personal statement

Matt Gehrke

I had never seen him cry, yet when I looked in his direction, I still expected to see tears running down his face. I did see them, but it was his other facial expression that left me staring at him with my mouth agape. My Grandpa was smiling.

We were at my Grandma’s funeral, and he was surrounded by his children, who were all trying to comfort him despite being far from in control of their own emotions. My dad put his arm around his shoulder and asked him what he wanted to do. He turned to him and replied, “I want to celebrate, because I know my wife is now free of suffering”.

That is the nature of my Grandpa. Alfred Gehrke is my idol, and every day I strive to be a man of his stature. I try to show determination and diligence in both academics and athletics, and once given a task I pursue it until it is accomplished. I have always strived to perform to the best of my ability, but my Grandpa’s ordeal has caused me to revaluate what I determine as success and failure. If I score a poor grade on a test, it seems as though the world is going to come crashing down on my head, but in perspective it is a trivial footnote compared to some of the disappointments and failures that I will experience as I graduate from school and become acclimated in the real world.

Alfred Gehrke is my daily inspiration on dealing with adversity. Just before the death of my Grandma, his kids had forced them to move into a retirement center to help with her medical issues. At the same time they also said that he could no longer drive on his own. Instead of complaining he took it all in stride, and submitted to their wishes. After the death of my Grandma, many of us expected him to just stay in his room all through the day. Instead, at ninety one years young, he runs through the halls of the center in an attempt to stay in shape. The staff has even asked him to slow down because they are afraid he will over exert himself and they tell him that it disturbs the other residents. Whenever I deal with adversity in my own life, I always picture my Grandpa, and the amazing hardships he has had to endure these past few years. He gives me strength, and his example allows me to press onward through the difficult times in my life.