One of the biggest impacts of growing up in a single-parent household for me was having more responsibility and having to be more independent. Strife and challenges can make you stronger and I do think that I have overcome challenges but I also feel supported by my mom. She has always been there for me but when my parents divorced when I was 5 years old, it was hard and there was a loss of parental attention. My grandparents helped out in watching me quite a bit of the time when my mom was at work. I struggled in school because I have fairly sever dyslexia and ADHD. My mom made time for helping me with schoolwork at night but I could see that there was a strain or she was tired at times from working full-time at a job and also taking care of everything at home. When I was 10 my sister was born and she has a physical disability and a lot of medical needs. This further complicated the situation and demands on my mom's time. Luckily with all her help and tutoring she got for me prior to that I had caught up to grade level with my reading. I was forced to become more independent while my sister was young because of the demands of care she needed. I understood though and tried to help my mom more. I did more around the house and even took on doing the yardwork. It was fulfilling to help my family and I think it helped me gain independence and responsibility. In high school, I have been able to maintain a high GPA and was in JROTC for 3 of the 4 years. I have a good work-ethic and have had a job as a lifeguard for the last 2 years in the summer. I have been accepted into Universal Technical Institute to attend their automotive and diesel mechanics program. I am excited to work in this field and look forward to helping to advance the automotive field with vehicles that help our society and environment like electric vehicles. I also would like to help others, like my sister, that need adaptations or modifications to their vehicles to have the independence of driving to accommodate their disabilities. I will have to pay a portion of this education and this scholarship will allow me to pay for this education and owe less in student loans. The less debt I can have starting off the better.

1. What trade are you pursuing and why are you passionate about it? I am pursuing trade certification in automotive and diesel mechanics. I have always had an interest in car mechanics and I also have been taking welding in high school so may add that as a secondary program. I would like to help support and advance the field of automotive mechanics and I am excited about the opportunities like electric vehicles which can make our environment better. I also have a sister that is physically disabled and will need modifications to a vehicle to have the independence to drive one day. I would like to learn to do these types of modifications to assist people like her that need to have modifications and adaptations done to their vehicles. 2. What are your future plans after your trade education? I have already arranged a internship in a diesel mechanic shop at a Peterbilt dealership for while I am attending Universal Technical Institute. This may allow me to work in the diesel trucking industry. I would like to work in a solid company working on advanced automotive or trucking mechanics, like on electric vehicles. I also have an interest in hydrolytics and may seek a career with those which will be part my learning at Universal Technical Institute. 3. Describe a time in your life when you overcame adversity? How did you work through it? I have severe dyslexia and ADHD. There have been several times in my academic career that I have add to overcome issues with this but the hardest time was in third grade when I was 1.5 years behind in my reading skills and was feeling a loss of self confidence. I overcame this with my family's help and through the use of problem-solving skills. I was able to get enrolled in private dyslexia tutoring and I worked hard to learn the techniques that were being taught. Throughout forth and fifth grade a use perseverance and problem-solving to improve my reading skills and achieve grade level reading by sixth grade. Now in high school, I have been able to maintain a 3.79 GPA and feel academically successful. It is important to have good self-confidence but it is equally important to have perseverance to push through difficult times. This drive and hard work will help you believe in yourself and build your self-confidence which is what happened for me.

Reading has never been easy! I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia at the end of first grade after having repeated kindergarten due to not be ready to move to first grade. This helped me to get a 504 plan, accommodations and more assistance in school. The problems started in second grade when I had a teacher that was not empathic and did not follow the 504 plan very well. I lost my confidence and hated school by the end of second grade. I was not sure what to do and I knew I could not read like other kids. I am grateful that I have a supportive family that helped me to get additional tutoring and things started to improve some. I was also diagnosed with ADHD in second grade and started to learn techniques to try to help me focus. We tried 5 different medicines which none helped significantly and many made the problem worse. Meanwhile I struggled to keep up with my classes and failed the standardized test most every year. I think the biggest challenge that I had to overcome was the my low self-confidence. It took years of tutoring, practice and reinforcement to finally reach grade level work and feel decent about my academics. Over time with the help of my family and tutors as well as my own research online, I have learned to cope with my dyslexia and ADHD. I use techniques and tools available to me to help me achieve good grade in school and I am proud to say as a senior in high school I have a 3.79 GPA and I am a member of the National Honor Society. I will likely always need tools like spell check and voice to text as my spelling is still terrible. I appreciate that schools are willing/able to make accommodations for students with learning differences. That makes a huge difference. Peer pressure is a hard to deal with and when accommodations, tools and hard work can make grade level work achievable it makes a world of difference for repair the negative feelings held about school and decreased self-esteem. I am motivated to continue my education and will likely still have accommodations in my higher education setting but overcoming the effects of dyslexia and ADHD have made me more resilient and determined to succeed. I do want a career that is more hands on and not extremely academic but that is because that is what I enjoy not because I don't think I can success. I believe in myself and my ability to overcome challenges!

Working in automotive industry and mechanics is my dream! My name is Bret Mathews and I want to go into automotive and diesel mechanics. I enjoy working on cars and have dabbled in it with may dad for some time. I like to work with my hands and feel this is a career path that I will enjoy. I have been accepted to attend Universal Technical Institute in Austin TX already and have kept my grade up with a GPA of 3.79. I am excited about the many possibilities. I have always had an interest in high-performance vehicles and would like to explore this in the future. Hydraulics and electric vehicles are two areas that are especially interesting. I am interesting in making the automotive industry better and helping the advancement of this industry, such as with electric vehicles that make our environment better and reduce emissions. In the area of hydraulics there are so many possibilities from construction vehicles to equipment using hydraulics. I am more interest in the vehicle use of hydraulics though. I am also interested in vehicle modifications, especially those that make people's lives better. I have a younger sister that is disabled and will need vehicle modifications to allow her to drive. The future has a lot of possibilities and new technologies are developed all the time. I think this is the right path for various future pursuits that I have a passion for and enjoy.

Working in automotive industry and mechanics is my dream! My name is Bret Mathews and I want to go into automotive and diesel mechanics. I enjoy working on cars and have dabbled in it with may dad for some time. I like to work with my hands and feel this is a career path that I will enjoy. I have been accepted to attend Universal Technical Institute in Austin TX already and would like to pick a specialty after I finish my initial training. I am excited about the many possibilities. I have always had an interest in high-performance vehicles and would like to explore this interest in the future. The program at the school covers these types of vehicles for 6-weeks and offers specialized training with the car racing industry that I could choose. My overall interests are broader than just high-performance vehicles so I am not sure what area I will choose. I heard about a lot of interesting areas that I will learn about at the school with my program. Hydraulics and electric vehicles are two of those areas that were especially interesting. I am interesting in the future to be part of making the automotive industry better and helping the advancement of this industry, such as with electric vehicles that make our environment better and reduce emissions. There are specialist that are needed for the EVs and the large batteries that they use. In the area of hydraulics there are so many possibilities from construction vehicles to equipment using hydraulics. I am more interest in the vehicle use of hydraulics though. I am also interested in vehicle modifications, especially those that make people's lives better. I have a younger sister that is disabled and will need vehicle modifications to allow her to drive. She has a physical disability but mentally she will be able to drive given the right modifications. Without technicians that can do this work she would not be able to have the basic independence of driving herself. There are many in society that need these specialized accommodations and modifications. The future has a lot of possibilities and new technologies are developed all the time. Self-driving cars may be an area that I get into and help to advance or even maybe flying cars one day. I think the industry and career trade I have chosen will set me on the right path for various future pursuits that I have a passion for and enjoy.