Striving for Excellence

Here is the essay I worked on and submitted for the Southface Internship. This is just part of my commitment and focus. Enjoy:

Striving for Excellence

For as long as I can remember, I always knew I belong in the construction industry. Living in a house that I could call home did not happen until I was seventeen and I am still grateful for that. Volunteering for Habitat for Humanity was not possible in my district, so when I finished college, I decided that learning to build a house in Jacksonville, FL would be a dream come true. The experience of helping a family build their own house, getting to know them, and seeing progress each and every day truly inspired me along with all the hundreds of volunteers I came to know. All of this took place in Jacksonville as a member of the Americorps, a highly valuable government program that makes a difference in communities throughout all of America.

A natural transition for me from this was teaching, and what better way to begin than moving to another country because I love to travel. I was off to Seoul, South Korea teaching pre-school, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school students involving twenty-six classes requiring much adaptation and learning quickly. As with my fellow volunteers, I did my best to keep students happy by teaching them something new to share with others. Watching a child comprehend new information and discover themselves under my guidance was priceless.

Being an intern with Southface will require every skill I have learned and practiced so far, plus I will learn a new area of education involving sustainable building science, research, and design. Southface is the perfect opportunity for me to balance the field of constructing houses with educating myself and the community.

The shift for people toward building smaller, but much more efficient homes is slowly overtaking us. The volunteers required information tailored to their needs, as much as the young kids I taught in Korea needed this. Information matters when it is presented as relevant to our times and conditions. I hope and dream each and every day to become part of the solution and inspire people to build homes that are creative, interdependent, and off-the-grid.

I believe that my experience with Southface will benefit both of us. I will apply diligence, open-eyed confidence, and determination on my quest to become a leader in energy and environmental design (LEED). Southface generously provides the opportunity to start my career as a Home Energy Rater (HERS) with all the expertise possible while being an intern. I have searched for teachers, mentors, and an institute to make this dream happen. I have come a long way tailoring my current work to my future work and continuing to challenge myself and other people along the way because the good thing about this life is the journey, not the destination.