Ryan T. Herich Memorial Scholarship

History has always been more than just dates and events to me, it's been a guide, a mirror, and a reminder that resilience and change are possible. Growing up,I faced challenges that made me feel invisible at times, from navigating a chaotic home lie to periods of homelessness. But even when life felt overwhelming, I found comfort in the stories of those who came before me--people who faced adversity, stood against injustice, and shaped he world for the better. As a member of the Latino-American community. I've seen firsthand how history can connect us to our roots and give us the stretch to push forward. My cultural identity has taught me the value of perseverance, but it's also shown me how easily important voices can be overlooked. That's why I want to stay history, and become a college professor--to make sure those stories, especially the ones that often go untold, are heard. I believe that understanding history isn't just about knowing what happened; it's about learning why it happened and how we can do better. For example, studying movements like the Mexican-American civil rights to efforts of the resilience of marginalized group throughout history remind us that progress is possible when people come together to fight for change. By teaching these lessons, I want to inspire students to see themselves as part of that legacy--to realize that their actions today can create a ripple effect for our future generations. My journey has also shown me how interconnected history and geography are. I'm fascinated by how environments shape civilization and how past societies dealt with challenges like climate or resources scarcity. These lessons are incredibly relevant today as we face global challenges like climate change. By studying these patterns, I hope to contribute to conversations about sustainability and help ensure that we don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Through all the struggles I've faced--taking care of my siblings while balancing school, enduring instability at home, an working hard to overcome mental health challenges--I've learned to keep moving forward. These experiences haven't just shaped me; they've fueled my passion to create change. I want to give others the same hope and understanding that history give me. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that history is more than stories--it's a guide for building a better future. By sharing these lessons, I hope to help others see their potential to make a difference, just as history has shown me mine.

I'm so sorry for your loss, he must have had the same fascination of the past I do and the fascination of humans and how they work. I plan on going to UW Milwaukee for Anthropology and become a researcher. I have always had a fascination on how humans work and why they do what they do. I hope after college I can travel around the world to be able to learn about the unknowns of cultures and ways of life that humans experience. As an anthropologist I want to do archeology and be the first to discover something incredible and be able to show the rest of the world what I had found. I also wish to go to cultures that people like me don't get to see everyday and learn their way of life. I want to know what lessons I can learn from them to improve and then continue sharing the lessons. My entire career plan is to become a field researcher until I am physically not able then continue as a college professor until I'm no longer able to. I wish to learn and share knowledge for all of my life and this is the best way I can do that. Learning from our past can launch us into a better future and as the next generation takes over I have high hopes that the past can teach us to be better humans and humble us when remembering where we came. Another way I can make the world a better place is by going into villages of isolated communities and learning about them. Shedding their world in the modern world could help people be less ignorant and maybe take the lessons we learn from them and maybe their lessons will help the rest of the world become better people. We will never know until we actually try. I chose Anthropology and Archeology because I find people fascinating. Every part of them from their ways of life to how they evolved. Humans are constantly changing and that's what makes them so different from the other species I could study. Humans have existed for 2 million years, we have created societies, domesticated animals, and fought wars. Even the day to day lives of people are always changing. Just in the last 150 years we have gained cars, the internet, and given women and people of color rights. There is so much history in this world to learn and there is so much history in the making that we can be a part of and I want to be a part of it.

Hello Herich family, I'm Joshua. Before I start, I'd like to thank you all for putting this scholarship out there. It can be difficult attempting to finance college, especially within the last two decades. I'd also like to express my sympathy for your loss. While I know little about Ryan, your description makes me believe he'd be quite interesting to talk to. (especially since our interests seem to align so well) Regardless, since this is a scholarship application, I should probably start answering the prompt. As said, I'm Joshua Barker, a 17-year-old ambitious high school senior with a love for all things historical, political, military, or generally challenging. Therefore, it's quite obvious I'm already excited for college which I'll be attending in mere months. Entering with the goal of triple majoring in Public Relations, Economics, and Political Science, I can already see my work will be cut out for me. However, I'm quite fine with such a workload because I believe it will help me reach my dream. That dream is, to become a state senator or representative so I can advocate for and protect, liberty, justice, and life. To put it simply, I want to become a politician... which on paper, makes no sense. Politicians the bad side of many jokes and are commonly seen as corrupt, self-serving, evil, or just plain stupid individuals. (All things which I don't believe myself to be) However, when responsible, a politician can have tremendous power in bringing hope, change, and safety to a society. I learned the truth of this lesson a long time ago when I first developed my love for history in the 7th grade. During my second year in middle school, I began to learn about history through the lenses of strategy games, books, and YouTube. One such instance was when I first discovered a new YouTube channel called World War Two. Presented by Indy Neidell and Spartacus Olsen, this documentary channel would cover the history of the Second World War week by week, not letting a single event be forgotten, or single story untold. Their goal of spreading history and the stories of its people would proceed to change my life forever. Releasing on a week-by-week basis, this series threw me into a unique perspective by learning from the world's worst collective history in real time. With emotions that I can't put into words, I would learn of the systems of Nazi terror, their systematic usage of hate, the Soviet Purges, the Katyn and Babi Yar Massacres, the Liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto, the Implementation of the Final Solution, and so much more. The list is still growing for me, the series hasn't even finished yet, and my own research is still years later incomplete. But why is this important to me, or important to anyone? It's important because there is a lesson to be learned from the horror. Behind nearly every single event in human history, there is a person. Someone who was born, grew up through childhood, worked a job, had a family, experienced love, and wasn't all too different from you. Yet almost every single ruthless or evil event in history can be tied back to a person just like that. Just like me. Just like you. History taught me the importance of understanding our collective history and the costs that come with ignoring evil. History taught me how just one person can change the lives of millions if not billions. History taught me I can achieve something. Now I want to try, and maybe this scholarship will help.

Foremost thank you to the Ryan T. Herlich Scholarship committee for this opportunity. I look forward to using this time in this essay to provide an understating of how my I will use my education to support not only my future but, also the future of my state and country. In order to help you understand my drive for political change I have to let you know a little more in about who Detra is. To begin with I am the youngest of four siblings, my mother is a fifth generation Conch, no not the mollusk a Conch is what we call people born and raised in Key West, she has been active in local community service since middle school, and last but far from least is my father, a Haitian immigrant who came to this country at the age of twenty leaving behind my two older sibling to make a better way and life for them here. And that man and that woman are the reason I want to be a conduit for change. I grew up in a home where you could find FOX NEWS, CNN, BBC, or MSNBC playing at any time. Road trips we listened to music and played games but we also listened to NPR and hosted our own theoretical, philosophical and most times heated debates. Even being the youngest of four very individual siblings I was never one to back down from expressing my own views, even when mom and dad joined the conversation. I can still hear my mom yell from the front seat, “Stick to the facts!” It also helped that I loved spending time with my grandparents, my mother’s father is a local politician and I love seeing him in action. I love watching him get his point across, in a room that could be a sea of discontent, my grandfather could walk out with people seeing his perspective and understanding…even if their feathers were still ruffled, there is respect. Something that is desperately missing from today’s political climate, respect, respect for differences of opinions. Much like on those road trips where me and my siblings and parents would get our heated points across but still love and respect each other while not losing site of the ultimate goal. I do feel as though we as a country have lost that respect and sight of an ultimate goal, with the help of this scholarship my education will help me learn more about the roots of my country, the ability to communicate effectively and help me and others like me that know the gap is not as great as “the spin” makes it out to be close it. I have already embarked on a path there, I have participated in Florida’s Girls State Program, Florida’s House Page and Messenger Program, and Florida’s Senate Page Program. My sincerest intention is to double major in political science, and constitutional law, currently I’m a theater kid so with all my tools I feel as though I’ll be a natural politician. I want to use my very dynamically diverse background to help prove politically we all have a meeting place and even if feathers are ruffled when we leave that space we can leave each other with respect.

I love politics for a lot of the same reasons that I assume Ryan did. I love the dialogue, the arguments, and the new opinions. I feel best after a political discussion when someone changed my mind and presented me with an idea that challenged my own beliefs. Politics and government can be so toxic and hateful, especially at the highest levels. I believe that our current environment has flaws. I know that I alone can not change that. Those changes come from individuals having conversations. My hope for college is to go have political discussions. I plan on attending school in Washington DC, an area filled with political minds. I know that I am happiest when I am surrounded by people who are interested in politics, government, and history. I first realized this when I had the opportunity to attend California Boys State. This is the largest mock-government program in California and is put on by the American Legion. This was a week spent strictly with people like Ryan and myself. I often found myself and the other kids, discussing issues such as tax policy, school police officers, and healthcare late into the night. As a kid who likes politics, it was the best week of the year. Every great politician has been able to have a conversation and come to an agreement. We have seen this throughout American History. From Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson’s compromise over the National bank and the location of the Capital to more modern history with the passing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. All of America’s greatest leaders have been able to get in a room and compromise. It is what has kept our country together for over two centuries. With my college education, I want to be able to be in those rooms. I want to see where the deals get made. Hear the conversations that change the course of history. I know those are the conversations that change the world, I just want a seat at the table. At the end of the day, politics is about helping people. Individuals elect politicians to better their lives. I believe that current politicians do not have this in mind. One of my political heroes is not a name that you would have heard on the news. Her name is Karen Tedford and she is now the head of voter outreach in Contra Costa County. I first met Karen when I was helping with my school’s voter registration day. After introductions, we instantly clicked. Karen showed me the impact that the government can have on an individual's life. Karen was a longtime case manager for Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher. I was lucky enough to hear her stories of fighting for her constituents. She told me tales of how she trapped members of the labor department in their offices until they helped her constituents, or how she threatened to step on the toes of the joint chiefs if they did not help veterans with PTSD. I know that if I can do half the good she can, I can make an impact in my community. Politics, government, and history are what I am passionate about. I stay up late watching youtube videos and try to debate with any adult I see. I simply can not get enough of any of it. I know that given the opportunity, I can help make a change. I just want to be given the chance to make that happen.

Hi, I am Sydnie VanArsdale and I am going to be attending Washburn University fall of 2023 for Political Science. I am a self-proclaimed nerd, I love reading, history, international policy, debate, and just intaking knowledge. I am also a self-proclaimed plethora of useless information or at least that is what I am to a lot of people. I would say I know a pretty nice amount about political science and I will never admit I know everything because that is true, I will never know everything about it but that won't stop me from learning more about it whenever I get an option. I know you are probably looking for some type of essay about how democracy has affected our everyday lives or some vast, jargon-sounding idea that makes the world better or rather how it can but that is not what this will be. My personal thought behind how the world can become a better place based on what I have learned through the topics stated in the prompt is simply, we as people need a more open mind. I am well aware that many people believe or even do have rather open minds when it comes to many topics but when you look at history all of the truly open-minded civilizations have been the most successful. For example the Romans, they traveled all around or at least as far as all around was for them, they discovered new lands, new people, new everything and were willing to incorporate many of the concepts and items into their every day lives. Although they did not lack their issues they still were so incredibly prosperous and innovative simply from their open-mindedness. That is a quality that the people in our time lack drastically, everyone thinks they know everything and are constantly correct, it is there way or no way and due to this, although we are very advanced, we have slowed down innovation because we are not willing to listen to possibilities. This could be a true game changer in my opinion when it comes to diplomacy, social issues, and especially war we just must be willing to implement it.