Ever since I visited the J.F.K. Air and Space Museum when I was ten years old, I have been infatuated with space. Traversing the final frontier fascinates me. I am particularly fascinated by the complex rovers NASA is using to explore Mars. I envision myself constructing them, helping map the outer limits of human exploration. One of the greatest questions humanity has asked is: “Are we the only life form in the universe?” I want to help answer that question and constructing advanced rovers is one of the best avenues. As climate change worsens every year, the “once in a century” storms and weather events are now occurring once a year, or even multiple times a year. Resources such as energy, food, and land are being strained to their limits. Earth is heading rapidly toward a critical point in the coming decades. Finding planets that can support humanity will be necessary, and the first step to finding those is engineering advanced space technology. It is also possible that solutions to our problems here on Earth are on other planets, just waiting for us to find them. Thus, my dream career would be to work as an engineer at NASA. A bachelor’s degree in engineering will give me an incredible base to build on in my career. Educationally, my short term goals are to graduate from university with a bachelor’s degree. I want to involve myself in the available research opportunities, and learn as much as I can by working closely with the top minds in engineering academia. Long term, I hope to one day earn my doctorate degree and join the great minds at NASA. Engineering goes beyond math and physics. Engineers are artists. They solve problems while having some of the most creative solutions the world has ever seen. These solutions have a positive impact in the real world. Driven, innovative, and intelligent, this brotherhood will be the reason humanity finds another planet to call home, and I want to be a part of that. North Star Dreamers Scholarship for several reasons. All through high school I have taken rigorous science and math courses achieving high scores as demonstrated by my transcript. But engineering involves more than just good grades. An engineer must also be able to collaborate on projects. As a member of my school’s varsity soccer team, our wins and losses are not earned as an individual–they are earned through the efforts of all players. I would carry that mentality of being a team player over into my career. And last, I have been an active member of my community, both in school and as a volunteer. I would be an asset to my future employer as I plan on becoming actively engaged in my community. This scholarship would allow me to exit college with less debt. It would allow me to focus more on my college’s educational, research, and post-graduate opportunities rather than the cost. Taking loans has become necessary as college tuition rises exponentially. But those loans come at such a high interest rate, many people spend years trying to pay them down with limited success. This scholarship would lessen the amount of debt I would have to incur. Thank you for the opportunity.

Growing up next to a farm afforded me with some wonderful experiences. Gathering the eggs from the chickens, chasing the barn cats, riding in the tractor and eating vegetables straight from the field were things I took for granted and assumed everyone did. When I was old enough, I worked in the farm store. Over my lifetime, the farmer shared with me many of the challenges he had faced while working the land. Changing weather made his job more difficult with each passing year. Regardless of the weather, the customers still expected the shelves to be fully stocked. He would try to explain that a recent weather event had damaged the crop they were asking about. The customer would listen carefully and then say, but why don't you have any? While watching him struggle more each year to accomplish that task, it became evident to me that Earth is heading rapidly toward a critical point in sustainability. As the effects of climate change worsen every year, the “once in a century” storms and weather events have become regular occurrences. In Southeastern Pennsylvania we used to never have tornado warnings, but hiding in our basement is now a common summer event. Resources such as energy, food, and land are being strained to their limits. Food insecurity is sadly becoming a more common occurrence even in the United States. Finding planets that can support and sustain humanity will be necessary. The first step to finding them is to engineer advanced space technology. It is entirely possible that solutions to our problems here on Earth are through the technology we design to explore other planets. The answers are out there– they are just waiting for us to discover them. My infatuation with space began after a visit to the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Air and Space Museum with my family when I was 10 years old. Traversing the final frontier fascinates me. I am particularly intrigued by the complex rovers NASA is currently using to explore Mars. I envision myself constructing them, helping to map the outer limits of human exploration. One of the greatest questions humanity has asked is: “Are we the only life form in the universe?” I want to help answer that question and I feel strongly that constructing advanced rovers is one of the best avenues. Engineering goes beyond math and physics. Engineers are artists. They solve problems while having some of the most creative solutions the world has ever seen. These solutions have a positive impact in the real world. Driven, innovative, and intelligent, this brotherhood will be the reason humanity finds another planet to call home. I want to be a part of that. All through high school I have taken rigorous science and math courses achieving high scores as demonstrated by my transcript. But engineering involves more than just good grades. An engineer must also be able to collaborate on projects. As a member of my school’s varsity soccer team, our wins and losses were not earned as an individual–they were earned through the efforts of all players. I would carry that mentality of being a team player over into my career. And last, I have been an active member of my community, both in school and as a volunteer. My volunteering activities included picking crops for the local food bank, serving Sunday dinners at the local church and helping during my township's community events. I would be an asset to my future employer as I plan on becoming actively engaged in my community. Educationally, my short term goal is to graduate from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering. While at Purdue I want to immerse myself in the available research opportunities, and learn as much as I can by working closely with the top minds in engineering academia. After earning my bachelor’s degree, I intend to continue my education through earning a master’s and then a doctorate degree. Ultimately, my main career goal is to work as an aerospace or mechanical engineer at NASA.

Growing up next to a farm afforded me with some wonderful experiences. Gathering the eggs from the chickens, chasing the barn cats, riding in the tractor and eating vegetables straight from the field were things I took for granted and assumed everyone did. When I was old enough, I worked in the farm store. Over my lifetime, the farmer shared with me many of the challenges he had faced while working the land. Changing weather made his job more difficult with each passing year. Regardless of the weather, the customers still expected the shelves to be fully stocked. While watching him struggle more each year to accomplish that task, it became evident to me that Earth is heading rapidly toward a critical point in sustainability. As the effects of climate change worsen every year, the “once in a century” storms and weather events have become regular occurrences. Resources such as energy, food, and land are being strained to their limits. Finding planets that can support and sustain humanity will be necessary. The first step to finding them is to engineer advanced space technology. It is also possible that solutions to our problems here on Earth are through the technology we design to explore other planets. The answers are out there– they’re just waiting for us to discover them. My infatuation with space began after a visit to the J.F.K. Air and Space Museum with my family when I was 10 years old. Traversing the final frontier fascinates me. I am particularly intrigued by the complex rovers NASA is currently using to explore Mars. I envision myself constructing them, helping to map the outer limits of human exploration. One of the greatest questions humanity has asked is: “Are we the only life form in the universe?” I want to help answer that question and constructing advanced rovers is one of the best avenues. Engineering goes beyond math and physics. Engineers are artists. They solve problems while having some of the most creative solutions the world has ever seen. These solutions have a positive impact in the real world. Driven, innovative, and intelligent, this brotherhood will be the reason humanity finds another planet to call home. I want to be a part of that. Educationally, my short term goal is to graduate from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering. While at Purdue I want to immerse myself in the available research opportunities, and learn as much as I can by working closely with the top minds in engineering academia. After earning my bachelor’s degree, I intend to continue my education through earning a master’s and then a doctorate degree. Ultimately, my main career goal is to work as an aerospace or mechanical engineer at NASA.

Senior year of Varsity soccer should have been all about wins and losses on the field. Unfortunately, early in our season I was sidelined by a serious scalp laceration. Determined to still be part of the team, I volunteered for the least desired job on the team–ball boy-the job that is usually relegated to a JV player or a younger sibling. My friends teased me but I didn’t care; I wasn’t going to let an injury ruin my final season. I encouraged my teammates and celebrated the victories—all from the sidelines. After a couple of weeks I was cleared for play, but unfortunately had lost my starting position. Just as I had been determined to be the best ball boy, I was also determined to regain my starting spot. I arrived at practice early and stayed after to run drills with our junior goalie, Evan. After two games playing as a sub, my coach put me back in the starting lineup. I proceeded to demonstrate that I had deserved it, scoring in the next three games. At the end of the season, I was honored by winning a spot on the All-League Team, despite the fact that I had missed numerous league games. I was thrilled that I had accomplished what I set out to do. However, Evan was not just helping me. Through the whole process I was also mentoring him, both on and off the field. In our sessions before and after practices, I would help him with his ball control, punting, and distribution. In our physics class that we share, Evan would come to me for help on various problems and asked to join my lab group. I took him under my wing. Athletics and academics are integral parts of being a good leader. Playing sports, especially team sports, teaches collaboration, sacrifice, perseverance, discipline and time management. Without playing soccer, I wouldn’t have developed these qualities. Furthermore, I would not have experienced the most important aspect of leadership: failure. Misplacing a pass, taking a bad touch, or losing in playoffs, the feeling of failure is brutal. However, being able to move on from failure is an indispensable quality of a leader. A good leader does not get down on their group for making a mistake. Rather, they build them back up and encourage them to keep trying. When someone scored on Evan, I would be the first one to tell him to forget it and to move on. Dwelling on mistakes only leads to more mistakes. Academics also lead to important skills such as problem solving and critical thinking. Knowing how to deal with difficult problems is extremely important for a leader, because a leader is the first person that people will turn to for advice and guidance. In my physics class, I would always assist Evan when he came to me with a problem. There are times when he would correct me and even help me with my own challenges. This leads to another important aspect of a leader: being open-minded and taking constructive criticism. If a leader cannot fathom the possibility that they may be incorrect, then progress will never be achieved. Strong leaders listen to their fellow co-workers as communication and diverse perspectives are what leads to improvement and success. Athletics and academics are intertwined in my life. I’ve learned skills from both that have helped mold me as the strong leader I am today. These skills will help make me an effective engineer in my career.

Growing up next to a farm afforded me with some wonderful experiences. Gathering the eggs from the chickens, chasing the barn cats, riding in the tractor and eating vegetables straight from the field were things I took for granted and assumed everyone did. When I was old enough, I worked in the farm store. Over my lifetime, the farmer shared with me many of the challenges he had faced while working the land. Changing weather made his job more difficult with each passing year. Regardless of the weather, the customers still expected the shelves to be fully stocked. While watching him struggle more each year to accomplish that task, it became evident to me that Earth is heading rapidly toward a critical point in sustainability. As the effects of climate change worsen every year, the “once in a century” storms and weather events have become regular occurrences. Resources such as energy, food, and land are being strained to their limits. Finding planets that can support and sustain humanity will be necessary. The first step to finding them is to engineer advanced space technology. It is also possible that solutions to our problems here on Earth are through the technology we design to explore other planets. The answers are out there– they’re just waiting for us to discover them. My infatuation with space began after a visit to the J.F.K. Air and Space Museum with my family when I was 10 years old. Traversing the final frontier fascinates me. I am particularly intrigued by the complex rovers NASA is currently using to explore Mars. I envision myself constructing them, helping to map the outer limits of human exploration. One of the greatest questions humanity has asked is: “Are we the only life form in the universe?” I want to help answer that question and constructing advanced rovers is one of the best avenues. Engineering goes beyond math and physics. Engineers are artists. They solve problems while having some of the most creative solutions the world has ever seen. These solutions have a positive impact in the real world. Driven, innovative, and intelligent, this brotherhood will be the reason humanity finds another planet to call home. I want to be a part of that. Educationally, my short term goal is to graduate from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering. While at Purdue I want to immerse myself in the available research opportunities, and learn as much as I can by working closely with the top minds in engineering academia. After earning my bachelor’s degree, I intend to continue my education through earning a master’s and then a doctorate degree. Ultimately, my main career goal is to work as an aerospace or mechanical engineer at NASA. This scholarship would allow me to exit college with less debt. It would allow me to focus more on Purdue’s educational, research, and post-graduate opportunities rather than the cost. Taking loans has become necessary as college tuition rises exponentially. But those loans come at such a high interest rate that many people spend years trying to pay them down with limited success. This scholarship would lessen the amount of debt I would have to incur. Thank you for the opportunity.

Ever since I visited the J.F.K. Air and Space Museum when I was 10 years old, I have been infatuated with space. Traversing the final frontier fascinates me. I am particularly fascinated by the complex rovers NASA is using to explore Mars. I envision myself constructing them, helping map the outer limits of human exploration. One of the greatest questions humanity has asked is: “Are we the only life form in the universe?” I want to help answer that question and constructing advanced rovers is one of the best avenues. As climate change worsens every year, the “once in a century” storms and weather events are now occurring once a year, or even multiple times a year. Resources such as energy, food, and land are being strained to their limits. Earth is heading rapidly toward a critical point in the coming decades. Finding planets that can support humanity will be necessary, and the first step to finding those is engineering advanced space technology. It is also possible that solutions to our problems here on Earth are on other planets, just waiting for us to find them. Thus, my dream career would be to work as an engineer at NASA. As I get ready to graduate high school, one experience stands out as having a significant impact on my life. Senior year of Varsity soccer should have been all about wins and losses on the field. Unfortunately, early in our season I was sidelined by a serious scalp laceration. Determined to still be part of the team, I volunteered to be a ball boy for the duration I was out. A senior ball boy had not been my plan, but I was resolved that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it with commitment and passion. I encouraged my teammates and celebrated the victories—from the sidelines. After several weeks I was cleared for play, but unfortunately had lost my starting position. Just as I had been determined to be the best ball boy, I was also determined to get my starting spot back. I arrived to practice early and stayed after to run drills with our goalie in order to regain my footwork. In my first game back, I scored my first goal of the year; and I scored in the following three games. The injury, and the work I put in because of it, was the catalyst for playing the best soccer I’d ever played in my life, being named as a member of the All League Team at the end of the year. This past season, and high school soccer as a whole, has drilled within me the power of resilience, hard work, and collaboration. In engineering, I am guaranteed to fail; it is in the very essence of the occupation. However, an engineer is not defined by his mistakes but rather how they react to them. Instead of being discouraged, a good engineer will simply keep trying; which is exactly what I’ve learned through playing soccer and why I know I am poised for success in my career as an engineer.

Senior year of Varsity soccer should have been all about wins and losses on the field. Unfortunately, early in our season I was sidelined by a serious scalp laceration. Determined to still be part of the team, I volunteered for the least desired job on the team–ball boy-the job that is usually relegated to a JV player or a younger sibling. My friends and teammates messed with me but I didn’t care; I wasn’t going to let an injury ruin my final season. A ball boy as a senior was not one of my pre-season predictions, but, if I was going to do it, I was going to do it with commitment and passion. I encouraged my teammates and celebrated the victories—all from the sidelines. After a couple of weeks I was cleared for play, but unfortunately had lost my starting position. Just as I had been determined to be the best ball boy, I was also determined to get my starting spot back. I got to practice early and stayed after to run drills with our junior goalie, Evan. After two games playing as a sub, my coach put me back in the starting lineup. I proceeded to demonstrate that I had deserved it, scoring in the next three games. At the end of the season, I was honored by winning a spot on the All-League Team, despite the fact that I had missed numerous league games. I was thrilled that I had accomplished what I set out to do. However, Evan was not just helping me. Through the whole process I was also mentoring him, both on and off the field. In our sessions before and after practices, I would help him with his ball control, punting, and distribution. In our physics class that we share, Evan would come to me for help on various problems and asked to join my lab group. I took him under my wing. Athletics and academics are integral parts of being a good leader. Playing sports, especially team sports, teaches collaboration, sacrifice, perseverance, discipline and time management. Without playing soccer, I wouldn’t have developed these qualities. Sports and athletics are just part of who I am. I also have enjoyed donating my time to help people in my community. One of my favorite projects was when I would volunteer to help pick crops on my neighbor's farm for our local food bank. The

Soccer has been one of the biggest passions of my life. Through the sport, I have made countless friends, traveled the country, and learned the importance of perseverance, teamwork, and passion. It has brought me the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Without it, I would not be the same person I am today- especially with my ability to handle failure and loss. In the beginning of this past season, my senior and final year, I experienced a traumatic scalp laceration. Sidelined for a month, I was gutted. I had finally found my stride as a starter, only for it all to be snatched away. Instead of giving up, though, I followed a path inspired by a special adult in my life: put your head down and work hard. When I was nine, Johnny Frederick became my first travel coach. After being cut from every team during tryouts, he was the only one willing to give me a chance. After that first season Johnny continued to train me, even though he was no longer my coach. He saw something in me that no one else did and pushed me harder than anyone else ever had. Running hills after every practice, I cursed him. My lungs were on fire and the stitch in my side was screaming, yet he still made me run them- no matter how much I complained. I hated every step I took as I ran up those hills, but it instilled within me the ability to push beyond fatigue and pain. Johnny worked with me for two years until he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was only twenty-four and I was devastated. The one who inspired my love for soccer was dying and I felt helpless. Johnny never wallowed in self-pity though. He took advantage of every moment. He continued to support me by coming to my games and, of course, critiquing my play. It was heartbreaking to see one of the toughest people I knew suffer, but Johnny always took the positive in any situation. I would attempt to replicate that quality this past season. When I heard that I was going to miss a month of my last season, I knew that I could not feel sorry for myself. There was no time. So I thought back to Johnny. If he could fight the exhaustion and debilitating effects of cancer, I could fight back from a head injury. So I trained, as hard as Johnny would have pushed me. Unable to practice with any physical contact, I ran to maintain my fitness. To stay active on the team I volunteered to be the ball boy- not a role I relished. When I was finally cleared to play, I arrived to practice early and stayed late, training with anyone I could convince to not head home. In my first game back, I was demoted to a sub. Although disappointed, I was not going to give up. In that game I scored my first goal of the season and followed that one up with goals in each of the next three games. I ended the season playing the best soccer I’d ever played. My determination, perseverance, and ability to come back from failure were all learned from Coach Johnny. These traits were honed during my fifteen years of playing soccer. They have carried me to success in my academics and will no doubt carry me to success in my career as an engineer.

Growing up next to a farm afforded me with some wonderful experiences. Gathering the eggs from the chickens, chasing the barn cats, riding in the tractor and eating vegetables straight from the field were things I took for granted and thought everyone did. When I was old enough, I worked in the store the farmer ran. Over my lifetime, the farmer shared many of the challenges he had trying to farm. The changing weather made his job more difficult with each passing year. One year we had higher than normal rain, the next a sustained dry period. Regardless of the weather, the customers still expected the shelves to be full. Watching him struggle more each year to accomplish that task helped me realize that Earth is heading rapidly toward a critical point in sustainability in the coming decades. As climate change worsens, the “once in a century” storms and weather events are now occurring once a year, or even multiple times a year. Resources such as energy, food, and land are being strained to their limits. It is possible that solutions to our problems here on Earth are on other planets, just waiting for us to find them. Ever since I visited the J.F.K. Air and Space Museum when I was 10 years old, I have been infatuated with space. Traversing the final frontier fascinates me. I am particularly fascinated by the complex rovers NASA is using to explore Mars. I envision myself constructing them, helping map the outer limits of human exploration. One of the greatest questions humanity has asked is: “Are we the only life form in the universe?” I want to help answer that question. I want to be part of a team that could find the answers to our problems here on Earth. Educationally, my short term goals are to graduate from university with a bachelor’s degree. I want to involve myself in the available research opportunities, and learn as much as I can by working closely with the top minds in engineering academia. Long term, I hope to one day earn my doctorate degree and join the great minds at NASA. Engineering goes beyond math and physics. Engineers are artists. They solve problems while having some of the most creative solutions the world has ever seen. These solutions have a positive impact in the real world. Driven, innovative, and intelligent, this brotherhood will be the reason humanity finds another planet to call home, and I want to be a part of that. This scholarship would allow me to exit college with less debt. It would open me up financially to a broader range of colleges, allowing me to focus more on a college’s educational, research, and post-graduate opportunities rather than how much the college costs.

Growing up next to a farm afforded me some wonderful experiences. Gathering eggs from the chickens, chasing barn cats, riding in the tractor and eating vegetables straight from the field were things I took for granted and believed everyone did. When I turned 14, I started working at the farm store. Working at Pete’s Produce Farm was supposed to be painless- an easy first job and a toe dip into the working world. As a 14-year-old, my responsibilities would be few and I would take nothing away from it. At least that’s what I thought. Collaboration was paramount at Pete’s. Early on in my employment, I had to rely on the more tenured employees to show me the ropes and, as I gained more experience, I then trained the new hires. Trying to teach often proved a challenge as I learned the value of showing rather than telling, but the feeling of successfully mentoring someone was a reward like no other. I always thought picking corn was going to be my biggest challenge. But it was something worse: the cash register. I’d been petrified at the thought of being marooned there. Unruly customers, outdated machinery, and ever-changing prices created a sinkhole in my stomach. I’d never done something like it before. However, not wanting to disappoint myself, I faced the challenge head-on. Despite making countless mistakes, I stuck with it and, after more hours than I care to admit, doing check-outs became second nature, and I became one of the store’s most trusted cashiers. Working at Pete’s for three years taught me great lessons about the value of responsibility, leadership, and overcoming adversity. My time and experience at the farm gave me the tools necessary to push through the obstacles I expect as an engineering student. Ever since I visited the JFK Air and Space Museum when I was eleven, I’ve been obsessed with space. Traversing the final frontier fascinated me, especially the intricate, complex rovers. I envisioned myself constructing them, helping to map the outer limits of human exploration. One of the greatest questions humanity has ever asked is whether or not we are the only life form in the universe. I want to pursue the answer to that question and constructing advanced rovers is one of the best avenues. As climate change continues to exponentially increase while resources–energy, food, and land– are being strained, Earth is heading toward a critical point in the coming decades. Finding other planets that can support human life will be necessary, and the first step to finding those is engineering advanced space technology, such as the aforementioned rovers and space shuttles. My ultimate dream career would be to work as a rover engineer at NASA. An engineering degree will give me an incredible base to build on in my career. Engineering goes beyond math and physics. Engineers are artists. They solve problems so challenging that most people can’t wrap their heads around them. They solve problems while having some of the most creative solutions the world has ever seen. Most importantly, they solve problems that have a positive impact in the real world. Driven, innovative, and intelligent, this brotherhood will be the reason humanity finds another planet to call home, and I want to be a part of that. The qualities I honed while working at Pete’s will guide me to successfully achieving that goal.

Movies can move us to laughter, make us cry, create feelings of discomfort and bring heartbreak, anger or great joy. Last summer I went on a class trip to Poland. While there, we visited many cultural sites such as churches, a salt mine, and Turkish markets. The main purpose of the trip though was to visit Auschwitz and the Krakow Ghetto area due to their significance during the Holocaust. In preparation for the trip, I watched Schindler’s List with my family. As I was watching the movie, I kept remarking to my mom that Schindler was a jerk and I didn’t understand why he was considered to be a righteous person in the Jewish faith. All she said was to keep watching. In the first hour or so of the movie, I really didn’t like him at all and was fired up to continue to strongly dislike him throughout the rest of the movie. While the Jews were struggling to survive in the Krakow Ghetto, the juxtaposition of Schindler indulging himself with fancy dinners and praising himself for being a good businessman infuriated me. I still didn’t think he was the hero of the movie though. In my mind, that honor belonged to Itzhak Stern. Stern was the one who got working papers for the Jews in the ghetto. Stern was the one who was growing Schindler’s business. Even when Stern was almost deported, Schindler could only think of himself which was on full display when he said, “Five minutes later, where would I be?” Schindler was only concerned with the effect it would have on him. Then the liquidation of the Krakow Ghetto occurred. These were the most disturbing scenes I have ever witnessed in a movie. All I could do was sit in stunned silence. I’ve witnessed violence in movies before, but there was something altogether chilling about these images. Knowing that these images were based on real life events made watching it even more sobering. The ability of people to treat others so inhumanely shook me to my foundation. After the liquidation of the ghetto, Schindler began to change. He realized the power he had, and that he could choose to do nothing with that power or he could work within the system to save lives. Itzhak Stern was still working feverishly to save as many lives as he could, but Schindler was now an ally in that fight. Watching Oskar Schindler’s character development was intriguing. At the beginning of the film he was an opportunistic, self-indulgent profiteer. Initially he was indifferent to the suffering of the Jews. The losses the Jews were experiencing were inconsequential to him because they enriched him. But as the persecution of the Jews became more cruel and inhumane, he was unable to continue to justify making money at their expense. While many around him reveled in the atrocities being committed, Schindler found the courage to save lives. The purpose of watching the movie was to prepare for my trip to Poland. Watching the movie was difficult, but visiting the sites depicted in the movie was even more so. Each site we visited, the movie affected my response. Listening to birds chirp while standing in Auschwitz was jarring. Sounds from the movie kept filling in my head–dogs barking and people screaming. I watched people go about their everyday life as we stood in the square where 80 years earlier Jews were sorted to either live or die. Having watched the movie enabled me to connect to the places in ways I never anticipated and made the trip that much more fulfilling.

Growing up next to a farm afforded me with some wonderful experiences. Gathering the eggs from the chickens, chasing the barn cats, riding in the tractor and eating vegetables straight from the field were things I took for granted and thought everyone did. The farmer encouraged us to eat the corn, tomatoes, beans, berries and peppers right out of the fields whenever we wanted. The only restriction we had was we were not allowed to pick from the back fields. I thought it was because they were too far from our house. When I was in 2nd grade my mom started to bring my brother and I to the back fields of the farm, where I discovered that those fields were reserved and cultivated for the local food bank. Every week or so throughout the summer, we would go with our mom and the other volunteers for the food bank to pick whichever crop was ripe. Some weeks were easier than others due to the weather and the location of the field. Some crops were harder to pick such as the onions and the cilantro. At the time, I thought it was just something kids did in the summer. As I got older I realized that was just something my family did. Each time we went, we met different people from different backgrounds, all with the same goal-- to pick as much as we could during our shift. Most times I made a game of it, challenging my mom to see which of us could fill a tub quicker. I never saw where the food went after it was loaded into the truck. I never really thought about it until Covid hit when I was in 8th grade. At that point, I was already working as a paid employee for the farmer in his farm store. Because farm work was classified as an essential service, we were still allowed to work in the store and in the fields. Several families that we knew suddenly lost their jobs and they came to depend on the food bank for support. Now there was a connection. I actually knew people who were receiving the food I had helped pick. All those years of loading the truck with produce suddenly had context. I was always proud that I was participating in such an important organization. The changes to my community because of Covid made my sense of accomplishment and pride grow each time I did a crop pick. Knowing that what I was doing was helping people eat made the hot sun a little more bearable. Sadly the farmer retired at the end of the season in 2022 and the food bank no longer uses the fields. I was no longer able to continue to help the food bank because of my age and the shifts they had available were during the school day. I enjoyed volunteering and wanted to continue to help my community. I was lucky that my mom worked with someone who was looking for help at his church’s community dinners. So now instead of picking the food, I now serve it. I enjoy seeing the smiles on peoples’ faces. Each time I volunteer, the feeling of satisfaction grows and I know I will continue finding opportunities to volunteer as I enter adulthood.

Soccer has been one of the biggest parts of my life ever since my first YMCA league when I was three. Through the sport, I made countless friends, traveled the country, and learned the importance of perseverance, teamwork, and failure. It has brought me the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Without it, I would not be the same person I am today. However, when I tried out for my first travel team in 3rd grade, I didn’t make a single team. Although discouraged, I still loved the sport, so I participated in a recreational camp that summer. A coach there noticed me and my ability and asked the travel coaches if anyone would let me try out for their team. The only one who responded was Coach Johnny Fredericks. After a week of practicing with the team, he finally offered me the spot. But he said I would have to work hard to keep it. At the time, I didn’t know the impact Johnny would have on my life. Even after the season ended and he was no longer my coach, Johnny worked with me one-on-one to improve my skills. He was always hard on me. Constantly in my ear, he pushed me to go beyond fatigue; to him, fatigue didn’t exist. Yet his unwavering toughness pushed me beyond my limits. Under Johnny’s mentorship, I not only became a better soccer player but also a better person. He taught me the values of dedication, fortitude, and perseverance. Two years later, Johnny was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was only 24. I was ten and suddenly realized how fragile, precious, and cruel life was. That even one of the most active, healthy, and compassionate people I knew could have his life taken from him so early. I was scared, but Johnny showed strength I didn’t know someone could have. Even when he no longer had the physical strength to train me, he came to my games to watch me, support me, and, of course, give feedback. He did it out of love - for me, my family, and the sport of soccer. This past season my high school soccer team wasn’t meant to go very far. We were the smallest school in our classification, competing against schools two or three times our size. We play in the toughest district in Pennsylvania. However, to everyone's surprise, we made it to the state playoffs with the best record in school history. My entire soccer career has been an underdog story. All I ever needed was a chance. And Johnny was the one who started it all. He took a chance on me, on someone that everyone else discarded. His passion, kindness, and patience helped make me who I am today. I will never know the lessons he never had time to teach me –both on the field and off. Cancer stole Johnny from us. He wasn’t finished teaching me about soccer, about life. Cancer cut our lessons and our friendship short. As an eighteen-year-old, I wish I had been able to share all of my high school soccer successes with Johnny. I know he would have come to my games to support me (but also probably chastise me afterward to dig deeper or release the ball sooner). As a ten-year-old, I didn’t fully understand the lifelong effect the loss of Johnny would have on me. At ten, there’s always more time, always another practice, next week, next season. Until there wasn’t. I’ll always be grateful for meeting Johnny. His impact on me went beyond sports, and I’ll forever miss him.

Ever since I visited the J.F.K. Air and Space Museum when I was 10 years old, I have been infatuated with space. Traversing the final frontier fascinates me. I am particularly fascinated by the complex rovers NASA is using to explore Mars. I envision myself constructing them, helping map the outer limits of human exploration. One of the greatest questions humanity has asked is: “Are we the only life form in the universe?” I want to help answer that question and constructing advanced rovers is one of the best avenues. As climate change worsens every year. The “once in a century” storms and weather events are now occurring once a year, or even multiple times a year. Resources such as energy, food, and land are being strained to their limits. Earth is heading rapidly toward a critical point in the coming decades. Finding planets that can support humanity will be necessary, and the first step to finding those is engineering advanced space technology. It is also possible that solutions to our problems here on Earth are on other planets, just waiting for us to find them. Thus, my dream career would be to work as an engineer at NASA. A bachelor’s degree in engineering will give me an incredible base to build on in my career. Educationally, my short term goals are to graduate from university with a bachelor’s degree. I want to involve myself in the available research opportunities, and learn as much as I can by working closely with the top minds in engineering academia. Long term, I hope to one day earn my doctorate degree and join the great minds at NASA. Engineering goes beyond math and physics. Engineers are artists. They solve problems while having some of the most creative solutions the world has ever seen. These solutions have a positive impact in the real world. Driven, innovative, and intelligent, this brotherhood will be the reason humanity finds another planet to call home, and I want to be a part of that. This scholarship would allow me to exit college with less debt. It would open me up financially to a broader range of colleges, allowing me to focus more on a college’s educational, research, and post-graduate opportunities rather than how much the college costs. I have been working since I was 14. First at the farm store next to my house and now at our local Wawa convenience store. I understand the value of hard work and saving. This scholarship would allow my savings to go a little further towards paying for college. Thank you.

Growing up next to a farm has been a wonderful experience. I’ve had experiences many others don’t get— collecting the eggs from the chickens, chasing barn cats, riding in the tractor and eating vegetables straight out of the field. It also comes with some humor. My mom enjoys telling anyone she meets about a couple of the funny things that have happened related to the farm. The farmer’s name is Pete, but we always call him Mr. Pete. When I was about 5 years old we were in the barn collecting eggs one day. I asked my mom, “Do you think the chickens mind that we take their eggs? Don’t they get upset that we are taking their babies?” My mom chuckled and responded that the eggs didn’t have any babies in them because Mr. Pete didn’t have any roosters. For the next few minutes, we quietly continued collecting eggs. I had a sudden brainstorm and said to my mom, “How do the roosters put the babies in the eggs?” My mom and Mr. Pete burst out laughing. They never did tell me. When I was in 8th grade, I started working for Mr. Pete in his store. It was early fall and there was a contest for people to guess how many seeds were in one of his massive pumpkins. Every shift I worked, he would look at the pumpkin, look at me and chuckle a little. Apparently he had a plan for me. The contest ended the weekend of Halloween and Mr. Pete approached me to ask if I had made a guess on how many seeds there were, because I was about to find out. He lifted a saw and began to cut off the one end of the pumpkin, creating a child size hole. He then handed me a scoop and told me to climb in. I was the child he had cut the hole for. As I climbed further and further into the pumpkin, I would pass scoops of the seeds and guts back through my legs to Mr. Pete. It became quite the spectacle. Customers gathered around to take pictures of me three quarters of the way inside the pumpkin. The manager called my parents to come over to watch. Right before I crawled back out, Mr. Pete asked me if I had ever found how the roosters put the babies in the eggs. He said if I didn’t know, I should think about where I was. He sat on that joke for 9 years, but he said it was totally worth it.

Growing up next to a farm afforded me with some wonderful experiences. Gathering the eggs from the chickens, chasing the barn cats, riding in the tractor and eating vegetables straight from the field were things I took for granted and thought everyone did. When I was old enough, I worked in the store the farmer ran. Over my lifetime, the farmer shared many of the challenges he had trying to farm. The changing weather made his job more difficult with each passing year. One year we had higher than normal rain, the next a sustained dry period. One disastrous year we had 2 hail storms in one day that ruined his entire spring planting. Regardless of the weather, the customers still expected the shelves to be full. Watching him struggle more each year to accomplish that task helped me realize that Earth is heading rapidly toward a critical point in sustainability in the coming decades. As climate change worsens, the “once in a century” storms and weather events are now occurring once a year, or even multiple times a year. Resources such as energy, food, and land are being strained to their limits. It is possible that solutions to our problems here on Earth are on other planets, just waiting for us to find them. It is also possible that the technology we create to explore space could be adapted for use here. Ever since I visited the J.F.K. Air and Space Museum when I was 10 years old, I have been infatuated with space. Traversing the final frontier fascinates me. I am particularly fascinated by the complex rovers NASA is using to explore Mars. I envision myself constructing them, helping map the outer limits of human exploration. One of the greatest questions humanity has asked is: “Are we the only life form in the universe?” I want to help answer that question. I want to be part of a team that could find the answers to our problems here on Earth. Educationally, my short term goals are to graduate from university with a bachelor’s degree. I want to involve myself in the available research opportunities, and learn as much as I can by working closely with the top minds in engineering academia. Long term, I hope to one day earn my doctorate degree and join the great minds at NASA. Engineering goes beyond math and physics. Engineers are artists. They solve problems while having some of the most creative solutions the world has ever seen. These solutions have a positive impact in the real world. Driven, innovative, and intelligent, this brotherhood will be the reason humanity finds another planet to call home, and I want to be a part of that. This scholarship would allow me to exit college with less debt. It would open me up financially to a broader range of colleges, allowing me to focus more on a college’s educational, research, and post-graduate opportunities rather than how much the college costs.

Soccer has been one of the biggest parts of my life ever since my first YMCA league when I was three. Through the sport, I made countless friends, traveled the country, and learned the importance of perseverance, teamwork, and failure. It has brought me the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Without it, I would not be the same person I am today. However, when I tried out for my first travel team in 3rd grade, I didn’t make a single team. Although discouraged, I still loved the sport, so I participated in a recreational camp that summer. A coach there noticed me and my ability and asked the travel coaches if anyone would let me try out for their team. The only one who responded was Coach Johnny Fredericks. After a week of practicing with the team, he finally offered me the spot. But he said I would have to work hard to keep it. At the time, I didn’t know the impact Johnny would have on my life. Even after the season ended and he was no longer my coach, Johnny worked with me one-on-one to improve my skills. He was always hard on me. Constantly in my ear, he pushed me to go beyond fatigue; to him, fatigue didn’t exist. Yet his unwavering toughness pushed me beyond my limits. Under Johnny’s mentorship, I not only became a better soccer player but also a better person. He taught me the values of dedication, fortitude, and perseverance. Two years later, Johnny was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was only 24. I was ten and suddenly realized how fragile, precious, and cruel life was. That even one of the most active, healthy, and compassionate people I knew could have his life taken from him so early. I was scared, but Johnny showed strength I didn’t know someone could have. Even when he no longer had the physical strength to train me, he came to my games to watch me, support me, and, of course, give feedback. He did it out of love - for me, my family, and the sport of soccer. This past season my high school soccer team wasn’t meant to go very far. We were the smallest school in our classification, competing against schools two or three times our size. We play in the toughest district in Pennsylvania. However, to everyone's surprise, we made it to the state playoffs with the best record in school history. My entire soccer career has been an underdog story. All I ever needed was a chance. And Johnny was the one who started it all. He took a chance on me, on someone that everyone else discarded. His passion, kindness, and patience helped make me who I am today. I will never know the lessons he never had time to teach me –both on the field and off. Cancer stole Johnny from us. He wasn’t finished teaching me about soccer, about life. Cancer cut our lessons and our friendship short. As an eighteen-year-old, I wish I had been able to share all of my high school soccer successes with Johnny. I know he would have come to my games to support me (but also probably chastise me afterward to dig deeper or release the ball sooner). As a ten-year-old, I didn’t fully understand the lifelong effect the loss of Johnny would have on me. At ten, there’s always more time, always another practice, next week, next season. Until there wasn’t. I’ll always be grateful for meeting Johnny. His impact on me went beyond sports, and I’ll forever miss him.