If I had the opportunity to sit down across from the girl I was in my freshman year of high school, she would not believe the person I have grown into in four short years. I believe she would struggle to grasp the extent of my success, both personally and academically. Now, as a high school senior committed to George Mason University, I am more excited than ever to experience what the future holds. I will be majoring in International Security and Law, driven by my strong interest in government. I also hope to minor in Arabic, German, and Forensic Science if possible. Professionally, it is my biggest aspiration to one day build a career in the Federal Bureau of Investigation or another government agency. Law enforcement is a passion of mine, and I want nothing more than to use my personal strengths to make a positive impact in the lives of others, whether that is assisting in bringing criminals to justice or helping more intensively to support victims' families. When I first began my career at Ephrata High School, I was suffering from anxiety and depression, while also maintaining an insatiable desire to succeed. When my mental health began to noticeably interfere with my intrinsic motivation to complete schoolwork, my Algebra grade began to suffer. I began to despise math as an entire subject. I was bitter about my tanking grades when I felt that I was at my maximum in terms of effort. It took about two years, but my mental and emotional well-being began to improve through hard work, therapy, and recognizing when it was time to ask for help. On the first day of junior year, I did not know what to expect. I still loathed math, but I had also heard that my trigonometry teacher, Mr. Marzock, was crazy. It took me all of ten minutes to believe it when he stood up and screamed the Pledge of Allegiance at the top of his lungs. While I was skeptical at first, it did not take me long to realize Mr. Marzock was truly a wonderful teacher. He took the time to thoroughly explain concepts simply and could turn anything into a class discussion. While he wanted success from each of us, it was clear that he cared about us enjoying ourselves as well. I began to not hate math anymore because it meant that I got to laugh while I learned. When I would not get out of bed, he emailed my mother to remind me that I was smart and important. He encouraged me not to take myself so seriously and to pursue my passions. My heart changed because I felt for the first time that I was more than just a letter on paper to teachers and maybe to the world. I would have never considered going out of state for college if it were not for his encouragement. I may never love math, but I am proud to say I appreciate it.

A carefree childhood was something that never truly happened for me. In terms of home life, I have been fortunate. The adults in my life remarked on my friendliness and intelligence, and I seemed to everyone to be a happy and energetic child. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is not something people expect to have to assist their four-year-old in coping with. But it has burdened me for as long as I can remember. Beginning when I was about three years old, I was shaken by the debilitating fear of becoming fatally ill. After two great-grandparents died from cancer, my mother explained that they had been "very sick". At the time, my young mind could only comprehend germs as a cause of illness. When I was enrolled in preschool, my fear of germs intensified. I began to wash my hands to the length and frequency of bloodshed, and my mother concluded that a therapist would be the best route moving forward. My mother believed in her core that it was God's work when I proclaimed to my therapist that my worries about germs had ceased. Maybe it was. I outgrew a phobia, but OCD itself re-emerged in different ways throughout my life. In elementary school, I earned the reputation of the "smart girl". New concepts came naturally to me, and I soon was enrolled in the gifted program. I spent hours or days on assignments because I believed that unless my work was the class's best, I would not be worthy of the praise I received. That's a dangerous mindset for a child, and looking back, I feel sorry for seven-year-old Augusta for feeling that who she was was not enough. Throughout most of high school I carried the same rigid perfectionism. When schoolwork seemed to become more difficult overnight, I was left feeling completely worthless. Honors Algebra II in my freshman year absolutely crushed me. I spent hours of extra time attempting to redo work because it simply would not click as my previous math classes had. It felt like all my future plans were suddenly slipping through my fingers. Rather than retake one more test only to be disappointed, in February of 2023 I sat down and penned a note no parent ever wants to find. I stuck the note in my desk for another day that would thankfully never arrive. It did not occur to me at the time that I was suffering from depression and was in need of more assistance. All I knew was that I wanted the pain to stop. When I stopped getting out of bed and submitting assignments altogether, my parents began to look into a 504 plan. Having a support system in place truly helped to boost my confidence, and for the first time, I recognized myself as someone potentially more than just a letter on a paper or what she could do for others. Although I definitely still struggled and seriously harmed myself one Labor Day, those words of encouragement and understanding from the people I admired most, helped me feel seen. I still cannot completely rationalize why I stopped feeling horrible all the time, but it did get better. As I am about to enter my freshman year at George Mason University, I realize what a shame it would have been to let shame and fear define me. Pursuing International Security and Law will allow me to influence lives commonly surrounded by stigma and stereotypes. As important as my grades are, what is most important is who I am remembered to be. No one deserves to be remembered as just a tragedy.

I would use this $1,000 scholarship to save up for a trip to the Middle East when it is safer to travel there. I would most likely travel to the United Arab Emirates due to its reputation for safety among tourists, rich local culture, and its relevance to my future and career goals. Following my high school graduation, I will attend George Mason University to major in International Security and Law with minors in Arabic and German. I have always been interested in the Arabic language and would love the opportunity to fully immerse myself in a new culture, as I have with my German studies in high school. Although I am not entirely sure where my travels will take me at this point, I hope to either participate in a study abroad program while still in college or visit the UAE or Morocco, preferably on my own time, either during school breaks or after graduation. My biggest aspiration is to become a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Therefore, having travel experience and international connections would greatly benefit me in achieving my career goals, as travel is a true personal passion of mine. I have had the opportunity to travel both nationally and internationally on several occasions. Since I made the decision to study German in eighth grade, I have risen to become the president of German NHS and have participated in the Ephrata-Eberbach GAPP exchange program twice. Having the opportunity to visit my hometown's sister city, a place I had heard so much about from my own parents, was a great experience. In addition to being able to form lasting bonds with not one, but two host families, I also had the opportunity to reconnect with my mother's host family, visiting with them twice in two years. It was amazing to be able to really get to understand how people in a foreign country think and live, while simultaneously strengthening my German language skills. Before taking part in the German exchange, I had traveled to both British Columbia and Quebec, as well as 29 out of 50 of the United States. Some of my favorite places within the US I have seen are the Redwood forests, the Rocky Mountains, and the Florida Keys. Although there were not as many language barriers other than French-speaking Canada in my other travels, I believe that it is equally important to explore nature and experience a change of scenery at least once in a while. Experiencing different landscapes and climates has sparked a passion within me for protecting wildlife and fragile ecosystems that I may not have considered otherwise. Receiving this scholarship would mean the world to me because it would enable me to see it. Although I would simply like to have the funds to be able to go on leisurely vacations, that is not the core of my passion for travel. I want nothing more than to have the financial independence to reconnect with friends in various countries and immerse myself in foreign cultures, since my ability to do so has been previously limited. Not only would this scholarship grant me the opportunity to travel to nations related to my passions and academic future, but it would also help me to grow personally and form meaningful connections with people with experiences vastly different from mine, and hopefully even in their own tongues. I am always striving to learn more about the world around me and open myself up to a new point of view, and having the means to do so would help make my dreams a reality.