Christians in Texas Scholarship

1. Perseverance and the desire to succeed is something that has guided me since I can remember. My parent's always told me to just try my best. I took this to mean not giving up when things get difficult. When difficulties arise and it comes time to persevere I turn to prayer and my church community to help overcome. This desire to succeed and be the best that I can, drives the majority of my actions. I don't want to be average. I think being average is wasted potential. I want to use my full potential and be able to shine the light of Christ to others. 2. Excellence doesn't always mean being the best, or at the top. Whenever I tried to play volleyball I was a benchwarmer. I honestly just was on the team because they didn't cut anybody. I used my time with sports as a way to build friendship. While I wasn't playing the game I was cheering others one. This ability to cheer my friends are in spite of my own ability may be why the friendship I built in volleyball have lasted throughout many stages of my life. My definition of excellence is using the resources one is given to their highest ability. Quality over quantity is a must. Success isn't measured by the materials you have, it is using your full potential. Not everyone has the same gifts, but I believe everyone is great at something. It takes work to find one's gift and be able to achieve excellence in it. 3. As I am walking across the stage with my doctorate, I think I will look at my husband first. He was with me before I even began this new journey back to school. We listened to the sermon series "Big Dreams" that talked about Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. This series is what lead to me believe that it is possible to quit my stable career, sell my house, and pursue my dreams by going back to school. Every week I had a new fear and the sermon talked specifically about it, from family, future, and time management I had complete faith that my new purpose was this journey to become a doctor. My husband didn't hesitate as I discussed this new purpose with him. He has supported me as we sold the house, and I left my job and we went down to one income. He didn't even second guess the fact that we would have to move across the country, leaving all our family and friends behind. His support has been instrumental in this pursuit and I honestly don't think I could do it without him.