Franklin Revisited: College Admission Essay Sample

My teenage life in Darien, Connecticut has been defined considerably by my involvement as a state certified EMT in Post 53, the only known ambulance service in America staffed and governed entirely by volunteer high school students. Through four years of responding to 9-1-1 calls in my suburban community, I’ve seen medical emergencies ranging from lift-assists for veteran amputees to seizures, cardiac arrests, and just about everything in between. But beyond all I’ve learned about the medical world, the moments that have truly left the most meaningful imprints on my being have been those shared with my fellow “Posties”, young adults whom I’m proud to say are among the most inspiring people I’ve ever met.

Growing up the reticent middle child in a boisterous family like my own, I think it’s interesting to note that I developed an early inclination toward being very attentive to details, especially those concerning the behaviors and traits of other people. These quasi-OCD tendencies of mine bore use for many of the fleeting pursuits that engaged my young interests, but they found little value in the more important realms of my childhood. It wasn’t until my junior year of high school when I read the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin that my perspective began to shift; I discovered that Franklin was known for experimenting with imitation as a mode of self-improvement, often reading celebrated texts and embracing their authors’ styles in his own writing. Thinking back, I remembered myself as a fledgling baseball enthusiast spending hours analyzing and later mimicking the pitching windups of my favorite players, hoping that impeccable mechanics would compensate for a lack of talent on the Little League field. Realizing that I had actually used a Franklin-like approach as a child, I began to conceive of other present day situations in which my odd abilities might find application.

So as I stood outside Stamford Hospital, aged 15, on the summer day that changed my life, I began to reflect in that observant manner of mine on what I’d just witnessed. As the on-duty ambulance crew for the town of Darien, four teenage EMTs – myself being the youngest – had responded to a 9-1-1 call that afternoon. What subsequently transpired in the time after dispatch became the most memorable forty-five minutes of my high school life. We arrived on scene to find a middle-aged woman – the mother of two students at my school – unconscious at the bottom of her swimming pool. Adrenaline pumped in overdrive during the entire call, as I helped the crew deliver compressions, IVs, defribillations – and perhaps most importantly – prayers.

Certain vivid details of the call remained clear in my mind: the oddly colourful pajamas that she wore, the intensely white state of her teeth, the shell-shocked faces of her family members...Yet it was the behavior of my peers that I continued to reflect on, even after these images abandoned my everyday thoughts. Despite all my years of vigilant people-watching, I can honestly say that I’d never before witnessed a group of individuals act with such poise and composure in the face of such real and relatable tragedy. I decided that the fortitude and courage that these senior “Posties” demonstrated was worthy of Franklinesque emulation. So much so, in fact, that it became my goal not only to improve to the status of these heroes, but to become a model for emulation myself.

Working in an environment filled with such emotionally precocious people coupled with my natural tendency to observe and adapt has fostered a strong sense of ambition. I’m driven to become like the heroes I look up to so that the value of Benjamin Franklin’s ways can be perpetuated. Life is a continuum in which models worthy of emulation are needed; if there’s one thing I’ve gained from my experiences in Post 53, it’s the initiative to maintain this continuum. Just as Franklin inspired me to better myself, I hope to one day become a source of inspiration for others.