I am Attilio Yokas-Vidoni and if there’s one thing you should know about me it is that I love automotive racing. I fell in love with it when I went to my first race at the Daytona 500 and felt the rumble of the cars go by. The excitement lured me in. Ever since then I have been a devoted racing fan and have been to numerous races. I want to go into the field of mechanical engineering in pursuit of my dream to be a part of all the excitement that I’ve only been able to watch from the stands. I hope to use my engineering degree for a NASCAR team and work to provide the best car possible for our driver. Faith and NASCAR have a long history together. Many teams pray before every race. Many teams and drivers are involved with charities to give back to the community. For example, NASCAR drivers have charities involved with children's health, cancer research, disaster recovery, and military families. With this career in mind, I plan to show my faith to my teammates and prove that anything can be done through Christ. I want to show the love of Christ to my competitors through respect. I plan to be involved in one of the many charities supported by the NASCAR community to give back to those in need. Faith is also integral to persevere in times where you don’t win or you face hardship. My relationship with Christ will be a necessary component in a demanding and competitive environment such as NASCAR. Currently, I participate in mass serving at my church of Divine Mercy in Merritt Island. I also participate in weekly bible study groups at Church of Viera. Three of my close friends are involved in the bible study, which allows me to grow closer with them and to grow closer with the Lord. I plan to stay connected to my church and friends while in college. I plan to continue to meet up with friends to study the Bible and collaborate with our faith. I also want to try and make new friends and create a bible study in college, connecting faithful servants of the Lord and help them grow and flourish in his name. I also volunteer in a car care ministry at Indian River Church in Titusville. Through the car care ministry, I have gained loads of knowledge about the mechanical aspects of automobiles. I connect with fellow Christians and show Christ’s love and care for people in need. The car care ministry’s main purpose is to fix issues with people’s cars who don’t have enough money to fix it at a for-profit business. The Gospels tell us to care for the poor. That is exactly what we strive to accomplish at the car care ministry. Transportation is almost always a necessity for work, groceries, medical appointments, and living life in general. A reliable means of transportation for the needy is critical, and is a major way to give dignity to those who lack major financial resources. This scholarship will help to take the huge weight off of the crushing debt that colleges come with. It will help me to zero in on making my dream a reality rather than worrying about my savings and costs.

As someone who wants to go down the same career path that Anthony did, and as a fellow Christian, it makes my heart ache for a loss like his. It is horrible that people have to pay the cost of others’ irresponsibility and lose their lives. It is truly unfortunate that Anthony was taken from this world because of someone’s decision to drive under the influence of alcohol. Drunk Driving is one of the most irresponsible and dangerous things a person can do and it leads to fatal consequences. To state the facts: 30 people die every single day due to drunk driving and if that was spread over a 24 hour time period it would mean someone dies by drunk driving every 50 minutes. Nearly 11,000 people die per year due to drunk driving. It is undeniably sorrowful that this many people die because of others’ irresponsibility. A way that I propose to lessen the chances of drunk driving on a day to day basis is to make it a requirement for bars to put up signs warning drinkers not to drive under the influence. It would be placed at eye level of the doors on the entrance and exit side and placed in spots around the bars too. It would be a yellow sign with the drawing of a skull towards the top and underneath saying “buzzed driving isn’t worth someone's life - yours or someone else's”. The goal of these would be to scare bar goers into not driving after drinking as it shows them that it absolutely could lead to the cost of their life or another life. When picking up the keys while under the influence it immediately increases the chance that something will go tragically wrong. This has happened time after time again and still is to this very day. Innocent people don’t deserve to die for others' immaturity. Drunk driving takes people away from their friends and families and destroys a future that someone had built up for themselves. It is inspiring how some victims’ families are making positives out of a tragic situation. Just as the McPherson family is choosing to honor Anthony through a scholarship, I also read about a mother who is honoring her son-who was killed by a drunk driver-by placing gift cards on the windshields of cars left overnight at the bars. It is her way of thanking people for choosing not to get behind the wheel while inebriated. Acts of kindness can go far in making people contemplate how their actions affect others. Overall, drunk driving is an inexcusable act that is way more dangerous that most people can comprehend. It is a tragic accident waiting to happen and there needs to be more action taken in order to prevent these disasters from happening. I hope that in the future, less and less people will die from this unfortunate act and lead to safer roads for everyone.