My name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf, and I am pursuing a career in American Sign Language Interpreting. I studied at Marshall University in fall of 2025 then transferred to Pierpont College and Technical Institute. I am currently in my second semester at the institution. My passion for American Sign Language started when I was first introduced to the deaf community. I live in a small town and when I was younger, I had never encountered someone who was deaf or hard-of-hearing. It wasn't until I noticed a television showed, Switched at Birth, when I was introduced to American Sign Language. I immediately fell in love with the language and wanted to learn how to sign. I have been invested in the idea of becoming an interpreter since I was in middle school. In my junior year of high school, I had a deaf coworker, Shawn, when I started my first job. Few of my coworkers knew any signs and that made it difficult for Shawn to communicate with other employees. He wrote on napkins when he was able to but I couldn't help but feel that there shouldn't be this divide. I looked up signs whenever I got a chance so that I could communicate with him. He loved talking so we signed together whenever we were scheduled the same days. I always wondered why American Sign Language wasn't a foreign language requirement in high school. I think it is important to be able to communicate with everyone. We are taught inclusion but not knowing how to sign creates a bigger divide. I have been obsessed with learning new things my entire life and this has become a passion for me. I plan to make a difference in my hometown through my career. We currently have multiple deaf studies in our schools without interpreters. The school system has been scouring for them but there hasn't been anyone interested in the position. I plan to help my town and my state after I graduate. West Virginia is one of poorest states in America and we don't have as many resources in certain areas. I hope to bring more accessibility to the school systems. I would like to make my work versatile by working in schools, hospitals, businesses, etc. It is important to me to help anyone who needs it. I want to start where I was raised and continue from there. Hopefully this will bring a little more light into the classrooms for the students who are not getting the same access as others.

My name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf, and I am a student at Pierpont Community and Technical College. My major is American Sign Language Interpreting. Growing up with a single mom shapes everyone differently. My brother and I both had different experiences with our mother. I became best friends with my mother Growing up with a single mom changes your perspective on everything and it shapes everyone differently. My brother and I tried to look out for our mom the best we could after our parents' divorce. I took over cooking and cleaning at ten while taking care of my brother when he needed it. I remember my mom creating a new tradition that year where she bought a container and covered it in wrapping paper. Inside of it was a movie, which we picked at the store, and new pajamas. We would all put our Pjs on, put the movie in, and wrap some presents for other family members. I would help her fill the stockings when everyone was asleep and I would always take stuff out of mine to fill hers. It became habit for me to do everything I could for my mom. When I got my first job, I used some of my paycheck to buy her flowers, a necklace, new hair spray, and more. My mother became my best friend and all I wanted to do was look after her. I got a job to help her with bills once I was old enough to get one. Sometimes having a single parent can make you want to help them so much that you forget yourself though. I have faced medical issues since I was little and kept pushing them off. I wanted to be healthy so I could help my mom, but I ended up in the hospital. She has worked her life away to fund my medical problems since I was thirteen. There is always give and take with our relationship. We don't focus on one taking care of the other. We are a team and we help everyone we can. Since I was little, we have always brought in others to take care of or make enough food for five houses. That kindness came back around because you get the love you put into the world. Our community has had our back recently with our family housefire. My mom and I are always together through thick and thin. I wouldn't want it any other way. Having a single mom makes you learn independence early but it also teaches empathy. Thank you for your consideration!

My name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf, and I am currently a student at Pierpont Community and Technical College. My major is in American Sign Language Interpreting. I have many plans for the future and my career. I intend on finishing my associates degree and pursuing a career interpreting wherever my services are needed. Currently, there is a need for American Sign Language interpreters in my hometown. The high school I graduated from has not been able to find an interpreter for the deaf students in attendance. I would love to change that and give back to the community that helped raise me. I have also looked into interpreting at local hospitals. My plans are to help as many people as I can and giving my all in every place I work. I intend to assist my community in any way possible. I also want to join community service groups like I did in high school. I eventually plan to move south for other job opportunities and to expand my horizons. Interpreters are needed everywhere. I hope to learn other languages as well to broaden the amount of people I can translate for. My goal is to help lessen the divide between different groups of people. I believe that with time, effort, and ambition this could be possible. I have worked with a variety of people at my first job and I would love to see people everywhere connect how we did as employees. We were a family and did our best to work together no matter the challenges. This scholarship would help me tremendously. I come from a low-income family, and we have always scraped to get by. I am a first-generation college student, and I want to finish my college career for them. They didn't have the ability to go to college and some of them couldn't finish high school due to family financial need. This scholarship would help fund my education to help others and my family. No words can describe the appreciation I have for every opportunity given to me and those who have helped fund my future. College is not a gift everyone gets in life and I would like to make it available to more people in the future. I hope to one day be able to set up a scholarship for other students and help them apply to others. Thank you so much for your consideration!

My name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf, and I am a student at Pierpont Community and Technical College. I am majoring in American Sign Language Interpreting. My family has always strived to help others, and I have done my best to continue pursuing that. Throughout high school I was a part of a community service group that organized food drives, clothing gatherings, cancer care bags, and more. I was one of six leaders of the group my third year. I began my job at McDonalds to help with my family's financials, but my mother and brother lost their jobs soon after I started mine the summer before my junior year. I took on extra hours in attempt to make up for the money that was not coming in. I also helped take care of my mom during this time because she has many medical issues. However, when it came time for the new school year to start, they found new employment. My junior year was by far the hardest year of high school for me. Then, a couple months after, my grandfather's health started rapidly declining. So, we made the decision to move in to take care of him. I became a caregiver overnight to help my mother and grandfather during high school. The same month I moved in with my grandfather, I met a new girl named Allie at my high school. The school counselor would reach out to me to help new students acclimate into the new environment and she wanted me to make sure she had friends to accompany her. I had already started talking to Allie, so it was just getting more time to hang out with a friend. I quickly learned she came from a very troubled family that had caused many bad situations for Allie. So, within a few days of meeting her, we had a multitude of sleepovers and decided to discuss her situation with the school. It took three days for me to decide we needed to help her with my mother's full support. This resulted in us going to court for Allie and getting custody of her until the court deemed her mother suitable. During this time, I pulled more hours to help pay for anything Allie could want or need and my mother did the same. Her happiness was one of my top priorities and she finally was able to create a relationship with her mother toward the end of our senior year. In February of 2026 I faced some medical issues that required me to quit my job to focus on getting better. Though I did not have money coming in, I had a friend who I wanted to help. She can't work right now due to multiple knee surgeries, and she wants to start college. So, I used some money I had laid back to help her buy school supplies and dorm essentials for her college journey. In March, I had a house fire resulting in a total loss, but I still have spent late nights with her applying to scholarships and explaining different aspects of college life to prepare her. We went over the school's dashboard and how to navigate blackboard. I only hope the best for others and want to help them in any way I can. I hope these actions help them succeed in the future because our lowest moments shouldn't define who we are. Thank you for your consideration!

Hi, my name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf, and I plan to attend Pierpont Community & Technical College for the Spring 2026 semester. To know what I plan to do in the future it is important to look back on what I have done. I have participated in volunteer work throughout my high school life and maintained a job since my junior year while being in school. This has taught me many values and sparked my passion for my future. I plan to major in ASL interpreting and a big inspiration for that was one of my coworkers who are deaf. I learned some basic signs to communicate with him better at work and realized that I loved the language. I also loved being able to help lessen the divide of communication between him and others in the store. Many of us picked signs up over time to better communicate with him and it was noticeable that this made him feel included. If all jobs were more accessible, like my coworkers try to be, then it would be helpful for the deaf/hard of hearing community. They deserve the same opportunities that everyone else does. This inspiration has pushed me to pursue a career in American Sign Language Interpreting. I believe I would like to work in a school setting because in my hometown that is where they are needed the most. I plan to continue my volunteer work, and this will only expand my ability to help accommodate for more people in the community. I believe inclusion should always be a goal and this education will allow me to help open opportunities that have been more difficult for the deaf/hard of hearing community to access. This scholarship would help me immensely by taking some of the financial burden from me to focus on my education. I live with my grandfather to help take care of him and my mother to assist in taking care of their medical issues. My mother and I work to help pay for medications they both need which makes my ability to pay for college more difficult. I would not change a thing about helping my family. This scholarship would allow for me to continue my education while caring for my loved ones. It would also help me learn American Sign Language to communicate with others. Thank you for considering my essay and I appreciate the opportunity to apply!

Hello, My name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf and I am a senior at St. Marys High School. I have been a caregiver for many of my family members over the years, but more so for my grandfather, Ronnie, who I moved in with to take care of. In January of 2023, I moved in with my grandfather to help him manage his diabetes and finances. I assist in changing his insulin pump, making him meals, contributing toward bills, participating in housework, doing firewood, and more. I try my best with help from my mother to care for him. Caregiving has made me realize how much I enjoy helping others. This experience has made me more aware of the needs of others due to the focus required when taking care of my grandfather. This journey has only pushed me to follow my desired career even more. I want to pursue a career in American Sign Language interpreting to help others. I often help my grandfather in many aspects of his life, and more recently his vision has worsened to the point where his doctors do not believe he will still have his eyesight a year from now. Though difficult for him to accept, I try to assist by driving him places and reading for him, among other things. I am who I am today because of the hardships I have overcome and the people I have surrounded myself with. My family support me by pushing me to do better. I have held a job for almost two years to assist my family with financial problems we have faced and to attempt to help pay toward my mother's medicine when we were not eligible for insurance. I have had a passion for being a caregiver for my family my entire life. Starting with my baby cousin from the time I was five until now along with neighbors and grandparents. This scholarship would help toward my education in a plethora of ways like purchasing textbooks, a laptop, and other items required for college. I cannot afford many items I need and I am trying to relieve stress from my grandfather who worries about money for my college needs. He has been talking about getting a job and I know that is not a good option. Receiving this scholarship would assist in minimizing stress levels and maximize my chances of being able to attend college.

Hello, my name is Annabelle and I am a senior at St. Marys High School. I plan to attend Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia this fall to pursue a degree in special education. I have participated and helped plan many community service projects as well as local community events. Choosing a favorite event is extremely difficult when they all mean so much to me. However, I do have one that stands out among the rest that I would love to share. My biology teacher, Mrs. Corrigan, spoke to my class about something very close to her heart. She mentioned that she loves planning big Veterans Day events to show appreciation for those who served or are serving our country currently. Her husband was in the military and it greatly impacted her life. She immensely feels for those in the military and their families. After bringing this to our classes attention, we acted quickly. All of my seven other classmates volunteered to help and we were all delegated tasks. I made cards for each veteran, filled out envelopes with mailing addresses, and helped with decorations. My classmates and I also made gift bags for each veteran and their spouse. This was just the start of planning our Veterans Day event. I spent more than twenty community service hours on this project to ensure that everything was how it needed to be. My classmates and I were determined to make this event special for each person. We made pamphlets for all attendees for the day of the event and set up tables at the front of the school with students to give them out. We also set up a stage in the gymnasium for each veteran and their spouse to separately be announced and appreciated. The teachers all made food for the event as well. On the day of the event we spent all morning setting up final touches to the gymnasium and preparing for each of our roles. We all dressed in business casual attire for the event and took our places. I volunteered to hand out all the gift bags to veterans and their spouses before they stepped off stage. We ensured each guest felt welcome, appreciated, and loved while they were there. Each veteran came on stage to announce their name, branch, and how long they served in the military. After this I gave them their gift bags, that I had put together, before they went off stage to set back down. Then spouses would come up announcing their name, which veteran they were there with, and would then get a give bag before going to sit back down. Finally, we directed all guests to the cafeteria to eat lunch prepared by staff. This event touched my heart in many ways. I do wish that my Great Uncle, who served in the military, could have been here with us to properly be celebrated but I still recognize him as someone I appreciate especially during Veterans Day events. He is one of the big reasons this local community event meant so much to me. Thank you for your consideration for this scholarship.

Hello, my name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf. I am a senior at St. Marys High School in St. Marys, West Virginia. I will be going to Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia this fall. I was raised in a single parent household after my parents divorced when I was young. My mother has raised my brother and I by herself most of our lives. Coming from a single parent household has shaped me in a plethora of ways. It has taught me independence, strength, responsibility, empathy, and much more. My brother and I got jobs throughout high school to help my mother with the bills. This taught us strong work ethic and money management. Growing up in a single parent household also had some negative effects. I always worry about finances and bills. This fear can be all consuming at times. Being raised in a single parent household comes with many challenged but, it teaches many lessons to all that are involved. It brought my mother and I closer when we were going through difficult times. My educational journey has been impacted by my upbringing as well. I did as well as I could in school to make it easier for my mother and to make her proud. I maintained good grades and took many upperclassmen courses early. I participated in early college courses through West Virginia University at Parkersburg during the last three years. My mother felt it was her responsibility to pay for these courses but I tried to pay for what I could to lessen the financial burden for her. My junior year money was extremely tight and I could not participate in as many college courses that I had planned to. Living in a single parent household and having little money causes us to sacrifice some experiences or put them off until we can do them. I learned life is a game of give and take which helped me through many situations. As for my plans to give back to my community in the future there are many. I plan to continue the volunteer work I have done throughout high school like making cancer care bags for hospital patients, giving time to assist at animal shelters, and visit the elderly. I also plan to volunteer at local homeless shelters when I have the chance. My career choice will open many opportunities to help others as well. Becoming fluent in American Sign Language and special education teaching should help assist people in various ways. Thank you for considering my application!

Hello, my name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf. I am a senior at St. Marys High School in St. Marys, West Virginia. I will be attending Marshall University this fall to become a special education teacher and get my American Sign Language interpreting degree. Being a first-generation college student influences my career goals by making me more determined. I have been an overachiever throughout my academic career so far and plan to continue that way in college. Being the first in my family to go to college and graduate has pushed me to pursue my dreams of helping others through the profession of my choice. I have had to maintain a job throughout my junior and senior year of high school to assist in paying bills and my early college classes. This has taught me strong work ethic and perseverance. These traits will help me accomplish my goals in college and to graduate. Being a first-generation college student pushes me to succeed in higher education. My family has not had the chances I have in life and I will not take that for granted. I plan to help others in any way I can to achieve their dreams as well. I want to help as many people as possible in my life to pay it forward. The opportunities I have should be shared to everyone. Thank you for considering my application!

Hello, my name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf. I am a senior at St. Marys High School in St. Marys, West Virginia. I have chosen to go to Marshall University this fall to pursue a major in Special Education and get an American Sign Language interpreting degree. I have chosen this field because it means a lot to me to help others. I have seen some of my own family members begin to lose their hearing as well. I believe that getting college degrees to become an interpreter and special education teacher are extremely important. I want to help others through their struggles whether it be communication, financial situations, or anything else. I desire to impact the world by lessening the divide between the deaf/hard of hearing community and the hearing one. I believe all students in American should be taught American Sign Language from a young age to create a safe space for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. I plan to make this a reality in my classroom. It is an important skill to have because you never know if someone will not be able to verbally convey what they need. However, they could sign what they needed or how they felt. I want to continue my volunteer work to make an impact as well. Over the course of my high school career I have participated a group, Leo Club, and led it my junior year. Our goals were to help people whenever we could in any way we could. We raised money, collected items they needed, and visited different places to assist them. We went to animal shelters, elderly homes, and more to help our community. I have many personal reasons that will help me achieve my professional passion. I have been through a lot of trauma in my life and preventing those situations from happening to others pushes me to do my best all of the time. I have been a voice for those who did not have one and I plan to do so for the rest of my life. Giving people a voice is extremely important to me. When I could not tell anyone what was going on I wish I would have had someone to talk to about everything. It would have made a tremendous difference. I plan to be there for anyone who needs help finding their voice or someone to talk to. I also find that my resilience will contribute to my success in the career of my choice. I have a multitude of passions and goals I plan to accomplish in the coming years. The most important thing to me is helping others to the best of my ability. I plan to continue to give back whenever I can. Thank you for considering my application!

Hi, my name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf. I am a senior at St. Marys High School in St. Marys, West Virginia. To know what I plan to do to make a positive impact on the world it is important to look back on what I have done. The volunteer work I have done in the past is what inspires me to do more. I have been in a community service group in my high school, Leo Club, during my time at this high school. In Leo Club I participated in making cancer care bags for cancer patients at nearby hospitals, collecting items for a middle school student recently diagnosed with leukemia, visiting elderly homes, and more. At the assisted living homes we brought homemade cards for holidays and sat with them so they could have someone to talk to. I learned that many do not have family or they are no longer in contact with them so as a school we began doing more for them. We planned hygiene drives for those that needed items not provided by the facility. We helped with disaster relieve by sending cards and collecting items for them. I ran the group with four other students and a teacher my junior year as well. This led to many more projects for the group. Deciding on what to do first was hard but we did as much as we could during the year. As for what I plan to do in the future, I have many goals. I am going to attend Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia this fall. I will be a liberal arts major learning American Sign Language to become a special education teacher. I aspire to help those who need a little more assistance. I plan to start helping the deaf community by being able to interpret for them if needed. I plan to continue volunteering outside of work to help others. I want to go to women and children shelters to assist them with what they need as well as donate items to the shelters. I plan to go out and buy homeless individuals meals like I have in the past. I am a big believer in paying things forward. I aspire to teach special education to make those individuals realize they can do as much as anyone else can. Preparing students for the real world and shaping their minds is difficult but I am sure that I can help students learn how to be compassionate adults. Learning to love themselves and being good people is important for me to teach. Thank you for considering my essay.

Hi, My name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf. I go to St. Marys High School in St. Marys, West Virginia. I have participated in volunteer work for the last four years while I have been in high school. I joined my school's Leo Club group aimed to help others during our high school career. We have done many projects throughout the last four years that have only pushed me to help more people. In 2021, I went with the group to talk to residents of nursing homes, made veteran's day cards to show our appreciation, made cancer care bags to deliver to hospitals, hygiene drives, and more. Throughout our volunteer work we learned much about different individuals. I noticed the most need in my freshman year seemed to sit with the nursing homes. There was little staff and many residents did not have family to see them. When we brought that up it became something we did more often. I have went to help our local dog shelter on our volunteer days. I once again noticed the lack of staffing. This led for more trips there and people signing up to volunteer outside of school. Every time we went to volunteer somewhere it became evident how many people, animals, and places need help. In 2023, I was one of five students who lead Leo Club. We made cancer care bags but we personally delivered them as a group to the hospitals. We also raised money for the dog and cat shelters through selling Candy Grams during the holiday season. The group participated in collecting items for a middle school student in the area that had recently been diagnosed with leukemia. As a group we agreed there was not enough time in the school year to help everyone. Kids started being more involved in all ways they could. I encouraged students to speak to the school staff that go unnoticed. It is important in life and volunteer work to make people feel seen, heard, and appreciated. All of this is in hope that we help others. Volunteer work has shaped me as a person in many ways to how I interact with others to what I want to do with my life. I have always been interested in American Sign Language and deaf culture my entire life but I have never felt like I could be able to help that minority. Through community service and my work life I have seen how hard it can be for deaf individuals. I work with someone who is deaf and it helps him tremendously when we know how to sign to him. It makes him happy that he can talk to others during work and it makes his work life easier. Effort to accommodate for others is important. Learning a few signs to talk to him changed his mood entirely. I want to pursue special education teaching specializing with deaf/hard of hearing individuals. I want everyone to have equal opportunity in life and I hope this helps others get the chances they deserve. Thank you for considering my essay!

January 31st, 2025 Hello, My name is Annabelle Pfalzgraf. I am a senior at St. Marys High School in St. Marys, West Virginia. I will be attending Marshall University to pursue a degree in American Sign Language for special education teaching and interpreting. I will be the first one in my family to graduate college. A personal accomplishment I am proud of is helping take care of my family. In 2023, my family was struggling financially and I knew I needed to step up. I got a job and began working as much as I could to help provide an additional income to my household. However, a month into working at my job everything went down hill. My brother was in an accident resulting in him not being able to work and my mom lost her job. My mother is diabetic and her health declined during the time she was unemployed. Due to losing her job my mother lost her insurance causing her to no longer be able to afford insulin. I started working more hours until we could afford what she needed for all of her medical problems. She found another job and started in January of 2024. Since then we moved into my grandfather's house to help him with his health. My grandfather is also diabetic with it being more severe than my mother's diabetes. Throughout the end of my junior year and my entire senior year I have worked, taken care of my family, and went to school. Though it has been hard, I am proud of myself and the skills I learned along the way. I used strong work ethic that lead to my multiple promotions at my job to better provide for my household. I was empathetic toward others more than before. The skills I obtained through the hard times in the past two years will last me a lifetime which I am so grateful for. I utilized patience in abundant amounts in this time to get through it. ambition led the way for my academic endeavors and work life. Communication, transparency, appreciation, and more made me closer to my family in the last two years. Being able to get through all of this took a lot. With the skills I obtained I hold myself to a higher standard in life because I know what I am capable of in difficult situations. Helping my family has led me to desire to be more helpful. I cannot wait to assist others through learning American Sign Language to give others the same opportunities. I appreciate you for taking my essay into consideration Thank you, Annabelle Pfalzgraf

“I have more faith in you to change the world than I have in anyone in my lifetime. You are going to do beautiful things so do not let anything stop you,” is the last thing thing I heard from my grandmother. On February 26th, 2023, I lost my favorite person and biggest supporter. My grandmother passed from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) last year on the morning after my father’s birthday. The amount of influence her life and death had on me is immeasurable. Her career path, empathy, support, actions, words, lifestyle, and more have changed my life in a plethora of ways. After she passed, I began my first job at McDonalds and have continued working there ever since. Her ability to find a solution to every problem inspired me to be a problem solver. That skill has helped me become a Crew Trainer, Area Lead, and start management training. Her drive to take care of her family without question made me the same way. I assisted my family to the best of my ability when my mother and brother lost their jobs for more than six months. I became the sole income along with the unemployment my mother received. My grandmother taught me to be smart in the event I were in a position where I was scraping by. This came in handy when going through this rough time. Who my grandmother had taught me to be my best self. This led me to volunteer work through my school, helping struggling students with work, taking early college courses, and more. Her career in the medical field caused me to want to help people as well. I have been inspired to pursue American Sign Language when I go to college along with other languages. From there I plan to get my law degree to be able to help those at a disadvantage. Being an interpreter and a lawyer will assist in Lessing stress and confusion for clients who have a court case. I have always been passionate about this dream and my grandmother has always been my biggest fan. Without her here I am more adamant about achieving my dreams more than ever. Her support and influence made the person I am today. She was the most active woman I have ever met and I aspire to be like her. She made me feel seen when the rest of my family did not. I want to be that person for others.