being overwhelmed by the university atmosphere caused her to reconsider her current situation, education, and she e-mailed a College of DuPage admissions counselor.
“Moments later, I received an e-mail back, encouraging me to search for classes and even view scholarship options,” she wrote. “I was not even a student yet and this counselor was hospitable to me! With excitement, I wrote to my university counselor; unfortunately, I didn't receive a response until weeks later.
“Once I began classes at COD, I was immediately struck by how the professors cared about each student's success.”
Wresinski's essay, “Influence, Affluence and Discovery,” discusses the valuable life lessons he learned while attending College of DuPage.
“To me, COD is the reigning king of opportunity – offering classes, means of extracurricular involvement, and employment,” he wrote. “There is an abundance of resources and opportunity at College of DuPage, and I have not left one untapped.”
In her essay, “How College of DuPage Changed My Life,” Castiello describes how she turned her own opinion about community colleges around. She initially applied only to Big Ten schools but ultimately selected COD.
“Most of my friends laughed at my choice of school when I had so many to choose from. I ignored their comments,” she wrote. “My first day of classes at College of DuPage, I saw so many kinds of people that attended for reasons unbeknownst to me. But that did not matter; I had respect for every one of those students.”