College Access Writing Competition - First Place: "Seeds of Knowledge"

By Maia Peterson

First Place Winner of College Access Programs' Writing Competition

A little-known 17th century Bohemian pastor named Jan Amos Comenius earned the name “Father of Modern Education” (Curtis et al. 119) through his work establishing an educational philosophy that promoted inclusive, diverse, and useful learning from birth to college. The core of his ideas, that “Learning was a matter of growth, not merely the acquisition of knowledge” (Curtis et al. 118) summarizes the true purpose of all education, through college and beyond.

Though college attendees experience numerous lifelong benefits through dedicated work, college is not for everyone. A person determines the value of their education; an education does not determine the value of a person. But those who choose to invest in college will reap many practical and personal benefits.

First, college provides many financial and personal career benefits. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, college graduates on average earn 39% more per week than workers with only a high school diploma (“Education Pays”). College graduates not only earn more, but have a higher rate of job satisfaction. 60% of workers with a bachelor’s degree but only 38% of workers with only a high school education report that “their job gives them a sense of identity” (“State of American Jobs” 4). College is an opportunity for students to succeed in their careers and find fulfillment by pursuing their interests and dreams.

But life is not only about career success. What matters more deeply is how a successful person uses their accomplishments. Far more profound than raw knowledge and higher odds of obtaining a meaningful and profitable job is the development of a student’s wisdom and character. College is meant to encourage growth through challenges that make graduates persevering, wise, and empathetic members of their communities.

University of Texas professor Jonathan Malesic shares, “I haven’t had to solve a calculus problem in 25 years. But learning to do so expanded my brain in ways that can’t simply be reduced to a checklist of job skills. Living in the world in this expanded way is a permanent gift...school should cultivate students’ curiosity and let them feel the thrill of finding something out” (Malesic). His perspective demonstrates the value of a college education that doesn’t simply teach for the sake of higher salaries. Instead, students should strive to learn and work through challenges that encourage them towards perseverance and accomplishments they never believed possible, cultivating a curious spirit that will enrich their relationships and jobs throughout their whole life.

Malesic continues by explaining how this curiosity benefits students: “You’re a worker for only part of your life; you’re a human being, a creature with a powerful brain, throughout it....the books, teachers, and fellow students will change your life” (Malesic). Education does not just benefit careers, but it encourages lifelong wisdom and empathy, allowing students to make informed decisions and show love to people in their community.

Students with a college education become wise and informed people who use knowledge to make thoughtful decisions throughout all of life. Purdue President Mitch Daniels remarked that “‘Knowledge advances through the clash of ideas’” (Lieber 115). Daniels’ quote demonstrates how education leads to wisdom. Through challenges, research, and debates, students learn to use knowledge to form thoughtful and informed decisions, opinions, and actions.

One of the strongest ways this learning and wisdom can grow is through relationships with peers. Lieber reflects, “The African American guy from Virginia who had just spent a few years at an overwhelmingly white boarding school; the Filipino American young woman from

the elite public school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan;...these are some of the people who are still in my life decades later or who helped shape me most. I don’t think it's a coincidence that they were all in some way different from my eighteen-year old self” (Lieber 141). Students learn empathy, appreciation of differing opinions, and perspective through friends who differ from them. The mark of an educated person is not just knowing facts and forming opinions, but equally respecting and valuing others’ views. True education enables people to think critically and lovingly about the world and others.

The curiosity and excitement that fuel a truly valuable college education bring students perseverance, wisdom, and empathy. Learning results in much more than factual knowledge and rewards students with lifelong skills enriching their jobs, relationships, and decision-making. Sowing seeds of knowledge through a college education results in a harvest that strengthens both mind and character.

Works Cited

Curtis, A. Kenneth, et al. The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History. Baker Publishing Group, 2020.

Lieber, Ron. The Price You Pay for College. HarperCollins, 2021.

Malesic, Jonathan. “The Key to Success in College Is So Simple, It’s Almost Never Mentioned.” The New York Times. Published 3 January 2023. www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/opinion/college-learning-students-success.html Accessed 7 January 2023.

“The State of American Jobs.” www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2016/10/06/the-state-of-american-jobs/ Pew Research Center. Accessed 5 January 2023.

“Education pays, 2021.” Career Outlook, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Published May 2022,

www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2022/data-on-display/education-pays.htm, Accessed 8 January 2023.

This essay was received as part of a writing competition promoted by College Access Programs at Calvin University.