A few months back I saw that Google was offering scholarships for a mobile web development nanodegree they sponsor on Udacity. Seemed a little outside of my day-to-day, but well within my span of interest. Mostly, it just seemed too cool to pass up, and without any real risk. Only the potential for growth and opportunity!

I was on a time crunch, partly due to cleaning up what I left ignored while training for the NYC Marathon and desperately trying to fundraise $4500 for Connor’s Cure. But in no small part due to the fact that my wife was a few days overdue for giving birth. Point is: I didn’t have too much time to overthink the application, which turned out in my favor!

For example, when asked something along the lines of “Why do you think you deserve this scholarship?”, I said something like, “Honestly, I don’t think I deserve this more than anyone else, but I promise to learn all I can, and use what I learn to teach others and help start my own business.” I wish I wrote it down! I just remember smirking about it because the response was simple, honest, and lacking some of the BS I would have felt compelled to write if I had time (e.g., “I’ve wanted to bla, bla, bla since I was 6 years old… Yackity Schmack!”).

“Deciding who to award scholarships to was not easy,” says Nick Blumenthal, one of the scholarship’s project managers, noting that they received over 100,000 applications. “We eventually narrowed down our selection to a group of passionate, motivated, and resilient scholars – and you’re one of them!” (Not gonna lie: felt good to be recognized as such.)

Pretty exciting, but the challenge isn’t over. In fact, it has just begun.

You see, I have not yet received a scholarship for the full nanodegree, but only a 3-month starter challenge – of which only few will remain! To go on to the next level (a 6-month continuation), one must rise above the rest. To do this, it seems, one needn’t only be technically good, but also timely and a team player. The continuation will be awarded based “on your progress and performance in this initial 3-month challenge course, as well as your contributions to the student community… Ask questions, answer questions, and engage.”

Amusingly enough, being rated on my social performance seems more intimidating than the technical component. That said, I think it’s great that they are taking a 360* approach to this, which is relevant to any position in the work force!

Anyway, I’ll keep ya posted.

Some Links

• Udacity: Grow with Google Scholarship
• Google Blog: Grow with Google Scholarships