February 27th, 2016 | Uncategorized
There are many ways that progress could be measured. For me I am confident I have improved and progressed over the past six months, in many different ways. One way this can clearly be seen is by observing my cooking abilities (if you can call them that) over time. When I arrived in Ireland in August, my cooking experience was limited to peanut butter and jelly’s and grilled cheese. Subsequently my diet was rather limited. By limited I mean peanut butter and jelly for nearly every meal. Compared to that, today I could be confused as a culinary expert. Kidding of course, I still have a VERY long way to go before I would consider myself to be even an adequate cook. But nonetheless, I have certainly made progress. In this case, it doesn’t so much matter that I am a bad cook, it matters more that I have improved as a cook.
I think there are a lot of parallels to the role of Victory Scholars in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Certainty when we all arrived in our respective cities we do not make an immediate impact on the youth in the community. Rather we work with kids of all ages and slowly build relationships. Whether it be dribbling a basketball or making an impact as a member of a community, it takes time. In that regard, progress is the goal. Just as I have improved my cooking abilities, many kids that I coach have improved their dribbling and shooting, or improved their ability to interact properly with their peers.
I can’t wait to see what I will be cooking up come June!
Victory Scholar: Cory Starkey
Present University: NUI Galway
US League: Patriot League
Club/community partner: Galway Titans
Alma Mater: Bucknell University
Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland
