College essays that made a difference - Princeton Review 2010
Kevin James Tostado
The applicants
Kevin played varsity football and was recognized as a San Diego Union-Tribune Scholar Athlete. During his senior year, he was president of a community service club named Students For Social Action and director of a K—8 tutoring program at his local library. He was on the National Honor Roll, a National Hispanic Scholar, National Merit Commended, and an AP Scholar with Honor.
Stats
SAT: 1440 (680 Critical Reading, 760 Math)
High School GPA: 4.20 weighted
High School: Patrick Henry High School, San Diego, CA
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Gender: Male
Race: Latino
Applied To
Cal Poly
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
San Diego State University
University of California—Berkeley
University of California—Los Angeles
University of Notre Dame
Essay
According to Kevin, he responded to “the standard, give us your personal statement in 750 words or less, question.”
I am a kicker on my high school football team. As a result, I do not receive much respect, if any, from my friends and teammates; however, I am a crucial part of my team. My main role on the football team is to kick a football through a neon-yellow goalpost while wearing a two hundred dollar helmet and pads. Nevertheless, kicking a football is very minor compared to some of the other roles that I have on the team.
During this last football season, I realized that I did not make the football team because I can kick the ball through the uprights; instead, I am on the team because I work hard at my varying positions and can adapt to the different situations that I come across.
All four years that I have attended Patrick Henry High School, I have played on the football team. I have been on winning teams (7-3, Eastern League champs) and losing teams (2-8, Eastern League chumps). I have played offense (wide receiver and tight end) and defense (middle linebacker and defensive tackle). I have smelled the sweet smell of success and suffered the harsh familiarity of defeat. With the exceptions of running back and defensive back, I have played every position on my team, the most notable of which being quarterback.
Last season, the head coach, Coach Jacobacci, confronted me. He told me that our starting quarterback was injured and that he needed a backup for our second-string quarterback.
“Why are you telling me this, Coach?” I inquired.
“Because you need to start learning quarterback.”
I had never played quarterback before; I couldn’t throw a spiral. I spent the next week working as hard as I could at practice so I could learn how to complete a pass, to handoff a ball, to read defensive coverages. During that week, our second-string quarterback sprained his ankle. The trainer said that our second-string quarterback would be unable to play in the upcoming game, our league opener against Scripps Ranch. I was slightly uneasy when I found out that I would be the starting quarterback that Friday night. I tried my best to lead the starting offense during the practices, but I would handoff the ball to the wrong person or get sacked. Most of my teammates were trying to figure out why the kicker was playing quarterback; I was too.
When George Long, our game announcer, began to read off the starting lineup at the beginning of the game, I was filled with nervous anticipation of the first snap. Not only was I starting at quarterback with a week-and-a-half experience, but also doing the kicking and punting. At halftime, we were ahead 14-0. In the first three plays of the game, I had handed off two balls for touchdown runs of 33 and 87 yards. We ended up losing the game 14-28, however, when the offense of Scripps Ranch came back to score four unanswered touchdowns the second half. However, my performance had proved to myself and all present at the game that I could be a quarterback.
I have learned a lot about myself by playing football. I have realized that I am willing to take positions of high risk (quarterback and kicker) and also positions that may be less glamorous (guard, offensive tackle). Wherever I am needed on my team, I always attempt to do my best.
Throughout my high school career, I have been involved in many different activities, including participating in Boy Scouts, being appointed Captain of the school academic team, and getting elected President of a school club that promotes service to the school and local community. These various experiences, especially the ones I gained on the football field, helped me to realize that it doesn’t matter whether you have the starring role or a backup position to succeed in life. Whatever activity I participate in, if I continue to try my best to make a difference, I will come out on the winning team.
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