The mission of Wabash College is to educate young men to think critically, act responsibly,
lead effectively, and live humanely. While being on campus, I was able to observe first-hand that
Wabash holds these core principles deeply in the many traditions practiced there. With that being
said, I feel that I am able to demonstrate each of these tenets to a great degree. I feel that one
tenet in particular stands out: thinking critically.
What does it mean to think critically? According to the National Council for Excellence in
Critical Thinking, the concept is defined as “the intellectually disciplined process of actively and
skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information
gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or
communication, as a guide to belief and action.” To put it simply, someone who is able to think
critically is able to gather information and then apply it in order to develop a rational or solution
in regards to this information. I believe that I have definitely been able to apply my critical
thinking skills in a way that impacts the community around me.
This summer, I had the honor of being assigned campaign manager for the reelection
campaign of State Representative Wendy McNamara, something that certainly has an impact on
my community. With being assigned this position, I was faced with many tasks in which I had to
think critically. One such task was helping to brainstorm and develop fundraising events for the
campaign. When doing this, I had to use critical thinking skills in order to devise ideas for these
events, create a list of possible donors, and notify them of the event. Another task in which I
demonstrated my critical thinking skills was in developing a new campaign website for
Representative McNamara. When doing this, I had to establish her requirements for the website,
then rationally piece them together into a way that looked both aesthetically appealing while still
being functional; this required great amounts of critical thinking in order to develop.
All and all, I feel that I certainly exemplify the values that Wabash students, faculty, and
alumni hold so dear. I have shown through both my academic and extracurricular achievement
that I am able to think critically, act responsibly, lead effectively, and live humanely. I hope that
you will consider me as a candidate for the prestigious Lilly Award.