Share the Dream: My Life, My Focus, My Goal Share the Dream: My Life, My Focus, My Goal: Dillon, Shemar

Talent Merit Scholarship Recipient

Hi, my name is Shemar Dillon, and I was born in New York and raised in Cape Cod. I come from a poor family background and feel it is my mission to change that. My family includes my mother Charlotte, sister Krissy and Uncle Peter. My heritage is Jamaican as every one of my family members grew up there except for me. As I grew up, my mom always made sure to emphasize the importance of school as it would open paths for me in my life that she was not able to bring upon. I’ve only truly understood why she was always fixated on installing that in my head, which was because she lived such a poor life day to day and wanted the complete opposite for me. Which was to be stress free instead of jumping from job to job just to pay the month’s rent. These experiences from my life have taught me to value everything I have and all the opportunities I receive and to see education as the foundation for creating a better future, not only for myself but also for those around me.

The reason I chose to enroll at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth was because I felt it had everything from facilities to academics of what I needed for my goals this year. The College Now Program also stuck out to me and my guidance counselor because it seemed like the perfect fit based on my GPA and what I wanted to major in at the time. It was a way to show I belonged to the college community. I am currently majoring in Business. While at this school my goals include keeping at least a 3.00 GPA not only for this semester, but for the long future coming, building a strong network peer, and developing into a respectable man all necessary for my next chapters in life. I see UMass Dartmouth as the place to make all these ambitions come true.

After I earn my degree here, I plan to instantly make a positive impact on not only my life but everyone within it. My goal job hasn’t hit my mind yet, but I know I want to help others in need as that’s what I wish other people did for us growing up. I hope to get access to all the skills I need right here at UMass Dartmouth, and once I leave this school, I hope to have made a legacy or have made an impact on the school and peers that I graduate with or leave behind. My wish in life is for every kid to be able to find their purpose in the world because it truly is an amazing thing to have goals to chase to better your life and the lives of others.