Divorce is never easy for the kids. Regardless of whether it happens when you're a baby or a teenager, it destroys you. The constant change is stressful; you're always on the move, never truly having a place to call home. What's worse is when both sides receive food stamps, and now you're a kid who gets free lunches at school. Rising above the constant stress is one of the most difficult mental pressures, but not for you. You cherish school and the few things you have control over. Staying dedicated is a distraction - and it's quite pleasing. My name is Autumn McGuigan. I'm a child of divorce, and I have been since around two years old. The constant shift created anxiety in me, including an adjustment disorder. Having two homes and two families, both of which don't make a lot of money, is quite stunting. It's harder to break out of the cycle they created, even when they encourage you to do work. It's all too easy to feel alienated at school when you're one of the less than 25% who get reduced or free lunches. However, this didn't stop me. Your background doesn't define you, and shouldn't cage you either. I've managed to do fairly well on the SAT, and I am a member of Mu Alpha Theta, all despite my circumstances. It's easy to succumb to anxiety and pressures at both houses, but when you don't - when I didn't - it pays off and creates well-deserved pride. It didn't take very long into high school for me to discover what I want my path to be. My dream is to become an architect, yet most schools for it are highly expensive. They average around $30,000 a year for cheaper options, which is as much as this grant. This support would relieve me of a huge financial stressor as a child who will be paying it all on her own. I could easily carve out a huge chunk of my future student debt with this singular grant. It would level the playing field between me and those of wealthier backgrounds. Every child deserves a chance, despite who or what they come from. It wasn't their choice to be born into what they were, and that should never be held against them. This grant plays a powerful role in allowing students at a disadvantage to achieve their dreams.

Midday sunrays filter through the treetops and lie on the freshly carved back lawn. What was once a wasteland of dead trees, overgrown weeds and ivy, and rotting furniture gleams with renewed cleanliness and beauty. Sweat drips down my forehead and the worked faces of my companions as we stare in awe at the past few days of tiresome tidying. The homeowner rushes outside and admires our work with unending gratefulness. Her thank-yous and beaming smiles make it all worth it. My name is Autumn McGuigan. As I enter my senior year of high school, I look forward to and reflect on my volunteering experiences. I often spend time working with the organization called Servants, doing volunteer work during the summer. My youth group at Spry Church plans a five-day excursion, typically in June. We arrive early in the morning, and won't be done with a day's work until the afternoon. The more the years progress, the more youth decide to help out. It has been more than amazing to work with a continuously growing group. In my personal life, I deal with financial issues in both of my families. My parents have been divorced since before I was even two years old, and they both claim food stamps. I'm in the less than 25% of students at my school who receive reduced lunches, and in the even lesser percent who receive free lunches. I qualify as lower middle class, but I definitely make the most of what we do have! The children I interact with the most are my little sister and her friends. I often sit in our kitchen and check up on them through the windows. Or at our life group, I'm in charge of making sure the kids are safe - especially when they play outside. I typically play with them and set boundaries to ensure they stay within my sight and follow the safety rules of their parents. I've volunteered at events like the WJTL fundraiser and the food bank at my church, along with events directly pertaining to kids like vacation bible school. In these environments, I follow the codes set up by the adults to keep children safe. In an online setting, I defend and support my peers whenever they need it. If I witness bullying or false identity, I report my findings as soon as possible. I discourage my friends from saying anything mean or untrue about others, and I give advice where it is needed. Often, this includes visualizing the described scenario from another perspective to ease tension and hopefully avoid having them spread the story around. It is evident that the world is in much need of higher precautions when it comes to safety, both physical and mental. Diving deeper into my community aided me in realizing that not everyone can achieve a safe environment on their own. It is my responsibility, and that of the capable, to reach a supportive hand out to those who are in desperate need. This includes the online warfare and the certainly unsafe communities built by increasingly anxious individuals.