The Zinch Report

Congrats to Sunny, Kayleen, Phuong, and Jessica (Hye Jin)! Each have done a tremendous job, as have many others, attracting votes for the Sweet Diggity Dawg Scholarship. We are now drawing close to awarding the $20,000, and excitement is rising. We've received a fair amount of correspondence from parents and family members of the contestants. They, like our own parents, beam with pride for their kids and are working just as hard (arguably) as the students themselves.

We realize that as each student exerts precious time and energy in this endeavor, the stakes rise and expectations build. Scholarship money only adds to the frenzy. Please, don't get sucked into hype! Hype, or frenzy, are only positive if we can maintain perspective and ground ourselves in the reality that only one person will win. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt to lose a match. It just means we can applaud those that move along. Ultimately, we really want everyone to have fun with this. So many scholarships we just apply for, then wait to hear back (and that's great because it's simple, though we feel a little boring). This award process is definitely different. We hope it's been fun and that you've enjoyed a certain level of control.

Enjoy a closer look at our Final Four...

I asked each of them to share about adversity by answering the question, "What has been a challenge (great or small) for you and how has it made you grow? Give us insight to a real part of your life and how you are growing/changing for the better."

Sunny: Last summer, I went to my church retreat, the “Pilgrim's Progress.” It was the epitome of a Puritan boot camp; we had to carry around heavy wooden crosses, crawl up rocky hills, do hundreds of push-ups, and endure starvation. Through this experience, I learned that everyone's collaborative efforts are needed to finish a task. This experience gave me strength throughout the Zinch competition; I truly felt everyone's efforts to become one as they helped me get through each round.

Kayleen: I have found most challenges in my life came from weaknesses in my character, not calamities outside my control. When younger I aimed to please everyone. Kindness was letting others have what they wanted. When relationships continued to be unsatisfying, I learned that benevolence toward others does not mean accepting their every action. True kindness is choosing values and making decisions reflecting those values. By doing so I maintain a clear picture of the person I aim to be.

Phuong Four years ago, my piano teacher Mrs. Bates became very sick and suffered until her death this year. For eleven years, Mrs. Bates successfully opened my heart to music. It was painful to accept the fact that the source of my happiness as a child has indeed left me forever. However, with the sound of every drop of music that flows through my body, I will always remember my best friend and how she always makes me smile through music.

Jessica “Your left eye might go blind,” the optometrist said. I couldn’t envision my future, as if I was already blind because of amblyopia. With hope, I bore fingers pointing at my eyepatch until my eyesight miraculously improved. Ironically, amblyopia prevented me from going blind mentally. It taught me to be humble and respectful, and saved me from having parochial, self-centered views. It stopped me from blinding myself from positive aspects of my future. Now I can see.