When I reflect about how my education will shape my future, I automatically think of my experiences in my life and how those experiences have shaped who I am today. Some of my experiences have been volunteering for my church at the Big Serve, serving as a volunteer swim coach, and impacting others while teaching younger kids at basketball camp. I am a very driven young woman who is ready to pursue higher education to begin making a difference in my future career. I have always excelled in being a leader and want to take over my family's business after I gain the education and experience. My high school offers dual enrollment with our local community college. I will be graduating with my AA degree in May 2025 prior to my June 2025 high school graduation. This has been such a great opportunity for me to excel academically. The coursework is rigorous and preparing me for future college classes. My goal is to get my business degree and be mentored to take over our family owned business. I am actively involved in basketball, swim and soccer while in high school. I have enjoyed taking on leadership roles in the classroom as well as being captain on the basketball team as a junior and senior. I have assisted the guidance counselors advising other peers on the dual enrollment options while in high school. I feel like these opportunities have positioned me to be ready for success at my future 4-year University. Also, I was inducted in the National Honor Society and National Society of Leadership and Success through Davidson Davie Community College. Outside of academics and school, I work for my family business to get experience that will help me in the future. I have overcame obstacles in my life and have used those as learning moments to grow. I lost my best friend and her entire family due to a tragic event. This has and will always be something that impacted me emotionally. I have learned just how precious every moment is in this life. God has been with me through this entire situation and I continue to move forward each day. I envision having my business support local kids charities and my community where I can be a direct impact in the life of others. I look around and see all the people that made a difference in my life and I want to pay that forward. This scholarship would help put me in a better financial position to be able to focus all my efforts on obtaining my degree. I hope that one day in my future career I am able to give back with a scholarship to help others reach their goals as well! Thank you for your consideration for this scholarship!

My quest to find the best version of myself comes in various aspects of my life through academics, work experience, athletics, and daily life. I strive to exhibit a relentless pursuit of excellence fueled by ambition, an unwavering drive to succeed, and a commitment to making a profound impact on the lives of others through volunteering. At the heart of this journey has been exploring my talents and interests. I believe a person progresses through both good and bad experiences. That growth shapes us into the person we become. Ambition is not only a desire for success; it is a force that compels me to constantly strive for more, challenge myself, and reach new heights. I consider myself a non-traditional student because I am graduating with my associate's degree before graduating from high school. I recognize that although this is an exceptional accomplishment, it is not common. I have, and will, continue working hard to get through my rigorous schedule to achieve my goals. Furthermore, I started taking college courses at Davidson-Davie Community College in my junior year. I am entering my senior year and am on track to get my AA degree this May. Following this, I will receive my high school diploma this June. My academic journey reflects a commendable 4.567 High School GPA and 4.0 College GPA, Junior Marshall, Dean’s List at Davidson Davie Community College, and inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success and the National Honor Society. In addition to classes this upcoming year, I am working a part-time job at our family business. I now have experience in the business world and continue to develop leadership skills in my position. After graduation, I plan to attend a 4-year university and major in Marketing and Management. This will enhance my knowledge and skills and emphasize my credibility for future job opportunities. Another way to develop myself is to volunteer and give back to others. I have committed to numerous volunteer opportunities in the past 4 years including Love First service projects at my church, volunteer coaching for our summer swim team, leading tours for middle school students, and helping with our youth basketball camps at my high school. Being an athlete has provided me the opportunity to grow as a person. Throughout the years, I have been involved in swimming, gymnastics, soccer, softball, volleyball, and basketball. While in high school, I focused on swimming, soccer, and basketball. These experiences have provided life skills I will use in my adult years. I have developed leadership skills by being a captain in basketball. These sports have instilled commitment, drive, and dedication to striving for excellence. Each sport uniquely gave me confidence and courage influencing my life. In daily life, I want to display kindness and compassion to others. A person never knows what adversity others are experiencing and demonstrating acts of kindness can be impactful. At a young age, I faced a tragic event that has affected me in so many ways. I lost my best friend and her entire family due to a tragic event. This has and will always be something that affects me emotionally. I learned just how precious every moment is in this life. God has been with me through this entire situation and I continue to move forward each day. In essence, my ambition, drive, and impactful actions define me as a candidate uniquely aligned with the core values of this scholarship. This scholarship is not just a financial investment in my education; it is an investment in a future leader committed to making a significant impact on my community.

I consider myself a non-traditional student because I am graduating with my associate's degree before graduating from high school. I recognize that although this is an exceptional accomplishment, it is not common. I have, and will, continue working hard to get through my rigorous schedule to achieve my goals. Furthermore, I started taking college courses at Davidson-Davie Community College in my junior year. Now, I am entering into my senior year and am on track to get my AA degree this May. Following this, I will receive my high school diploma this June. On top of classes this upcoming year, I am also working a part-time job and am an important member of a local business. With this, I now have experience in the business world and have also developed leadership skills in my position. After graduation, I plan to attend a 4-year university and get into the college of business. I plan to major in both Marketing and Management to enhance my knowledge and skills and also emphasize my credibility for future job opportunities. While gaining my AA degree this year, I am also taking major-specific classes to lighten my load for my first year of college. This year I will, technically speaking, be a junior. Many people look down upon my academic pathway as they feel I will miss out on high school or even future college experiences. In truth, I look forward to starting my career over not prolonging my pathway to it. I have high hopes for myself and am proud of my accomplishments which is what matters. I decided to get my 2-year degree during high school because not only will this give me a head start on my career goals but will also be very cost-efficient as I will cut my years spent in college in half. Although this is cost-efficient, I still have to decide on my college choice based on affordability because of all the great expenses that come each year. This scholarship will help take some pressure off of that aspect and push me to choose the college that is best fit for me, rather than solely financially based. I believe this scholarship has the ability to contribute to my success by taking a bit off of my plate. All in all, I am a hard-working, passionate, and determined young woman who strives to be the best in any circumstances. This scholarship will contribute to my success as I pursue my future business endeavors, and I am confident in my abilities to achieve my goals as I've stated previously. To conclude, I hope you will consider me for this scholarship as I feel I am a good candidate as a non-traditional student due to my rare but impressive academic pathway.

If my year so far had a soundtrack, the song "Clean (Taylor's Version)" would be on it. I admire Taylor Swift's songwriting abilities more than anything. Each of her lyrics are so incredibly powerful and I am truly moved by them. Listening to this song for the first time, many may suspect it could be about a substance. After hearing it again, you will know it is about a man, assumptively a past relationship. I relate to this song because I too have an old relationship that I have tried to get out of my head for a long time. Being with this boy, I realized I deserved better and ended it. This relationship lasted long enough to where it was hard to move past it and heal. I carried those issues from my past relationship into my new and current relationship and have worked this year to continue to move past those issues. I think that this song is a direct reflection of myself now as I have become "clean". I especially relate to the lyrics "Gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean." I like these lyrics because I do not think about this past relationship as I used to. I am able to get over the past and wish him well. We can be in the same room without any hatred for past actions. I think this is wonderful as I now have the ability to continue growing in my current relationships without any setbacks. In addition to the song "Clean (Taylor's Version)", the soundtrack "You Are in Love (Taylor's Version)" also describes my year so far. As I said before, I was in a toxic relationship but was able to recently become "finally clean". This gave me the ability to fall in love and give all my effort to my current relationship. I think the lyrics, "And for once you let go, of your fears and your ghost" represent my relationship spot on. This was the only person I have ever been able to confide in about my deep past and he makes me feel at ease when we are together. All in all, he has shown me what true love is supposed to feel like and I think that is very close to how I have perceived the meaning behind this song. With that being said, I have been a long-time fan of Taylor Swift and especially of her album "1989 (Taylor's Version)" as I attended her concert back in 2015 with my mom and sister. So many wonderful memories were made through that concert as well as the Eras Tour I went to this past year. Her music has impacted me and given me comfort throughout my teenage years, and I admire her talent greatly. To conclude, the two songs on Taylor Swift's album "1989 (Taylor's Version)" that would be on my soundtrack this year are "Clean (Taylor's Version)" and "You Are in Love (Taylor's Version)".

The beginning of my love for Sabrina Carpenter started when I was a girl watching "Girl Meets World" on Disney channel. I enjoyed watching her character, Maya Hart, because she was not only funny to watch but also faced adversity throughout the show at a young age. As someone who had faced great adversity before watching the show, I was given inspiration specifically from her character. In addition to "Girl Meets World", I enjoyed watching her star in the movie "Adventures in Babysitting". After seeing her in these shows, I began listening to her song "Can't Blame a Girl for Trying" on repeat. As I started to follow her career, I felt she had grown into a great musician and singer. She values kindness and has also demonstrated much perseverance after many career setbacks. I have especially loved her new album, "Emails I Can't Send". Not only do I admire the talent and detail put into this album, but as a teenage girl, I can relate to many of her songs, which makes listening to her music much more enjoyable and personal. With that being said, her album "Fruitcake" was such a great addition to the Christmas music category. I especially loved seeing her performances on this album and especially the corresponding outfits. Her newest songs "Expresso" and "Please Please Please" are amazing songs and with these came many more fans. I am so glad that people are finally able to recognize the talent that I spotted many years ago. I am especially excited for her upcoming album "Short 'n Sweet" as I feel confident it will be amazing, especially after hearing her sing "Slim Pickins'" before the album has even dropped. With that, I am most excited to be able to see her in concert this October! To conclude, Sabrina Carpenter's career has impacted me very positive and has inspired my future. As a woman I know I will face many setbacks along my journey into the business field. Seeing how she has overcome her setbacks gives me hope and inspires me to stay focused on my goal. All in all, I am a Sabrina Carpenter fan and admire not only her acting, music, and ability to perform, but also her humor, perseverance, and most importantly, how genuine she is as a person.

When I reflect about how my education journey will shape my future, I automatically think of my experiences in my life and how those experiences have shaped who I am today. Some of my experiences have been volunteering for my church at the Big Serve, serving as a volunteer swim coach, and impacting others while teaching younger kids at basketball camp. I am a very driven young woman who is ready to pursue higher education to begin making a difference in my future career. I have always excelled in being a leader and want to take over my family's business after I gain the education and experience. My high school offers dual enrollment with our local community college. I have worked hard in my college classes and have been on the Dean's List both semesters taking college classes in my junior year and upcoming senior year. I am currently top 5 in my class of 216 plus students with a GPA of over a 4.5. I will be graduating with my AA degree in May 2025 prior to my June 2025 high school graduation. This has been such a great opportunity for me to excel academically. The coursework is rigorous and preparing me for future college classes. My goal is to get my business degree and be mentored to take over our family owned business. I am active in sports which has consisted of basketball, swim and soccer while in high school. I have enjoyed taking on leadership roles in the classroom as well as being captain on the basketball team as a junior and senior. We qualified as a team to go to states in basketball and I was fortunate enough to qualify for regional and states for swimming. I have assisted the guidance counselors advising other peers on the dual enrollment options while in high school. I feel like these opportunities have positioned me to be ready for success at my future 4-year University. Also, I was inducted in the National Honor Society, National Society of Leadership and Success through Davidson Davie Community College and served as a Junior Marshall at senior awards and graduation. I enjoy being active in my school clubs and other opportunities outside of school by volunteering, being with family/friends and traveling. Outside of academics and school, I currently work for my family business to get experience that will help me in the future. I have overcame obstacles in my life and have used those as learning moments to grow. I lost my best friend and entire family due to a tragic event. This has and will always be something that impacted me emotionally. I have learned just how precious every moment is in this life. God has been with me through this entire situation and I continue to move forward each day. I envision having my future business support local kids charities and my community where I can be a direct impact in the life of others. I look around and see all the people that made a difference in my life and I want to pay that forward. This scholarship would help put me in a better financial position to be able to focus all my efforts on obtaining my degree. I hope that one day in my future career I am able to give back with a scholarship to help others reach their goals as well! Thank you for considering me for this scholarship!

As we are actively watching the PARIS 2024 Olympics, it is such an experience to see all the amazing USA athletes compete in a variety of sports. I would have to say my favorite athlete would be Simone Biles. As a child, I was a gymnast so this is of particular interest for me. Simone Biles is by far the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) of gymnastics. She exhibits such dedication to her sport. We had the pleasure of meeting her personally at the beginning of her career. She was so encouraging to my sister and I while signing autographs. It is inspiring to watch her dedicate her life to this sport and encourage her teammates by celebrating their successes as well. An example of her exhibiting sportsmanship was evident when she bowed to the winner of the gold medal along with her teammate. It displays women supporting other women which is something I feel like is important to do in my own life. Supporting others no matter what the outcome is and being encouraging to people are things I strive to do in my personal life. There are so many USA athletes in the Olympics that standout but Simone Biles is my favorite for so many reasons. I would venture to say that I am somewhat biased since I grew up doing gymnastics and love the sport. These athletes are constantly in the spotlight around the world and I feel like Simone Biles represents the USA well. She has experienced personal challenges throughout her life and is showing that you can work hard to overcome adversity. She is definitely a leader and admired by her fans in the USA as well as in other countries. Her achievements will be remembered for a lifetime in the eyes of all gymnasts aspiring to be the best they can be.

When I reflect about how my education journey will shape my future, I automatically think of my experiences in my life and how those experiences have shaped who I am today. Some of my experiences have been volunteering for my church at the Big Serve, serving as a volunteer swim coach, and impacting others while teaching younger kids at basketball camp. I am a very driven young woman who is ready to pursue higher education to begin making a difference in my future career. I have always excelled in being a leader and want to take over my family's business after I gain the education and experience. My high school offers dual enrollment with our local community college. I have worked hard in my college classes and have been on the Dean's List both semesters taking college classes in my junior year and upcoming senior year. I am currently top 5 in my class of 200 plus students with a GPA of over a 4.5. I will be graduating with my AA degree in May 2025 prior to my June 2025 high school graduation. This has been such a great opportunity for me to excel academically. My goal is to get my business degree and be mentored to take over our family owned business. I am active in sports which has consisted of basketball, swim and soccer while in high school. I have enjoyed taking on leadership roles in the classroom as well as being captain on the basketball team as a junior and senior. We qualified as a team to go to states in basketball and I was fortunate enough to qualify for regional and states for swimming. I have assisted the guidance counselors advising other peers on the dual enrollment options while in high school. Also, I was inducted in the National Honor Society, National Society of Leadership and Success through Davidson Davie Community College and served as a Junior Marshall at senior awards and graduation. I enjoy being active in my school clubs and other opportunities outside of school by volunteering, being with family/friends and traveling. Outside of academics and school, I currently work for my family business to get experience that will help me in the future. I have overcame obstacles in my life and have used those as learning moments to grow. I lost my best friend and entire family due to a tragic event. This has and will always be something that impacted my life. I have learned just how precious every moment is in this life. I envision having my future business support local kids charities and my community where I can be a direct impact in the life of others. I look around and see all the people that made a difference in my life and I want to pay that forward. This scholarship would help put me in a better financial position to be able to focus all my efforts on obtaining my degree.