The biggest lesson I have learned thus far through my time in this sport has been the art of perseverance. I have had to push my coaches, my principal, my peers, and especially myself to get where I am today. I play golf for a small school in rural Oklahoma, so you can bet I am outnumbered by the boys. Though there is also a girls team, I usually find myself accompanying the boy’s team. They are given more attention, direction, and opportunities from the coaches than the girls are; though, I do not allow this to deter me. This has often been disappointing, but I believe it has set me up for success in many ways– especially academically. The coach for the girls team seems more interested in leisure than the progress of the group. He can regularly be found working on his own swing game while most of the girls are doing their own thing. This is not me trying to tear these people down but rather an explanation as to why I spend the majority of my time with the boys. I was not always allowed to tag along with the boys- that is something I had to advocate for. After explaining multiple times to several people why I thought the boys had a better shot at success, I still had to show up and be the only girl on the driving range. Their coach is engaging, supportive, consistent, and has never minded having a plus one during practice. He answers questions, gives demonstrations, and occasionally takes us to different driving ranges. Practicing with the boys has taught me more lessons than hiring a private coach. Having to be firm in my boundaries while also pushing for myself is something I will more than likely always have to do. It has given me confidence in myself, taught me how to more effectively communicate, and motivated me in ways I didn’t realize was possible. Somehow, when I feel I am at the end of my tank, I am always able to go a little longer, push a little further, if for nothing else than to avoid hearing someone pin my loss on my gender. This has forced me to become better at not just golfing, but at socializing, maintaining discipline, and overcoming adversity. Unfortunately, the world seems as if it may be a lot like my small town golfing program. Opportunities are out there, but unless you are a straight white male, you need to be ready to prove yourself over and over. You may be the best candidate for a position, but someone with less qualifications than you gets to start out higher on the list due to things beyond your control. Luckily I have built a foundation of trust in myself and my abilities, and I know I am ready to continue fighting towards the life I dream of. None of this would have been possible without me getting back up and again and again every time someone told me no.

Once a semester my school allows the blood institute to come onto campus and accept donations. Flyers get sent home, emails sent out, phone calls made. It is a big deal each time, and every time this happens, I am amazed at the outpouring of support from my town. Though we don’t always know who may need our help, we are there anyway- often waiting in long lines, coming in between classes or work, and overcoming fears to be able to donate. This really magnifies the sense of community, and we all feel it. That shift of the atmosphere is truly my favorite positive that these events elicit. Usually, we don’t have many reasons to celebrate or get together, but this is at least several days of pleasant interactions. Everyone is excited to be doing something good for no reason other than that the opportunity has presented itself. The students, the teachers, and our families all alike are extra cheerful and ready to engage in conversation. Giving blood in this manner with my peers and our families provides a sense of belonging in all of us. It also releases chemicals in our brains such as endorphins or dopamine- this is often referred to as a “helpers high”. There are many other ways to convince our brains to release those “feel good” hormones, and though I do participate in many of those myself, the amount of people lined up in those situations is significantly smaller. This is because while giving blood can be painful, it is relatively quick and easy to do. People go in groups because of this as well as the herd mentality - because everyone has heard that if you go, I will go! And nobody wants to be the one that helps out. If this could inspire the community to get together more often, I would be elated. I would like to see a class field trip to the food bank, flyers sent home for volunteer work, or even an event held to bring awareness to those struggling in our community. If we make helping feel good all the time, we will end up helping a lot more. We may even make it easier for those who are in need to speak up and to accept this help, because they would know how much we enjoy giving back. If our biggest goal was to help our neighbors, I believe our neighbors would be much closer, and we would have that sense of community more often.

Most of the men in my family, and many of the women, have all served our country. Both of my uncles and one of my aunts are Marines, my grandpa was in the Army, and my dad served in the Navy. It is an understatement to say that this has affected my life greatly in many ways. Growing up, military values and practices were second nature to us. The house was always cleaned twice over, we were respectful without fail, we had impeccable teamwork, and we knew what honor and loyalty meant at a young age. When we missed a spot, or if we dared to step out of line, we had to start whatever we were doing over from the very beginning. This really helped to instill the idea that if something is worth my time doing, then it is worth my time doing it correctly. My veterans are the architects of my moral compass. I have found myself backing away from poor decisions fearing their disappointment or jumping into good ideas knowing they would be proud. I do plan on playing golf in college if I am able to, and I am hoping to continue well after college as well. My family has bonded over this sport. I can’t say how many afternoons my sister and I have spent at Top Golf, or how many of our get-togethers ended in seeing who could drive the straightest ball down the middle of the field near the house. When I clear my mind to swing my club I can feel them with me, I can hear their advice- even the ones who have long since passed on. One movement of many that have been important to us, is the 22 a day movement. Though this number has dropped to 17 since this movement began, this represents the number of veterans that lose their lives every single day by suicide due to not having resources available to them. One of my Marine uncles used to do 22 push-ups a day to raise money and awareness for this cause. If I were to be awarded this scholarship, I would be even louder about the veterans that have supported us. Not only did veterans raise, love, and guide me through everything, but loving and supporting them would have helped aid my academics. I wouldn’t be here without my veterans, and I thank them and God every day for the lessons that have stayed with me.

I play golf for a small school in rural Oklahoma, so you can bet I am outnumbered by the boys. Though there is also a girl's team, I usually find myself accompanying the boy’s team. They are given more attention, direction, and opportunities from the coaches than the girls are; though, I do not allow this to deter me. This has often been disappointing, but I believe it has set me up for success in many ways– especially academically. The coach for the girl's team seems more interested in leisure than the progress of the group. He can regularly be found working on his own swing game while most of the girls are doing their own thing. This is not me trying to tear these people down but rather an explanation as to why I spend the majority of my time with the boys. I was not always allowed to tag along with the boys- that is something I had to advocate for. After explaining multiple times to several people why I thought the boys had a better shot at success, I still had to show up and be the only girl on the driving range. Their coach is engaging, supportive, consistent, and has never minded having a plus one during practice. He answers questions, gives demonstrations, and occasionally takes us to different driving ranges. Practicing with the boys has taught me more lessons than hiring a private coach. Having to be firm in my boundaries while also pushing for myself is something I will more than likely always have to do. It has given me confidence in myself, taught me how to more effectively communicate, and motivated me in ways I didn’t realize was possible. Somehow, when I feel I am at the end of my tank, I am always able to go a little longer, push a little further, if for nothing else than to avoid hearing someone pin my loss on my gender. This has forced me to become better at not just golfing, but at socializing, maintaining discipline, and overcoming adversity. Unfortunately, the world seems as if it may be a lot like my small-town golfing program. Opportunities are out there, but unless you are a straight white male, you need to be ready to prove yourself over and over. You may be the best candidate for a position, but someone with less qualifications than you may get to start out higher on the list due to things beyond your control. Luckily, I have built a foundation of trust in myself and my abilities, and I know I am ready to continue fighting towards the life I dream of.

Math is one of the few subjects that is a language in and of itself. Being familiar with math can open so many doors to different versions of a successful future. Regardless of what you decide to do with your life, math will be there. It is up to you how much fun you decide to have with it. Every day of your life you engage in mathematical problems, many of which would become easier as your arithmetic skills increased. From driving cars to preparing food, math is deeply involved in everyday activities and therefore is used every day by even the people who claim not to care for it. Math is involved in any career you could choose. Artists use math when they are choosing what percentages of different colors to add together. Teachers use math when determining how many students can do a certain activity at a time. Doctors use math when they determine how long to order someone medicine for. Even someone with a career unrelated to math, would be a better whatever-they-are, if they were good at math. Another reason to love math is how fun it can be. You will find math from cards to videogames, and most places in between. One of my personal favorite examples of how math can be fun is sudoku. My sister and I often race these and trust me, being good at math makes victory much more likely

My name is Brenna Nicole Eplin and I have wanted to become a nurse for as long as I can remember. It has never been a question in my mind about what I am going to do with my future– I have my grandfather and a group of amazing women to thank for that. When I was a very young girl, my grandfather was involved in a terrible accident, leaving him paralyzed. Recovery was long and slow. Weeks turned into months, and at times there felt as if there was no hope that the proverbial sun would shine again. Though the surgeries and therapies bleed together in my mind, the various ways that the nurses were there for us is a very prominent memory. Through every step of the process, they kept my grandmother company, kept my grandfather calm, and kept all of our heads on straight. By keeping us updated and well informed of every procedure, they alleviated a great deal of stress from us all. There were times we were only able to be strong because the nurses lent us their strength. We spent countless nights waiting by the phone for any scrap of news, and because they were so involved, we knew they would call if they needed to. I remember hearing my mother speak so kindly of all these nurses throughout the entire process. I am worth the dreams I aspire to achieve because I have the experience necessary to keep me kind. From the women in the ICU that literally held us up when we couldn’t stand, to the women that became family as they lived with us part time to take care of my grandfather, every one of them taught me something. They allowed me to familiarize myself with a lifestyle I believe will be tremendously rewarding. The path I have chosen is not an easy one, but I am confident I will be able to get my RN and my bachelors of science in nursing from whichever school accepts me, and that I will be able to get a job in this field. It won’t be my dream job yet, but I won’t stop pushing until I get there. After I get my feet in the medical door, I believe many more doors will open themselves for me, and that I will be able to become as inspiring and well put together as the group of women that saved all of our lives back then. I am worthy because I am capable.