Across the U.S., college students’ lives have been uprooted, leaving many uncertain about their futures. As the school year comes to an end, Temple University has presented numerous awards recognizing the students who embody great leadership and academic achievement, such as the Diamond Award. The Diamond Award is the highest recognition by Temple’s Student Affairs for undergraduates, recognizing those who have excelled through leadership and service to the community and have had a substantial impact on the Temple Community.
One of this year’s winners, Anthony Gosch, a rising senior honors marketing major at the Fox School of Business, looks fondly on his last three years at Temple. By re-evaluating what it means to be rejected, his experiences have molded him into the person he is today.
As a freshman, Gosch applied to be an Owl Team Leader. When he was not given the role, he took the opportunity to use disappointment as motivation for the future. “At first, I was quite devastated,” says Gosch. “But I decided that over the next year, I would get involved in other ways and try again when the application came out, the following year, I received an offer and joined the 2019 Owl Team.”
Being an Owl Leader required Gosch to have many early morning and late nights, which led him to realize the importance of self-care. “Temple has taught me to be vulnerable, speak up when I have an idea and ask for help when I need it,” he says. “I have made some great memories and done some great things, but none of it would ever be possible if I didn’t speak up and advocate for myself, nor connect with faculty and staff who were willing to advocate for me.”
Gosch’s transition to online learning in response to the coronavirus pandemic has been smooth with help and encouragement from his professors. “I owe a lot of thanks to the way my professors navigated the situation, especially my business applications professor Michael Schirmer,” says Gosch.
As Gosch explains, Schirmer began to prep students for the transition a week in advance and helped soothe students. “His poise and calm manner throughout the situation helped to mediate a lot of anxieties and fear we were having,” says Gosch.
As one of the recipients of this year’s Diamond Award, Gosch sees the honor as validation that he has had a genuine impact on his community. “I find that I am at my happiest when I am helping other people and making them happy,” says Gosch. As an Owl Team Leader, he helps incoming first-year students get acclimated to Temple and find their place. Through that work, he has found making a difference in your community is essential.
“A high GPA is something wonderful to aspire to, but if you can get great grades and enjoy what your university, community and the world has to offer, that is true success, says Gosch. “I hate to be cliche and make metaphors, but a diamond has many facets, and I think that it is fitting to describe the students who received the award.”
As Gosch enters his last year at Temple, he has embraced these uncertain times. “One of my major takeaways from my time at Temple is to ‘trust the process’ and also really believe everything happens for a reason.”
Diamond Award winners leave a lasting legacy beyond the Temple community. They have an intrinsic responsibility to make an impact in any way that they can. “I hope that others will see me as someone who took the initiative and made an impact in his way,” says Gosch. “If my growth can motivate or inspire someone else to pursue their goals, that is a bonus.”