Entering my sophomore year as not only a part-time worker in school but also a student athlete, pursing a degree has not been a walk in the part. I have been attending Waynesburg University and have finished my first year. With college being expensive, but also a part of my life that I have fallen in love with, I have kept my part time job as I have been gaining a higher education. Thankfully, my university is less than an hour from my home town, so I had planned on being home some weekends anyway, but those weekends slowly turned from family time to work time. I am a manager at a local staple called Zoup. With the expenses of college and the time commitment of being a part of the track and field team, I have spent many weekends trying to keep a few dollars in my bank account. Specifically in my second semester of my freshman year, I was having a hard time keeping up with my tuition payments while also keeping everything else in my life balanced. From a full fifteen credit schedule, to track practices and meets, to social life, to work, I learned time management really quickly. In the fall semester of my freshman year, I was only easing into school, taking general classes and not being full time in season for my sport. However, the spring semester hit me hard. I was finding it very overwhelming to fit in time to go home to work while finishing assignments on time and even finding the motivation to make it to class. Thankfully I had a great support system from friends to family to faculty that made this challenger, although a steep one, one that was achievable. I become extremely detail and time oriented very quickly. I carved out every minute of my day and week to work around everything I needed to accomplish. Without my routines and thought out planning, I am not sure I would have overcome the challenge. From waking up early to work out and finish assignments, to eating between classes in order to finish work before the afternoon practice, to when I could drive home to fit in time to work. I even took it as far as to plan out when I could take future classes and what I can take in the summer to lighten the load and making more time to work during the spring and fall semesters. Therefore, all year found I am taking credits, building my athletic profile, and working full-time in the summer and part-time in the fall and spring. The tuition was not going to pay itself, but slowly and surely the exhausting weekends and saving from working extra when I had more time in the fall make it all worth it. This scholarship would bless me with the chance to focus more on academics and athletics come next spring semester as I work hard all summer and fall while in school to pay off the balance.

My first dream job as a little girl was to be a princess. While most girls think of their of their "knight in shining armor" to be a handsome young boy, who is muscular and tall, mine was my dad. He may not have been young or tall but my dad, Chad, is full of laughter, wisdom, and safety. Whether I was on the highest money bars at the play around or fishing off the side of some water, I never had to think twice. I knew if I jumped off or fell into the water, before I could blink, I would have been caught by my dad. We were attached at the hip. Whatever he wore, I would mimic. Whatever he said, I would repeat. I even took all his facial features and his shortness. This actually led me to my dream job I have now. My dad went to school for business as well. He now works for a bank. Apparently, I am still mimicking him because I have taken a huge interest in business and finance as well. It does not even stop there. We are both runner, and both laugh the same, and we both have a birthmark on our left ankles. There is no doubt I am his daughter. Growing up, he taught me everything he knows. From how to put bait on a rod, to how to run a 2 miles in 11 minutes, to how to set up a bank account. Any questions I have, I go to my dad. Now that I am in college it has definitely been an adjustment to not being at home, but we still talk almost every day and I still go to him for everything. He has led me down such a beautiful path. Becoming interested in finances has shaped me for the better. My dad is such an inspiration and I feel blessed to be his daughter and be even half the person he is. A big reason, I believe, we both find an interest in money and business, is because we see people struggle with it all the time. I am the youngest of three siblings, and as a young adult I now understand how expensive we are. This scholarship would help tremendously in helping me pay for college and continuing my education because life is extremely expensive. Clearly, I am my dads little girl through and through. I am not sure what I would do or who I would be without him. I am so thankful he is my father because he is so special to me. He will forever be my knight in shining armor.