Paul Banks
Ocean Atlantic Rentals
Swinton Scholarship
September 17, 2014

This summer I worked in Avon, North Carolina as a delivery driver for Ocean Atlantic Rentals (OAR). I learned a lot this summer including how to drive a box truck, how to and how not to talk to girls, and most importantly I learned how hard work can pay off in huge dividends. When I first walked into OAR at the beginning of the summer I met some strangers that eventually became my best friends and the people that I would share the most incredible summer of my life with. After meeting my new co-workers, my attention was drawn to a quote written in big black letters on the wall: “You may be whatever you resolve to be.” –Major General Stonewall Jackson. This inspirational quote has helped shape me into the person that I strive to become. When I graduate from Hampden-Sydney College I want to open a successful business and make ridiculous amounts of money. Now, I don’t want to sound egotistical or arrogant, so I will say if this dream comes true I do not plan to be greedy nor do I plan on flaunting my money around. I want to help people with this money and to make a difference in this world. I want to leave an everlasting impression on people in a very positive manner. Being extremely filthy rich makes it very easy to help people that are in need but if I do not succeed in this goal I will still help out others who are in need. In the past, I have rang bells for the Salvation Army to raise money during the holiday seasons and I have even visited old folks homes just to keep them company for a while. Some of the charity work that I am most proud of has come when I held the philanthropy chairman position in my fraternity at Hampden-Sydney. I organized several fund raisers while holding this position, one being that I prepared a pig roast to help purchase a young wheel chair bound boy a service dog so that he could have him at his side if he needs assistance. I have also helped raise thousands of dollars for Habitat for Humanity so that they could build homes in the local community. I believe that you get back what you put in. If you help others, others will help you. If you work hard then you will be successful.
While working for OAR I learned a great deal about work ethic. Most of those lessons were learned on Saturdays and Sundays while working ten and twelve hour shifts in the midst of the heat, rain, and even a hurricane. At the beginning of the summer, I was given the job of holding down the shop during the weekends. I was pissed. I wanted to be out in a box truck delivering beach equipment like the rest of my co-workers. Although, I was frustrated at this reality I did not let it get me down. I made it a point to work my ass off every day that I came to work, especially on the weekends. I decided that I would prove to everyone that I was going to work harder than them and eventually I would earn an opportunity to drive one of the trucks on the weekends. A few weeks into the summer two of my co-workers were not getting along in the trucks during their lengthy shifts. To my surprise, I was given the opportunity that I had been waiting for. My boss told me that I would be the new delivery driver for Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras for the summer. I was confident in myself that I could do this, but it was now time to prove this to everyone. Now that the summer is over I can say that I did it. I wanted something, I worked hard for it, and I got it. Looking back on the summer, everything that happened just made sense. I was introduced to an inspirational quote: “You may be whatever you resolve to be.” -Major General Stonewall Jackson. This quote inspired me to work hard and become what I wanted to become. This life changing summer has propelled me into my senior year at Hampden-Sydney College with great momentum to be whatever I want to be. I believe that this scholarship will help me tremendously. When I was a freshman in college my father lost his job. It has been a struggle for my father to support me financially through college and I would love nothing more than to give my parents this gift of five-hundred dollars in scholarship. This reward would be very small comparative to what my parents have done for me, but I do not believe any child can fully repay their parents for what they have done. Winning this scholarship would be a great step in the direction of repaying my parents for giving me a beautiful life.