Pleasant Hill Outlook Scholarship

Funded by

Trevor Young

Eligibility Requirements

Education Level:

High school senior

State:

Missouri

Experience:

Prior work experience

School:

Pleasant Hill High School

Education Level:

State:

Experience:

School:

High school senior

Missouri

Prior work experience

Pleasant Hill High School

Influential physicist Stephen Hawking once said that “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.”

Success looks different for different people, but one thing that every successful person needs is an inner drive that pushes them to achieve their goals. Since success isn’t the same for everyone, there are different ways to be successful. The Pleasant Hill Outlook Scholarship seeks to help high school seniors who have the mindset for success by supporting their future education. This scholarship will be given to a graduating senior who can best articulate why they believe they will succeed in life.

High school seniors at Pleasant Hill High School in Missouri are eligible to apply if they have prior work experience. To apply, write about how you define success and how your mindset will help you achieve your version of success.

Selection Criteria:

Ambition, Need, Boldest Bold.org Profile

Scholarships for High School Seniors High School Scholarships

Scholarships for College Students

Missouri Scholarships Need-Based Scholarships Essay Scholarships February Scholarships

Published September 25, 2025

Essay Topic

Describe what you define as success. What differentiates your mindset from your peers, and how do you believe this will bring you success in life?

100–250 words

Winners and Finalists

April 2026

Winners

Rowen Hays

Pleasant Hill High School

Finalists

March 2025

Winners

Finalists

March 2024

Winners

Finalists

January 2023

Winners

Shane Minor

Pleasant Hill High

Pleasant Hill, MO

Winning Application

Rowen Hays

Pleasant Hill High SchoolPleasant Hill, MO

Kennady Thornsberry

Pleasant Hill HighPleasant Hill, MO

I believe success can be defined differently for everyone and how they view their life. As a multi-sport athlete who is not only very involved in her teams, I am also devoted to my grades. I define success not as physical accomplishments and awards but as the idea of improving and bettering yourself as a whole. It's not about the product, but the journey and personal growth that comes with it. I was fortunate enough my freshman year to go to state with my soccer team. We ended up finishing third, but getting handed the trophy was not the most successful moment. Success to me is everything I learned on the way to where I am. I learned how to work well with others, how to work to achieve my goals, and how to learn from my mistakes. I define success as the effort and quality I put into my academics. It is tough being able to balance my training schedule and my schooling. This pushes me to make sacrifices. Unlike most, I have chosen a grueling but necessary path to find my own success. It's rewarding to know that every point of my GPA is earned through my hard work and determination. Knowing how hard my career path is, I feel my mindset will help me achieve my goals. Taking my next step into college, already knowing some crucial life skills, such as putting forth effort towards goals and learning from mistakes, can help lead to a successful future.

Jacob Box

Pleasant Hill HighPleasant Hill, MO

Imagine waking up as a young teen in a hospital room, a neck brace, and strapped to a hospital bed with no idea why you’re there. That is where I found myself as a young teen. I was going to baseball practice with my dad and brother one spring afternoon and woke up in the hospital. We were in a tragic accident that I was life-flighted from. I was very blessed and left that hospital the next day with only a few bumps and bruises but also with a life-changing traumatic brain injury and a testimony to share. No longer able to play sports and several adapting hurdles to overcome, I was driven to not let this event define who I was or alter my outlook on life. Success is not letting the challenges you face become your downfall. It is overcoming despite the hard times. I had to adapt, to see my brain injury not as a defining measure of my abilities, but as an opportunity to change and be better. I have overcome and found a new passion that I hope to make a lifelong career. Not many of my peers have faced adversity to this level in their lives; I feel blessed now that I am here, have purpose, and can chase my dreams. The freedom to choose, the ambition to learn, and the desire to be better; that’s success! If you don’t stop believing in good and aiming to be the good, success will be found.

Shane Minor

Pleasant Hill HighPleasant Hill, MO

I believe success can be different for many people and their outlooks on their own life. Success I believe is a goal or mindset that people set in their minds to achieve, and if you reach that goal you can define that as success. My mindset differentiates me from other individuals because of the way I was raised. I will be a first-generation college student in a blue-collar family. I was raised with the idea that if you want something it will not be handed to you, you will have to work for it. I take that mindset to heart in everything I do whether it's sports, school, or jobs I do in the summertime. I believe this mindset will bring me success in life because I feel like the mindset of working hard to achieve something is hard to find in this generation. I believe the person that works the hardest in my generation will be the most successful. The person that works the hardest and sets goals for themselves I believe will be the most successful not only in their jobs but in their everyday life and pass their knowledge of success to the next generation of students.