Sergeant William Jace Cherry Memorial Scholarship

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to do something to help people. For the longest time, I wanted to enter the medical field and become a Physician Assistant. My plan was to work as as an EMT during the summer, and study and run Cross Country and Track and Field during the school year at ETSU. That changed abruptly when I took anatomy senior year of highschool. As the semester went on, I found myself struggling, and began considering other options with one thing in mind: still the ability to help others. I was talking to one of my best friends, whose dad is a Captain in the Gallatin Police Department. He was considering going into law enforcement, so I began researching the field. Up until that point, I had always had a high level of respect for law enforcement officers, but had never considered it myself. As I continued researching though, I knew that was the job field for me. I graduated highschool and began attending ETSU. At this point, I still hadn’t told my parents that I wanted to get into law enforcement, afraid of their judgement and response. My plan was to just go and get a degree in business to still further my education. Throughout the first semester, my grades began to slip. I had no passion for the business classes and began to struggle. Second semester came, and I still hadn’t told my parents I had no interest in what I was studying. Then one evening I decided to break the news. I switched my major, and began taking the Criminal Justice route this past summer, passing both classes with 100s and significantly boosting my GPA. Switching my major to something I wanted to get into brought up my GPA, also allowing me to retain my NCAA eligibility, which I was on the verge of losing for a year. Ever since I began the Criminal Justice route, I have enjoyed every bit of it. One thing that makes me want to get into law enforcement and help others is the impact you can have on someone’s life with just one interaction. There’s a multitude of scenarios where it could very well be saving someone’s life, or just being a light in their period of darkness. I chose this route because I feel like it gives me the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives for the better. There are a lot of jobs that can help people, but very few compare to the impact and first hand experience of assisting those in need like law enforcement and first responders. In the past 6 years of my life, the world has changed tremendously. As time continues to march forward, the need for people in society who want to help others will continue to grow, and I plan to be right there helping someone.

When I was born, I was born into a family of tow truck drivers. I was always surrounded by different law enforcement officers, firemen, and EMS workers, but there was always one job that always interest me, becoming an officer. It is often the biggest misconception from kids that officers where the bad guys, the ones who put you in jail, but my family always made sure I knew it wasn’t the officer who put you in jail, but the officer is the one who saved you from putting yourself in the ground. This statement resonated with me my whole life and is the reason why I am the person I am today. After many years from being the small child that seemed to never fear police officers, my love for agriculture grew and I knew I had to do something to better the agricultural world around me, and that’s when I learned about a game warden. I fell in love with the idea of being able to serve my community and keep the people safe, as well as honoring the animals that live around us. One of the final reasons why I have chosen to go down the criminal justice paths is because without the cops and officers around me, I could very well not have my sister with me today. When my sister was just 3 years old my elderly grandmother dropped her off at her babysitters house. Due to my grandmothers age she wasn’t able to walk my sister to the door, therefore she wasn’t aware that the babysitter wasn’t awake yet. My sister entered the house, but after my grandmother left my sister walked out and began to walk down the road. Luckily an officer happened to catch a faint glimpse of my sister little head bobbing in the ditch as she walked down the side of a busy highway road during rush hour morning traffic. This officer quickly stopped and grabbed my sister saving her for the danger that was sure to come if he hadn’t had seen her little head. This is one of the main reason why I want to become an officer, I want to be that person who changes someone life forever, even more the person who saves that one small child’s life. To conclude, becoming an officer has been a life long dream of mine, no matter what the official title is. My primary goal is to become a game warden, but I just want to be able to protect and serve in anyway possible! Thank you Sgt. William Cherry for the life that you lived and the service you gave, and thank you to the family for this amazing opportunity!