Will Shorter
interdisciplinary studies student
Hometown: Glen Burnie, Maryland
High School: Glen Burnie High School
Student status: First-generation college student
Graduated: 2018
I am true.
I am a leader.
I am an overcomer.
I am a leader, and I have a passion for helping people. As a student leader, it has always been a tradition within my family to help people where you can and give back to the community. For me, education and public service are the two things that I am most passionate about. My life’s mission statement is once my race is done, I want to look back and say I made a difference in someone’s life because I saw something greater than they saw in themselves. I want to empower people in communities to live a better life than they thought they could.
I personally believe that life is hard, but it’s even harder without an education. For me, education hasn’t always been easy. When I was younger, I had a learning disability. Growing up in a blue-collar community as a first-generation college student was challenging also, but it taught me hard work is the best remedy for everything and it has taught me perseverance. As humans, we’re all going to run into the brick wall, but it’s the question of whether we are able to get over that brick wall and not let it be a barrier in our lives.
My hope is to leave the world better than I found it.
When it comes to public service, it’s a way to help people in a capacity that is greater than yourself. I served as the Student Regent for the University System of Maryland for 2017-18, serving all 12 public institutions with over 170,000 students. It is a very unique and important position. I had to stay up to date on all issues because I voted on all matters pertaining to students. I enjoyed serving in this capacity because I was able to make an impact on somebody’s life, many of whom, I will never even meet.
Having completed my degree, I hope to work in the business sector in a corporation and climb the corporate ladder. I would also like to get involved in politics. Politics is a way to create action and it’s a way that I feel I can be most effective.
My hope is to leave the world better than I found it. One day I hope I have kids, and I hope my children and grandchildren will take pride in me. At the end of the day, you have your name and your name is associated with your character. Maya Angelou once said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I want people to know that I tried my best to make a difference.