	Chelsea Maxwell will receive a Foundation Diana Mossip Memorial Scholarship of $300. She is a resident of Mission Viejo. Chelsea attends the University of California, San Diego, where she is pursuing a degree in history and political science with an emphasis on education studies. She plans to complete a Master’s Degree in Education then continue in teaching.
Growing up children always change their minds about what they want to become. One day they want to be a firefighter and the next they want to be a businessman. I however, have always wanted to become a teacher. Throughout elementary school I used to play “school” with my three brothers and I was always the teacher. This love for teaching continued though middle school and onto high school. I always thought I would teach elementary school until I took Ms. Hooper’s AP US history class. Since her class I have wanted to become a history teacher. Throughout high school I always challenged myself. I took honors and AP courses and graduated among the top of my class. I also became extremely involved in student government, community service, athletics and was president of the National Honors Society. All these achievements helped me to get where I am today — the University of California, San Diego. I am currently a second year at UCSD and have declared history as my major with an emphasis in United States history. However, after taking courses in political science I realized how well the two subjects go together. I felt that my knowledge of history would be incomplete without also studying political science. I soon declared political science as my minor, but I plan on declaring it as a second major as soon as I have completed the units required to do so. In addition, I have declared Education Studies as my minor. This minor allows for a mixture of interactive involvement with students in local schools as well as lecture courses. Along with my majors and minor I have also taken advantage of opportunities at UCSD that will further prepare me for a career that involves interacting with a variety of individuals. Last year I became involved in student government as the Freshman Senator and have continued as the Sophomore Senator this year. The senator position allows me to interact with both peers and administration; a skill that will help when working in a high school environment. Additionally, I have taken on a position as a College Peer Advisor (CPA) through the California Students Opportunity and Access Program (Cal¬SOAP). As a CPA I work at a local San Diego high school with low income seniors. Many of the 82 students I work with are discouraged from applying to college due to extreme financial issues. My job is to help these students realize they can go to college. I act as a resource by providing assistance with their college applications, the FAFSA and scholarship applications. It is an extremely rewarding job and I plan on being a CPA for the next two years. While I still have two years left as an undergraduate student I am already thinking about life after UCSD. I am researching universities to see what kind of graduate programs they offer. I plan on continuing onto graduate school to get my Master of Education degree. Teaching has always been my passion and I know I will overcome any obstacle I may come across. Although I did enjoy playing school with my brothers when I was younger I look forward to the day I become a teacher and am able to give back to the community through teaching.
	Other winning essays: Kristin Hinkley of Mission Viejo, Simone Jensen of Laguna Niguel, and Kayla Chapman of Anaheim. (Click on their names to read their essays.)