Brian stepped inside. It was the end of another exhausting day at school and he was glad to be home. He was walking to his room when he noticed something on the dining room table, a letter addressed to him. His dad was out at work and his mother was doing homework with his brothers. He hurriedly took the letter and went to his room. He closed the door. Could it be? No, he wasn’t going to get his hopes up. He took a deep breath and opened it. His mouth dropped, quickly followed by his bag as he raced to his mother. “Oh, dear there’s a letter for you on th-” “Mum read it!” He practically shoved the piece of paper into her hands. She began reading: “Dear Brian, we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to be the winner of the Commonwealth Scholarship…” She trailed off, silently reading the rest, each second a bigger smile forming on her face.
Brian was sitting on his bed, rereading the letter over and over. He couldn’t wait to tell his dad when he came back from work. It’s amazing how one letter, one sentence could create so many opportunities. With this scholarship he could finally go to college, get a degree maybe even a masters, something in science perhaps, he’d always liked science, maybe chemistry. As he slumped on his bed, he began to trail off into thought, finally he could work towards something, continue doing what he loved and make a job out of it. He was going to be the first person in his family to go to college. A grin appeared on his face, suddenly everything didn’t seem so dull anymore. In one day things had gone from looking bleak and depressing to bright and hopeful. Now there was nothing separating him and his dreams.
Thanks to his hard work and determination Brian Young did become the first one in his family to go to college. He graduated from the University of New South Wales in 1964 with a Bachelors and Masters Degree then started his PhD at Cambridge University, earning his doctorate in 1967. My grandfather is the hardest working man I know and this moment really proves it. Brian’s family didn’t have enough money to pay for college tuition, but that didn’t stop him, he earned himself a scholarship and went to college while working part time to pay for the rest of his fees. He taught his kids that if you wanted something you had to earn it and this is the same thing my dad has taught me.
Commonwealth Scholarship The commonwealth scholarship was a prestigious, government given, award that cut university fees. It did not pay for university living fees which was why Brian had to go to university part time. ("Commonwealth Scholarships" Commonwealth Scholarships)