To whomever it may concern, I am Bernard Lamonte Jackson lll, I'm from Mobile, Alabama. I'm also a full-time active-duty service member in The United States Army. My hobbies are hiking, boxing, and traveling. I have been to over six different countries worldwide and plan on going too many more shortly. I love my career. I love to serve and fight for my country but guess what, my career has just begun. I am only a specialist. I can only imagen what the future holds for me. One fun fact about myself is that I hold honor and Integrity. That comes from my military background. Well, when you think about it, I was already an honest person but being in The United States Army made me value my honesty. I am currently an undergraduate student at Troy University seeking my bachelor's in Human Resources Management. I will tell you about my academic and professional goals later in the essay but let's talk about my short-term goals. My personal goal is to be the best army soldier I could be and excel too my leadership. Without my great country, I don't know where I would be today. That is why I am willing to defend my country with my life. I decided to join The United States Army because of terrorism. For over twenty years The United States was in Afghanistan. I figured why not fight and defend my great country and others who have died for my freedom to be an American citizen? The 911 attack also motivated me to serve in the military. I remember watching the planes crash into the world trade center which impacted me. I felt hatred in my heart for the first time and that hatred stayed there until this day. Now that I have told you more about myself I would love to enlighten you about my educational and career goals. I aim to receive my bachelor's, Masters's, and Ph.D. degrees in Human Resources Management at Troy University. My academic goals correspond to my career goals in many ways. Without my educational purposes, my career goals would be none existent. My career goal is to become an officer in The United States Army. This requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree. Receiving my master's degree and Ph.D. will only make me excel in my field. I will change my military job to human resources in the future. My goals require receiving at least a bachelor's degree in Human Resources. The fact that I already have experience in this field is just a plus and will put me as a runner-up for most career fields. A tough obstacle that I have faced in my life and still face to this day is being homeless. This had a great toll on my mental and physical health and to this day I still face anxiety and fear. Being homeless put me in a very dark place. I learned a lot about myself and my faith during this time. Like any religious person, your faith could be tested but then I thought why would Allah, God, test my faith I'm not a prophet. All I could do is read my bible and pray. I learned to never lose faith. There's one verse that I read every day from Psalm 23:4, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Without the word of Allah, God, I wouldn't be here to write this essay. I'm thankful for him.

Growing up with a father who served in the military taught me to work with a strong work ethic, prioritizing discipline, accountability, teamwork, and a commitment to completing tasks to the best of my ability, regardless of the challenge, essentially instilling a "mission-first" mentality that carried over into my professional life. Observing my father in leadership roles has shown me how to take initiative, make decisions, and guide others effectively. My dad once told me the biggest sacrifice he has made has been leaving his family behind when he deploys. He sacrificed important holidays and events with our family. I can recall one year, he will sadly miss my birthday and Halloween. He also sacrificed basic comforts, which we take for granted. For example, during one of his deployments, he was sleeping on a cot in a camouflaged tent with 10 other soldiers. The most important thing my dad could sacrifice is his life. By helping plan an attack on Mosul to get rid of ISIS in Iraq, he put his life on the line. I emailed my dad and asked, “Why should I be concerned about what is going on in Iraq?” He answered, “ISIS, which is a terrible group of people, has tortured and enslaved thousands of people. If we didn’t fight them now, they would continue to harm and enslave people and they would launch attacks aimed at our country.”I also asked my dad, who is still in Iraq, what lessons he learned on each of his deployments. In Kosovo, he replied, “I was exposed to different cultures and witnessed how the presence of U.S. troops could stop the fighting that had been going on for several years. In Iraq in 2004, I learned that war was uglier than you can imagine and caused more suffering for the civilians trapped in the war zone. In Afghanistan, I learned how much I had to think to stay ahead of the enemy and make sure he didn’t harm any of my soldiers and how to interact with the population to bring stability to the war-torn region."On my second tour in Afghanistan, I learned how to keep up with the morale of my soldiers during stressful times. On this deployment in Iraq, I learned the importance of bringing a wide variety of people together and building consensus to solve problems. I used to get upset that my dad couldn’t play basketball with me because he was always deployed, but now I finally understand that he has helped the United States keep people safe. It helps me understand that he couldn't always be here for me all of the time because he is working hard to keep us safe. I appreciate the sacrifices my dad and other veterans make for our freedom. My definition of freedom is the ability to make choices and actions in my life without being controlled. That freedom is because of their service and sacrifice. Because of my dad’s service and the service of other veterans, we are gratefully able to make our own choices and actions here at home. Their sacrifice helps me better understand the price of freedom. My dad's military service has had such an impact on my life that I am currently following in his footsteps protecting and serving this country.

Hello Everyone, I'm Bernard Lamonte Jackson lll, I'm a first-generation college student at Troy University and I'm currently serving in The United States Army. A funny and embarrassing fact about myself is that I started college super late at the age of twenty-four but I attend to start at the age of eighteen. This led me being behind on my education goal which is to receive my Ph.D. in Human Resources Management. Additionally, I ended up taking out private student loans to pay for a trade school I attended after high school. I ended up not liking the trade and not pursuing that career path and being in debt of 6,500 with the trade school. Talk about time being wasted. My career and life aspirations are just success itself. Success to me is like a drug; It drives me. Receiving my Ph. D give me my ultimate success because it max's out my major and looks great on my resume. I have had dreams in life but when I stop and thought about it I just wanted to become successful. Every semester I get closer to success and not only that I make others closer to success as well. My job in The United States Army is human resources. I work face-to-face with my fellow soldiers in helping them better themselves in and outside of the services. I'm also heavily involved in the community and college campus activities. I often volunteer at local homeless shelters helping, clothing, and feeding the homeless. Volunteering at homeless shelters means a lot to me because I use to be homeless. This was a painful time in my life. Being Homeless I saw no future. College was out of the question. I felt hopeless. Remembering these painful memories encouraged me to give back to the community and give others hope because I was once in their shoes. Over my life, college, and military career I have accomplished a lot. Graduating high school was a huge challenge and accomplishment for me. It was extremely challenging because I was faced with a lot of mental and physical abuse coming from my parents. I even was homeless at one point during high school. Somehow I still manage to pull through. I have received multiple awards in my two-year military career. In college, I was commended by the Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs for my outstanding academic achievements making the Provist's List multiple times for averaging a grade point average of 3.65 or higher for the term. Graduating from Troy University with my Ph. D. in Human Resources Management will be my next lifetime milestone and major accomplishment. The money that I save for receiving this Scholarship will be reinvested in my education. Helping pay off my student loans will also help increase my credit score dramatically. My credit is currently 678 which isn't great. Receiving this Scholarship will help and change my life a lot. I will save money which will help me stay financially stable for college. I would not worry about buying expensive school supplies such as books, paper, pencils, laptops etc. As you may know, college is extremely stressful. Being in debt makes it even more stressful. Receiving this scholarship will somehow better my mental health which will make me more successful in my college Career. As a first-generation college student, graduating means the world to me. I have received a lot of scholarships but never for debt relief. This will be the first and this scholarship would be the most meaningful one towards my education journey.

In my eyes, Math is the answer to everything. It's the key to unlocking the true mysteries that this world has. Who knows maybe the next as well. Whether you are a doctor or a fast food worker knowing math is a must because it is used in everyday life. In addition, mathematical knowledge plays a crucial role in understanding the contents of other school subjects such as science, social studies and even music and art. Math is also great for the brain; it helps you increase your problem-solving skills. Some of the most notorious achievements of mankind involve math. Take a moment just to think. In this day and era, what are we as the human race trying to achieve? We're trying to go above and beyond. We're trying to invent new things to better ourselves as a human race. For years we thought there were only 9 planets in our galaxy that we know of. Now with modern technology, we have found out that there are thousands. What is one of the ingredients to make this technology, you guessed it, knowledge of mathematics? Math is the answer to all complex problems; that's why I love it. Technology is made to make life easier but without math we have no technology. I think that the human race's evolution would rely mostly on math. Math is used so much in our everyday life that we don't even know if we are using it. This is called our basic math. We also have the more complex math that we use to build and create the most difficult of things the mind could think of. I fell in love with math instantly from my first day in kindergarten. Some of the most important people in history were mathematics experts. One of them happens to be the smartest man ever to walk the face of the world earth, Albert Einstein. He loved math. One of my favorite quotes from his was him saying "Pure mathematics is, in its ways, the poetry of logical ideas." That speaks for itself. I'm a math expert. Without my great math skills, I would not be successful in college. I believe my math skills set me apart from others. Believe it or not, everyone is not good at math. The fact that I am great at basic and complex math sets me apart from others that's why I❤️MATH!

Hello Everyone, I'm Bernard Lamonte Jackson lll, I'm a first-generation college student at Troy University and I'm currently serving in The United States Army. A funny and embarrassing fact about myself is that I started college super late at the age of twenty-four but I attend to start at the age of eighteen. This led me being behind on my education goal which is to receive my Ph.D. in Human Resources Management. Additionally, I ended up taking out private student loans to pay for a trade school I attended after high school. I ended up not liking the trade and not pursuing that career path and being in debt of 6,500 with the trade school. Talk about time being wasted. My career and life aspirations are just success itself. Success to me is like a drug; It drives me. Receiving my Ph. D give me my ultimate success because it max's out my major and looks great on my resume. I have had dreams in life but when I stop and thought about it I just wanted to become successful. Every semester I get closer to success and not only that I make others closer to success as well. My job in The United States Army is human resources. I work face-to-face with my fellow soldiers in helping them better themselves in and outside of the services. I'm also heavily involved in the community and college campus activities. I often volunteer at local homeless shelters helping, clothing, and feeding the homeless. Volunteering at homeless shelters means a lot to me because I use to be homeless. This was a painful time in my life. Being Homeless I saw no future. College was out of the question. I felt hopeless. Remembering these painful memories encouraged me to give back to the community and give others hope because I was once in their shoes. Over my life, college, and military career I have accomplished a lot. Graduating high school was a huge challenge and accomplishment for me. It was extremely challenging because I was faced with a lot of mental and physical abuse coming from my parents. I even was homeless at one point during high school. Somehow I still manage to pull through. I have received multiple awards in my two-year military career. In college, I was commended by the Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs for my outstanding academic achievements making the Provist's List multiple times for averaging a grade point average of 3.65 or higher for the term. Graduating from Troy University with my Ph. D. in Human Resources Management will be my next lifetime milestone and major accomplishment. The money that I save for receiving this Scholarship will be reinvested in my education. Helping pay off my student loans will also help increase my credit score dramatically. My credit is currently 678 which isn't great. Receiving this Scholarship will help and change my life a lot. I will save money which will help me stay financially stable for college. I would not worry about buying expensive school supplies such as books, paper, pencils, laptops etc. As you may know, college is extremely stressful. Being in debt makes it even more stressful. Receiving this scholarship will somehow better my mental health which will make me more successful in my college Career. As a first-generation college student, graduating means the world to me. I have received a lot of scholarships but never for debt relief. This will be the first and this scholarship would be the most meaningful one towards my education journey.

In my eyes, Math is the answer to everything. It's the key to unlocking the true mysteries that this world has. Who knows maybe the next as well. Whether you are a doctor or a fast food worker knowing math is a must because it is used in everyday life. In addition, mathematical knowledge plays a crucial role in understanding the contents of other school subjects such as science, social studies and even music and art. Math is also great for the brain; it helps you increase your problem-solving skills. Some of the most notorious achievements of mankind involve math. Take a moment just to think. In this day and era, what are we as the human race trying to achieve? We're trying to go above and beyond. We're trying to invent new things to better ourselves as a human race. For years we thought there were only 9 planets in our galaxy that we know of. Now with modern technology, we have found out that there are thousands. What is one of the ingredients to make this technology, you guessed it, knowledge of mathematics? Math is the answer to all complex problems; that's why I love it. Technology is made to make life easier but without math we have no technology. I think that the human race's evolution would rely mostly on math. Math is used so much in our everyday life that we don't even know if we are using it. This is called our basic math. We also have the more complex math that we use to build and create the most difficult of things the mind could think of. I fell in love with math instantly from my first day in kindergarten. Some of the most important people in history were mathematics experts. One of them happens to be the smartest man ever to walk the face of the world earth, Albert Einstein. He loved math. One of my favorite quotes from his was him saying "Pure mathematics is, in its ways, the poetry of logical ideas." That speaks for itself. I'm a math expert. Without my great math skills, I would not be successful in college. I believe my math skills set me apart from others. Believe it or not, everyone is not good at math. The fact that I am great at basic and complex math sets me apart from others that's why I❤️MATH!

To whom it may concern, I'm Bernard Lamonte Jackson lll and I am a former drug and alcohol addict. Drugs and alcohol have affected my life dramatically. Just thinking about it brings back painful memories. I honestly don't know where to start. As a drug and alcohol user, it affected my mental health as a person. I want to start by telling you about myself. I grew up in a single-mother household. My mom was addicted to crack cocaine and tried to commit suicide numerous times. This led me and my two other siblings to live with our grandparents. At this time my siblings and I were too young to know but this would soon be the least of our worries. Our grandparents were not capable of taking care of us. This led to us living in foster care. As we got older my siblings and I separated. I lost contact with them for years. I fell in my mother's footsteps. I became a drug and alcohol addict. My drug of choice was crack cocaine and I drank a twelve-pack of beer every day. This became a dark time in my life. I didn't care whether or not my family was okay. Whether I ate or starve. Even If I lived or died. All I cared about is my next fix or puff, some might say. Crake cocaine and a twelve-pack of beer controlled my life. It's all I thought about daily and I would have done anything in my power to get it. Whether it was lying or even stealing. I became a monster. At this dark time in my life, I wasn't religious. I had no faith whatsoever and could care less about being saved. I did not know the word of God. I was more than certain I was doomed from the gates which we called heaven. Did I care at all? No, I didn't. The only thing I care about is my next fix or puff, some might say. During my addiction, I was homeless and didn't have a relationship with anyone. Remember I lost total contact with all immediate family. Ask me did I care. I surely did not. I just cared about my next puff. As a kid, I never really thought about being in a physical relationship with women. More than likely that was due to my rough childhood. When you think about it, it hurts because I never really felt the love of having a girlfriend or wife. It was not in my future. The only thing I saw was misery. Being addicted to drugs has severely affected my career as well. I am currently a specialist serving in The United States Army. If I were to go to my drug habit ways I would not have a career. To be honest I have thought about going back and it scares me every day. I do not want to lose my career, educational opportunity, or my life. I have been seeing help for my past drug addiction and at times it helps but not how I would have liked it too. I'm often faced with anxiety. When there is a new talk at work I would more than likely not volunteer to do them because I'll be too afraid that someone might notice. This doesn't make me a leader but a follower. I'm not moving forward in my career and it is because of my past drug addiction. I honestly don't know what the future holds. Will I prosper or perish? Will I be able to pursue my education and career goals?

To whomever it may concern, I am Bernard Lamonte Jackson lll, I'm from Mobile, Alabama. I'm also a full-time active-duty service member in The United States Army. My hobbies are hiking, boxing, and traveling. I have been to over six different countries worldwide and plan on going too many more shortly. I love my career. I love to serve and fight for my country but guess what, my career has just begun. I am only a specialist. I can only imagen what the future holds for me. One fun fact about myself is that I hold honor and Integrity. That comes from my military background. Well, when you think about it, I was already an honest person but being in The United States Army made me value my honesty. I am currently an undergraduate student at Troy University seeking my bachelor's in Human Resources Management. I will tell you about my academic and professional goals later in the essay but let's talk about my short-term goals. My personal goal is to be the best army soldier I could be and excel too my leadership. Without my great country, I don't know where I would be today. That is why I am willing to defend my country with my life. I decided to join The United States Army because of terrorism. For over twenty years The United States was in Afghanistan. I figured why not fight and defend my great country and others who have died for my freedom to be an American citizen? The 911 attack also motivated me to serve in the military. I remember watching the planes crash into the world trade center which impacted me. I felt hatred in my heart for the first time and that hatred stayed there until this day. Now that I have told you more about myself I would love to enlighten you about my educational and career goals. I aim to receive my bachelor's, Masters's, and Ph.D. degrees in Human Resources Management at Troy University. My academic goals correspond to my career goals in many ways. Without my educational purposes, my career goals would be none existent. My career goal is to become an officer in The United States Army. This requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree. Receiving my master's degree and Ph.D. will only make me excel in my field. I will change my military job to human resources in the future. My goals require receiving at least a bachelor's degree in Human Resources. The fact that I already have experience in this field is just a plus and will put me as a runner-up for most career fields. A tough obstacle that I have faced in my life and still face to this day is being homeless. This had a great toll on my mental and physical health and to this day I still face anxiety and fear. Being homeless put me in a very dark place. I learned a lot about myself and my faith during this time. Like any religious person, your faith could be tested but then I thought why would Allah, God, test my faith I'm not a prophet. All I could do is read my bible and pray. I learned to never lose faith. There's one verse that I read every day from Psalm 23:4, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Without the word of Allah, God, I wouldn't be here to write this essay. I'm thankful for him.

Over the past year, I have grown significantly. I have made the biggest transition of my life; from the year 2022 to 2023 I transitioned from being a civilian to an American soldier in The United States Army. That growth came from being homeless for a short period of time in my life. Being homeless I learned that it is the small things in life that count the most. Sleeping in a homeless shelter and then transitioning to a military barracks tend to do that to a person. Without God I don't know where I would be. I thank him every day. My attitude as a person has changed completely. I have got more in touch with God. I often visit different church services located at the military post where I am stationed. Reading my bible on a daily bases has given me the strength to be successful and I will continue to do this in the future. Since I transitioned from being a civilian to a soldier I have learned values such as loyalty, duty, respect, self-service, honor, integrity, and personal change. Those values have changed my whole identity as a person. It is safe to say that The United States Army has made me a better man. Even though a lot has changed I still have some things that remain the same about me. I still manage to have hope. I have been through the worst of times and faith has driven me through every single one of them. I use to pray that times would get better; it is safe to say that the man above has heard my prayers. I will continue to have faith and hope because without it you are like a lost soul. Another thing that remains the same about me is my desire to learn new things. Over time in my short military career, I have learned countless new things and achieved many awards. These include welding, Leadership, physical training, and weapons training. These skills will most definitely be helpful if I were ever to get out of the military. Throughout my journey of self-discovery, I have learned that I am me and myself only and I am my own worst enemy. When I say, "I am me and no one else", I'm referring to the fact That I am inspired to be and no one else. I am my personal role model. I will not try to be anyone else but myself at all times. When I say," I am my own worst enemy" I am referring to the fact that no one can stop me but me. I am my only competition. Through my Journey of self-discovery, I gained the most confidence ever. I am practically unstoppable.

Recently, my grandmother passed away from natural causes. This had a huge effect on my mental health. I instantly became depressed and it caused me to struggle severely with my school academics. I was in disbelief, I could not accept the fact that she was in a better place. Similar to Cat Zingano I am also a full-time student and serving active duty in The United Staes army at the time of my trajectory loss. There are days when I could not get out of bed or felt unmotivated to show up for work. This was the least of my worries. A few weeks later my uncle, Edwin Fuller, passed away in his sleep at the age of forty. Just like Ms. Zingano, I suffered two deaths in the family at such a bad time. Despite being mentally drained, stressed, and depressed from the first death, I told myself I was not going to allow this faze in my life to brake me onto two. Instead, I am going to allow it to motivate me to do better, achieve more, and enjoy life to the fullest because life is short and you only live once. Graduating college and becoming a military officer is a goal of mine and I will use motivation from my family's disease members to achieve this goal. I told myself," Do it for them, they're watching down on me."

1.) As a strong leader I'm always authentic. People value honesty and sincerity in their leaders so that's what I try to resemble. I always try to have a vivid imagination; seeing everyone's perspective. Communication is key. The better we communicate the stronger our trust and loyalty becomes. I have this group chat set up on my iPhone where I can constantly communicate with my fellow soldiers. 2.) In my own words, resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult times in life. Resilience comes from the lessons and skills we absorb as we grow up and as we face all our difficulties whatever they are. Being in army help me become more resilient. I am able to handle every and anything this world is able to throw at me. And get back up like nothing every happen. I woke up knowing that life is a challenge that is waiting to knock me down, but my army spirit constantly brings me back to my feet. 3.) As I leader I'm always willing to put others needs and wishes before my own. Whether it's in training or dinner chow my team comes first. With that being said, my followers are willing to follow my great leaderships. Unselfishness makes me a great leader. I have put my fellow soldiers ahead of me so many times that it becomes a way of life. Especially when it comes to safety. As an infantry men it's part of my job to defend this country . Having my soldiers back and putting them first brings cohesiveness so therefore we can work as a team and do what we are train to do ;Protect American lifes. 4.) Everyday I tell myself that the world is mine. I do this on a routine bases so it could process in my brain. I often reward myself for each milestone I complete to stay determined and motivated. As long as I follow my routine there is know way I can fail. Staying focus to me is the key to success. To do anything in life you have to stay consistent. So far my routine has been working well so I plan on keeping it but, if needed it will subject to change in the near future. 5.) I'm always the first to come and last to leave work. I always try to go above and beyond to get the job done. Staying fit inside the gym gives me a real confidence booster. It motivates me and keeps me determined. I typically work 60+ hours a week so my work ethic it better than average.