Terry "Frosty" Dalton Memorial Scholarship

My name is Jayden Moore, and I am 18 years old. During my high school years, I attended Dalton L. McMichael High School. While attending McMichael I was a member of both varsity basketball and football teams. I currently have an offer from Catawba College for football ,where I will be attending during the fall. I would spend most of my free time with family or friends. During the summertime, I would help at football or basketball camps and teach the children the fundamentals of the sport. This was my favorite thing to do. My goal, once I finish school, is to come back to Madison and do annual camps every year. Around my junior year, I realized football was my passion, and I wanted to continue the sport in college. Towards my senior year, I became dominant at football and realized the younger kids looked up to me, watching my every move. Whether the children saw me after the game or out in public, they always found a way to speak to me. This is how I knew sports had impacted my life. Being able to do something so small but make my community proud at the same time. As I was preparing for the college level, daily practices and games pushed me to my full potential. This helped improve my strengths, stamina, and skill. With this knowledge, I learned the importance of being able to balance school and sports. Also, sports have impacted my life by showing me how to handle pressure and manage stress. Whether it was the nerves before a big game or the frustration of a tough loss, I learned to stay calm and focused. Sports have given me an escape from the stress of classes and the pressures of life. When I step onto the field or court, I don’t have to think—I can just react. It’s the one time of day when I’m not over thinking or worrying about the future, studying, or anything else. Sports connected me with different groups of people. Teammates became close friends, and the shared goals created a strong bond among us. We learned to communicate well, trust one another, and work towards a common goal. The friendship extended beyond the field, creating lifelong friendships. Sports have also impacted my life by bringing out both the best and worst in people and creating memories that last long after the game is over. As time progressed, I realized sports is more than winning games, it is about building teamwork, taking leadership and having sportsmanship.

My greatest inspiration is my Single Mother who has made me the strong young woman I am today in high school. My Mother was only 19 years old when I was born and, because of that she had no choice but to grow up fast and missing out on her dream of playing basketball in College. Today, I am pursuing my dreams to further my education and play college basketball just like mother was in the year of 2004. January 7th, 2005, my mother embraced her new life, accepting reality and making the best of it all as a single mother. She wears many hats as a single parent. These include being a mother, father, doctor, nurse, home maker, bread winner, book keeper and coach. For me as her daughter, she is everything rolled into one all of which pulls her in many directions at the same time. Raising a little girl who is an athlete, going to school and working over 40 hours per week was extremely challenging. At a young age of 7, playing competitive soccer and travel basketball became a passion of mine. In addition to my mother, sports definitely helped me become who I am. Sports have helped me to develop integrity, sportsmanship, discipline, learn from mistakes, and make adjustments to strategies while having fun. These are all important aspects of taking initiative and skills needed to succeed in life. My most difficult obstacle along my journey as a high school student athlete training to play basketball in college was a major injury requiring surgery. On May 4th, 2022, May the Fourth be with you, I had surgery to repair my Hip. The Doctor told me the road to recovery would be long, I would not be able to walk for several months and likely won’t play my Senior Varsity year of Basketball. My entire life as an athlete there was not a day that went by that I was not playing sports until surgery. At the most challenging time in my life, I remember thinking about my single mother who has overcome many more obstacles and still achieved her dreams. I made a commitment to stay positive and work towards recovery. Five months later, I was back on the court playing and elevating my game for college basketball. My mother’s best strength is resilience in overcoming adversity. Thankfully, I have inherited her strength of resilience which helped in overcoming my injury and receiving 5 College Basketball Scholarship offers. I have achieved so much in the face of adversity and will continue to do my best in overcoming any challenges in the journey ahead. Your future is not determined by the problem life throws at you, it's determined by the attitude you bring to life. How you handle adversity greatly determines who you are as a person and what measure of success you will experience in life. Like my Mom, I am strong, independent and ambitious. Growing up watching her accomplish her dreams and advance professionally under all the circumstances she faced, inspires me to be the best version of myself. The next chapter in my journey after high school is to embrace the opportunity of college, advance my education, grow personally as well as build the necessary skills to enhance the organizations that I serve today and those I will serve in the future. Through passion, challenges and experiences, I have figured out my purpose; that purpose is to be a great student, leader, positively inspire others, and bring greatness within.