To coincide with Eastern Michigan University's "Education
First" marketing campaign, EMU put together an Education
First Essay Contest to encourage high school juniors, seniors
and transfer students to contemplate how they have made
education first in their lives.
The winners of the contest were announced April 11 during
halftime at a Detroit Pistons game. Of the three winners,
Dion Dargin is the only student currently taking advantage
of the award. Coincidentally, he also won the "Best Show" package,
meaning his essay entry was the best of the best. Dargin
was the high school senior winner. The high school junior
winner has not confirmed that she will be attending EMU
and the transfer student has not enrolled.
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EDUCATION FIRST: Dion
Dargin, an EMU freshman,
was
awarded $7,500 for 2008-09
after being named
one of three
winner of the Education First
Essay
Contest in April. |
Dargin was awarded $7,500 to attend Eastern Michigan University
for the 2008-09 academic year. Winning the contest confirmed
Dargin's decision to attend EMU, since he was teetering
between EMU and Michigan State University.
He felt at home immediately after moving in. Students
and faculty recognized him as one of the contest winners
— his picture was posted on the Web site — making it easier
for him to meet people and interact with others.
Although Dargin has successfully placed education as a
top priority throughout his life, he said winning has motivated
him to succeed even more.
"I feel like I can do anything," said Dargin. "The
scholarship raised my confidence a lot. It took away the
financial worries and allows me to focus more on school."
Dargin began worrying about college when his high school
teachers warned that "university-level professors didn't
care about students as much as high school teachers."
In fact, Dargin had the opposite feeling after attending
classes at EMU. The people are friendly and the faculty
really do care about their students, he said.
"I love the campus and there are always things to do," said
Dargin. "I never really got a chance to thank the University
for this opportunity, so I would like to say, 'thank you.'"
The scholarship has already proven to have made
a significant difference in Dargin's life, which is an
important goal of EMU.
