My parents instilled in me a passion for serving others and setting high expectations for myself from a young age. When hurricane Ida devastated my hometown, I needed to step up and help those in my community who could not help themselves. I met this elderly lady named Ms. Rose. She was very stressed because the hurricane ripped several shingles off her roof, causing water to come through and ruin her flooring and insulation. So I went to her house with my neighbors, and we tore out the rotting insulation, threw it out the window of the two-story home where we got on the roof and pushed the insulation off the top of the house. The next few days, I worked outside with my neighbors, raking yards and pushing wheelbarrows full of debris down a block where there was an empty lot. One of the neighbors I had recently met who lived on the street perpendicular to mine told me how impressed he was with my actions and how not many young people would have been as determined and hardworking as I was. For the past few years, I devoted my time volunteering with Victory Fellowship Church to distribute hot meals and groceries several times a week. My church host's one of the largest free food festivals in the Greater New Orleans area every July 4th, called Feed The Multitudes. Feed The Multitudes has free food, live music, and grocery/shoe giveaways, but importantly it is a time of spreading the good news of the gospel. I am blessed to serve people in need in my community by ministering to them, handing out food and drinks, and putting a smile on a young child's face.

My hometown of New Orleans is stricken with poverty and homelessness. If I was at a low point in my life, I would love for somebody to help me out of the kindness of their heart. Putting myself in somebody else's shoes, I responded to the calling of reaching out and helping others. For the past few years, I devoted my time volunteering with Victory Fellowship Church to distribute hot meals and groceries several times a week. My church host's one of the largest free food festivals in the Greater New Orleans area every July 4th, called Feed The Multitudes. This event has spanned for over three decades and serves low-income families and the homeless through sponsors such as Second Harvest and Salvation Army. Feed the Multitudes has free food, live music, and grocery/shoe giveaways, but importantly it is a time of spreading the good news of the gospel. I am blessed to serve people in need in my community by ministering to them, handing out food and drinks, and putting a smile on a young child's face. I want to motivate others not to be afraid of pursuing their dreams. My passion for serving others and setting high expectations for myself led me to choose Chemical Engineering as my major. I want to help companies make more affordable products, and I believe engineering is a great way to show advances in health care, technology, and medicine. I strive to one day create a scholarship fund for students in need to worry less about the circumstances and focus more on the opportunities.

Attending school on a military base forever shaped the way I view the world. I attended middle school on the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, designed specifically for children of military families. Being from a civilian family, I was blessed with going to this school because extra spots were available. I met classmates from all over the country whose stories of courage and resilience in adversity inspired me to be the best version of myself. I learned that being a military kid means constantly adjusting and adapting to an array of changes. My school did a great job of ensuring students had a sense of stability and security, which is not easy since they move frequently. Military children have to put down roots in many places and tend to bloom wherever the military takes them. After conversations with several of my classmates, I learned that military kids are exposed to various people, experiences, and cultures—these experiences and exposure help define military children and shape their identity. My classmates' challenges were different from their civilian counterparts because they quickly adapted to new situations. My experience on the military base helped me develop a keen sense of how big the world is and changed my perspective of the role I have in my community. For the past few years, I devoted my time volunteering with Victory Fellowship Church to distribute hot meals and groceries. My church host's one of the largest free food festivals in the Greater New Orleans area every July 4th, called Feed The Multitudes. Feed The Multitudes has free food, live music, and grocery/shoe giveaways. I am blessed to serve people in need in my community by ministering to them, handing out food and drinks, and putting a smile on a young child's face.

Hi, my name is Alex Lay. I am a high school senior from Destrehan, Louisiana. My parents instilled in me a passion for serving others and setting high expectations for myself from a young age. When hurricane Ida devastated my hometown, I needed to step up and help those in my community who could not help themselves. I met this elderly lady named Ms. Rose. She was very stressed because the hurricane ripped several shingles off her roof, causing water to come through and ruin her flooring and insulation. So I went to her house with my neighbors, and we tore out the rotting insulation, threw it out the window of the two-story home where we got on the roof and pushed the insulation off the top of the house. The next few days, I worked outside with my neighbors, raking yards and pushing wheelbarrows full of debris down a block where there was an empty lot. One of the neighbors I had recently met who lived on the street perpendicular to mine told me how impressed he was with my actions and how not many young people would have been as determined and hardworking as I was. For the past few years, I devoted my time volunteering with Victory Fellowship Church to distribute hot meals and groceries several times a week. My church host's one of the largest free food festivals in the Greater New Orleans area every July 4th, called Feed The Multitudes. Feed The Multitudes has free food, live music, and grocery/shoe giveaways, but importantly it is a time of spreading the good news of the gospel. I am blessed to serve people in need in my community by ministering to them, handing out food and drinks, and putting a smile on a young child's face.

Hi, my name is Alex Lay, and I am a high school senior in Louisiana. Ever since I had the opportunity to be coached by talented college tennis players, my game has developed for the sport of tennis along with my passion for it. I practiced tennis and enjoyed it, but after a few years, I began to get tired of trying to fix my game. I couldn't help but think about the players better than me. I no longer enjoyed my sport because I was basing my self-worth on how much I won. If I lost, I would constantly keep replaying the moment over and over again, mentally beating myself up about it. It wasn't until I changed my mindset that I found a breakthrough. I lacked confidence and overthought everything I did. So, I decided to shift my attitude by reminding myself to focus on what I'm thankful for. Not only does a grateful mindset help me to be positive, but it also helps calm my nerves as well. In addition, encouraging my teammates helps me to stay grounded. I learned that playing a sport isn't all about winning; it is about the friends you make and the lessons you learn that will stick with you for the rest of your life. The average life of an athlete consists of many different responsibilities. Being able to balance both worlds has helped me to be resilient and college-ready. The love for my sport and my future pushed me to become better in all aspects of my life. My newfound passion for tennis shaped me into the well-rounded person I am today.

Hi, my name is Alex Lay. I am a high school senior from Destrehan, Louisiana. My passion for serving others and setting high expectations for myself led me to choose Chemical Engineering as my major. The idea of having so much flexibility and creativity while incorporating math and science has intrigued me. My plan following high school graduation is to attend Louisiana State University. During my time at LSU, I want to be involved in several organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and Volunteer LSU (VLSU). Interning for a company is a great opportunity I want to explore as a student. I also want to study abroad during my junior or senior year to experience other cultures. My plan following college graduation is to accept a job offer from a company I have interned for. In the future, if my job allows, I hope to travel around the world to discover different places and cultures. I want to share my love for Louisiana and the USA with others in exchange for learning about their unique experience as well. My life goal is to help others achieve their dreams and one day be able to create a scholarship fund for students in need. Eventually, I want to become a project manager and oversee projects to make sure they are under control and completed on time. Developing my social skills will help me when I need to report to companies about the progress of a job being done. I am grateful to be able to apply for this scholarship and would love to hear back!

When hurricane Ida devastated my hometown, I needed to step up and help those in my community who could not help themselves. After the damages the hurricane caused, I witnessed my neighbors immediately start picking up the pieces and bringing the community back to life. I am grateful to be a part of this effort and will remember this event for the rest of my life because I met people that I would have never met otherwise. For example, I met this elderly lady named Ms. Rose. She was very stressed because the hurricane ripped several shingles off her roof, causing water to come through and ruin her flooring and insulation. So I went to her house with my neighbors, and we tore out the rotting insulation, threw it out the window of the two-story home where we got on the roof, and pushed the insulation off the top of the house. The next few days, I worked outside with my neighbors, raking yards and pushing wheelbarrows full of debris down a block where there was an empty lot. One of the neighbors I had recently met who lived on the street perpendicular to mine told me how impressed he was with my actions and how not many young people would have been as determined and hardworking as I was. Then, every day for a week, my family ate dinner outside with all the neighbors who helped clean the community up. We laughed, told stories, and learned more about each other. I was inspired to keep being a leader even when no one was watching. I will apply what I learned to my time beyond high school through inspiring others not to give up or lose hope when a natural disaster strikes their area. Even though I was out of school for six weeks due to damages to my high school, I learned that leaders are made, not born.

Hi, my name is Alex Lay, and I knew that I wanted to pursue a challenging and rewarding goal from a young age. Most importantly, I wanted to do the best I could to achieve these goals to inspire others to succeed just as much or better. I plan to become a chemical engineer because I am fascinated with the endless possibilities of this field, such as collaborating with others, thinking outside the box, traveling across the world, and expressing my ideas to solve real-world problems. An obstacle I faced in my life was when Hurricane Ida struck my hometown. I was utterly oblivious to the aftermath hurricane Ida would cause and what my life would be like in the next few weeks since then. I overheard my classmates talking about the news of a destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane heading straight toward Louisiana. I didn't think anything of it because I never heard about it and thought it was a false prediction. Within two days, my school was closed, and my family and I were getting canned food from the grocery store, filling bathtubs with water, getting our generator ready, and covering our plants. The following night, violent winds and loud noises kept me from falling asleep. I lay awake, praying that a tree won't fall on our house. As I went outside the following morning, I saw colossal tree branches and hundreds of tree shingles littering the ground. I saw a few guys trying to cut a tree that fell in the middle of the street from a distance. The boulevard was flooded, making it impossible for me to leave the city. For the next week, I spent all day picking up debris from my neighbors' yards. I hauled the trash in a wheelbarrow where I walked down a block to dump it into an empty lot. It seemed like I repeated the same thing a dozen times, but I was determined to clean up the neighborhood I dearly loved. During that period, I met neighbors that I wouldn't have met otherwise. Even though school was closed for six weeks because of severe damages and my city did not have electricity or internet, I learned a valuable life lesson: natural disasters reflect how strong a community is. No matter what I faced, hope was one thing hurricane Ida could never take away. This natural disaster emphasized community resilience. After a hard day of cleaning, my community would gather at my next-door neighbor's house, where we would grill meat, bring side dishes, laugh, and tell stories. I learned the importance of working together to achieve a common goal, which allowed me to lend a helping hand to others and realize how grateful I am to be a Louisianian.