My dream lies in a childhood that fostered my love of science and medicine. Growing up, I was always interested in science. Science was always my favorite subject in school, and when I started to test out of classes and move ahead in middle and high school, I filled many of my classes with college level science classes such as Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Around this time, I learned about the numerous contributions of Biology and Chemistry to the world of medicine. I also learned more about healthcare from my parents, who work at level one trauma and research hospitals in my home city of Phoenix, Arizona, and the Sports Medicine program that my high school had. As I learned more about science and the world of healthcare growing up, I decided that I wanted to be a doctor. As I moved through high school, I took steps to learn more about science and get into a good school where I could pursue a biochemistry degree as well as research so that I could learn more about my career and earn a spot in medical school. At the end of my academic journey, I hope to have earned my MD and MBA, just as I did when I was 13 years old and decided that I wanted to pursue medicine. As for right now, I am currently a Freshman at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, pursuing a Biological Sciences degree with a concentration in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology. I have just completed my first semester with a 4.0 GPA, and due to my advanced science coursework in high school, I am taking Genetics and Organic Chemistry this next semester, with my upper-level biochemistry classes following in the fall 2025 semester. As I move forward with my studies, I also plan to pursue a double major in Business Analytics, Economics, or Finance, and I also plan to minor in Spanish. These pursuits will not only make me a more competitive medical school applicant, but will help me build and manage a brand and practice in the future, as well as help me treat more patients, especially as more and more members of the United States population speak Spanish. On campus, I have also pursued extracurricular activities that connect me to my community and help not only my fellow students, but also members of the Greater Knoxville community. Doing these things have helped me hone my communication skills and emphasize the importance of philanthropy for me. These skills will be huge later on when I treat patients from all walks of life and begin a scholarship to help future scholars pursue their dreams. I want to end this essay by thanking this panel for the opportunity to apply for this scholarship. I want to succeed in my academic endeavors and ultimately help people as a doctor. I chose to pursue this profession because of my personal interest in science and medicine, but I stuck with it because it has helped make me a more well-rounded person and has helped teach me to connect with my fellow man. This scholarship will help me to continue to pursue my dreams by helping to pay for class materials such as textbooks as I continue pursuing my degree, and will relieve financial burden from my family, who must also help my younger siblings through college as well. Thank you for your consideration, and have a nice day.

This is a day in my dream life. I want to wake up in a nice house with a nice family, go to my dream job as a doctor, come home, and still have time to practice my guitar, workout, and spend time with the people in my life. On top of this, I want my kids to never have to worry about paying for school, or even to have to worry about repaying me for their schooling. I also want to start a scholarship foundation for ambitious students like myself who wish to attend college and aim high but might not have the means to do so, and at my workplace, I plan on offering pro bono services for students pursuing their undergraduate and graduate degrees. My idea of success is being able to achieve my dream job, take care of my family and the people in my life, and help others do the same. My name is Bill Williams, and I am a student at the University of Tennessee in the Chancellor’s Honors Program. I’m a biochemistry major on a pre-medicine track, and I plan to double major in either finance or business analytics so I can earn an MBA as well. I am currently a freshman in the program, but I completed enough dual enrollment courses and AP courses in high school that I’ll walk into the program with most of my general education requirements completed. That’s nearly 60 credits out of my 120-credit degree. This achievement brought a massive boost to my education, but I’m nowhere near finished. As I said before, I want to earn my MD and MBA and practice medicine. As such, I still have over 6 years of schooling left, and this will be a very expensive endeavor. The issue is, I come from a family that can’t afford to send their kids to college on their own, but unfortunately is not eligible for government aid. I’m the first of three children, with my younger siblings being 2 and 6 years younger than me. I have a deal with my parents that they will loan me money to complete my degree, as my scholarships cover around 40 percent of my degree costs. However, they could only make this offer for my undergraduate degree, as trying to fund my siblings’ education at the same time would financially ruin them a decade out from retirement. Even so, I’ll still graduate owing over 100 thousand dollars to my parents at the present moment. This fact weighs on me every day, especially knowing that I need to attend graduate school after I complete my degree. It drove me to earn AP and dual enrollment credit in high school and graduate in the top 5 percent of my class so that I could enter college with more options for my future and a good scholarship. It drives me to work and study hard every day, and to spend time every day filling out scholarships. In college, it will drive me to do everything in my power to graduate with minimal debt to my parents, and it will continue to compel me to earn and keep scholarships through hard work and excellence. It is the source of my motivation to make it as an adult, earn and work my dream job, support those around me, and make sure that other students who are as driven as I am to achieve their dreams can despite the rising cost of education. This opportunity is a game changer for me. Any money from scholarships is welcome, as any money I can earn to fund my education means I’ll owe my parents less money. This means I can save money for graduate school sooner. Hopefully, my endeavors will pay off, and however slim this chance is, I might get lucky and graduate debt-free. If not, I’ll graduate with minimal debt, which means I can use more of my paycheck to fund my dreams sooner. This scholarship is a big step in this direction for me, as it will further reduce my tuition for a semester by 20 percent. Thank you for offering this opportunity and for your consideration.

My name is Bill Williams, and I aim to earn my MD and MBA and practice medicine. I am currently a freshman at the University of Tennessee Knoxville participating in the Chancellor’s Honors Program, and I am currently majoring in biochemistry on a pre-med track. I also plan to double major in either finance or business analytics. I have wanted to practice medicine since the eighth grade when I had to explore careers for a homework assignment. My parents work in the medical field; my mom is a registered nurse and my dad is a radiologic technologist. I have always been very interested in what they do, and I look forward to their work stories when they come home at night. As I progressed through anatomy and science classes in high school, these two subjects quickly became my favorites, further inspiring me to pursue medicine. On top of this, becoming a doctor will allow me to help countless people across my career while continually studying subjects I am interested in. I want to become a doctor to study science, medicine, and anatomy, but also to follow in my parents' footsteps and play a primary role in patient health and well-being.  However, my dreams of becoming a doctor are not possible without massive amounts of funding that my family cannot provide. My family can’t afford to send me to college outright, but our household income is high enough that we aren’t eligible for FAFSA aid. My parents are helping me where they can with a written contract that I pay them back once I graduate, but they can only make this offer for my undergraduate degree, and not for my younger siblings. My younger brother is two years younger than me, and my younger sister is six years younger than me. For my parents to put all of us through school, they would have to wipe out their retirement savings and take a second mortgage on the house they worked for decades to own, in a world where interest rates are much higher. This award will pay for most of a semester of college for me, meaning that I’ll owe my parents less money in the long run and have more money to save for medical school.  Finally, my financial difficulties with affording school motivate me daily to stay focused and aim high. They motivated me to take dual enrollment and AP courses in high school, allowing me to enter college with nearly 60 credits of my 120-credit degree completed. Currently, they motivate me to fill out scholarships daily, and once I get to school, they will motivate me to find ways to fund my education while earning good grades to keep the two merit scholarships I was awarded to attend school. Once I earn my MD and finish making sure I’m well off, I plan on starting a scholarship foundation so I can help students like myself afford college. This foundation would provide high-achieving students the chance to attend school for free so long as they maintain academic excellence. If I own a private practice one day, I plan on providing pro bono healthcare to college and graduate students so that they do not experience large amounts of healthcare debt while in school. If I work at a hospital or practice and am treating a student, I will cover their expenses when and where I can. I realize I can’t help all students with their financial troubles, but if I can help a few students, that will be enough for me. Thank you for this amazing opportunity.

My name is Bill Williams Jr, and I am proud to say that I am a member of the Chancellor’s Honors Program at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Both of my parents work at hospitals, and I have always been fascinated by biochemistry. As such, I aspire to be a doctor with an MBA, and I am currently majoring in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Biochemistry. I am also interested in double majoring in either Finance or Business Management with a concentration in Business Analytics. In my free time, I enjoy sports, playing my guitar for fun, and learning Spanish on my phone through the Duolingo app. I believe that knowledge is power, and pursuing a college degree is how I plan to build a better future for myself and make a positive impact on others lives. I am very ambitious and determined to reach my goal of earning my M.D. and practicing medicine. As a doctor, I plan to practice Anesthesiology with a focus on Chronic Pain Management, which involves targeting and blocking abnormal and persistent pain signals in patients with chronic conditions such as cancer. Being accepted into medical school and succeeding in becoming a doctor involves an in-depth understanding of biological processes and biochemistry. This important detail and my interest in biochemistry are what led me to pursue this major. This major will allow me to meet the required courses to sit for the MCAT and do well, and study a subject that interests me. Ideally, I will also be able to learn through hands-on experience in a research setting that can also build my resume for medical school and help me make a positive impact as an undergraduate student. Eventually, I hope my research experience will help me enter the neuroscience field and research ways to permanently rid patients of chronic abnormal pain. I also hope that my participation in neuroscience research can one day help find a cure for diseases such as glioblastoma (brain cancer), and Alzheimer’s Disease, which I have seen close family members die of. A large part of being a twenty-first century doctor involves management and administrative work. As such, I hope to also earn my MBA at some point in my career so that I can manage my own practice, run a company, or move into an administrative position at a hospital. Pursuing a secondary major in business during my time as an undergraduate will not only make my application to medical school stand out, but it will make my application to business school also stand out, as it will prove I have a background in business. Pursuing a business degree will also teach me aspects of running my own business and brand, as well as how to manage my assets wisely to continue to build a better and secure financial future for myself and my company. These skills will also apply when I start my own scholarship foundation for future students with a desire to pursue post-secondary education, whether that be through trade school, community college, a four year degree, or graduate school after a four year degree. Correct management of a foundation such as this will allow the foundation to become self-sustaining and help generations of students, further helping me make a positive impact. However, these large, long-term goals come at an astronomical cost to me and my family. Attending college is not cheap, and I am attending an out of state school, but the University of Tennessee gave me a better scholarship offer than my in-state equivalent, the University of Arizona. On top of this, while on-paper costs at the University of Arizona are perceived to be less, almost all of the incidentals such as lower financial aid, the meal plan that was worse, absence of dorm room items such as refrigerators and microwaves, more expensive books, and having to pay for other items such as laundry with extra food money made the grand total at the University of Arizona less affordable than the University of Tennessee. Either way, my family is on the hook for over $100,000 when it comes to sending me to college. This is not great for my parents, who are 10 years away from retirement and have two more kids to help through college after myself. My younger brother is two years younger than me, my sister is six years younger than me, and I am starting college this fall. Unfortunately, my family makes enough money that we aren’t eligible for FAFSA aid, but sending all of us kids off to college means my parents will have to remortgage the house they worked for decades to pay off and decimate their savings, meaning they might have to work at least another decade past when they want to retire. Any aid helps our family out so that I can afford to attend college, and I thank the Leave a Legacy Always foundation for the opportunity to apply.

This life is my dream: I want to work as a doctor and improve people’s health and well-being while still being able to work out and practice guitar after work; in my free time, I want to support myself, my family, and future college students, travel, and attend sporting events and heavy metal concerts. My name is Bill Williams, and I am from Chandler, Arizona. I recently graduated from Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, Arizona, as a part of the class of 2024, and I am attending the University of Tennessee Knoxville in the fall as part of the Chancellor’s Honors Program in the class of 2028. My favorite hobbies are jamming out to heavy metal music, working out, practicing my guitar, going to concerts, traveling, driving my car, and watching sports. I am currently a Biological Sciences major studying to attend medical school. Heavy Metal is everything to me. This music is relatable to all aspects of my life, has been there for the good times and the bad, and has inspired me to play the guitar. My journey with Heavy Metal began on a road trip with my dad when I was 12 years old. We were listening to Jose Mangin’s Devil’s Dozen show on Sirius XM’s Liquid Metal. This was the summer that Slipknot released We Are Not Your Kind, and “Unsainted” was playing on the radio. I was blown away by Slipknot's talent, and they quickly became my favorite band. Liquid Metal introduced me to the world of Heavy Metal and some of my favorite bands and tracks. Heavy Metal gave me an outlet for my anger when I was bullied in school, in isolation during COVID-19, and after my uncle died when my dad had to leave for a year to manage his estate. Jim Root and Mick Thompson inspired me to learn the guitar, and Heavy Metal gave me something to bond with my friends and family over. My first concert was with my best friend at an Avenged Sevenfold show, and my dad and I are going to see Slipknot before I go to school in August. Finally, at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, I am majoring in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Biochemistry and a possible double major in Sports Management. This double major could provide a path for me to attend medical school for free while working with team medical staff for Volunteer Athletics. As an Honors student, I plan on participating in research projects, community outreach, and internships. I also plan to make the Dean’s List and graduate at the top of my class, all while studying to attend medical school. After graduation, I plan to attend medical school and become a doctor. After this, I plan to specialize in either Anesthesiology or Orthopedic Surgery. However, these goals come at an extraordinary cost to me and my family. Outside of merit aid given by the University of Tennessee and the Chancellor’s Honors Program, my family still must fund nearly 130,000 dollars for me to attend college. However, our household income does not afford us any need-based aid from the FAFSA or scholarship foundations using its numbers. I am also the oldest of three kids, with my little brother and sister being two and six years younger than me, respectively. My parents said they would help me with my education on the condition that I pay them back and keep applying for aid. However, they still may need to mortgage their house again and decimate their savings to help my siblings and me. This scholarship would be massive in my efforts to relieve our financial burden, as it would remove roughly $11,000 from my cost of attending college. This means that I will owe my parents less money, and they will have more money to help out my younger siblings. I am very grateful to the Headbang for Science Foundation for this opportunity, and I thank you for your consideration.

Education is everything. I know I'm probably not the first applicant to stress this. However, I'm different from other applicants because education is the keystone to the man I want to be and the life I want to live. I strive to be a successful Anesthesiologist who can care for the people around him, still be happy, and help lift future students with big dreams. Education is central to this goal because I will spend the better part of the next decade learning my future trade during college and medical school. However, my education doesn't stop here. If I've learned anything from my parents, who both work in medicine, part of being a successful doctor means continuing to educate oneself after medical school. That could be anything from reviewing CPR technique to learning how to use new surgical instruments. Achieving my dream of being a doctor means that education must be a central part of my life. Furthermore, I firmly believe that one stops learning and adapting when one dies. For me, this means learning about things that aren't my job. This is why I plan to learn about finance and business, why I plan to find the time to learn new skills, and why I try my best to be diverse in my interests. Being happy and being able to take care of those around me means trying and learning about new things while finding a way to apply those things to problems I see around me. Education is crucial to this goal because learning new things brings me joy. In addition, consistently learning new things allows me to apply more knowledge to the issues around me and help people. Finally, I believe that education is one of the keys to paving one's way to a better future. I know education is the path to achieving my dreams, and I believe I'm not the only person who feels this way. However, higher education is expensive. I am intelligent, but my family cannot afford to send me to college, not when my parents need to help my brother and sister attend college and save for retirement. As a result, I want to use my knowledge and success to start a scholarship foundation because I believe I am not the only person in my situation. I'm aware that I might not be able to save all students like me, but providing a few students with an easier path to educate themselves and achieve their dreams will make my efforts worth it. Education is the key that will allow me to live my best life, achieve my dreams, and provide a better future for those around me. It is not only the gift I need to succeed, but also the gift I want to give to others who dream of success. Education will allow me to become a doctor, live a successful and happy life, and pave an easier road for future scholars. That is why education is everything to me: I have the drive and determination to make these things, my dreams, happen, but I can't make anything happen without educating myself.