When God gets ahold of you, nothing in the world could tear you away from what He's made apparent to you. I was at a church camp, talking to a chaperone when I first recognized that God might be calling me to a ministerial lifestyle. She had asked me the question, "What do you want to do with your life?" It came to mind as an afterthought, as something I had considered when I was a younger, newer Christian. My first response to her had been something along the line of linguistics. I was a high school student at the time. These were serious considerations I had put a lot of thought into. However, after my grand discussion of my life plans, she asked, "Is there anything else?" "Missions", I had to tell her. I blurted it out, almost like it was not my own thought. Truly, I do not think it was. I told that chaperone that only a slap in the face from God would get me to pursue missions. In that week at camp, a slap in the face He gave me indeed. I returned home with a very confusing calling in my heart and soul. I knew nothing of missions, outside of the Operation Christmas Child I'd partook in volunteering for previously, or the International Mission Board (IMB) dealings we learned about at camp. Over the next few years, as I finished high school, my career path turned on its head. Plans were thrown out the window, and I entered my senior year with zero clue about college, my career path, or anything else. All I knew was that my call, and passion for being on the mission field grew exponentially each day. I was given the opportunity to take part in street evangelism, volunteered in everything I could at any church that would take me, and even went out and helped clean up yards around my community with Project 516, a local Christian organization. I uncovered a passion for the mission field, and an intimate understanding that the mission field is not just an overseas tribe of lost people, but the very community we interact with each day. Nevertheless, I felt my heartstrings tugged strongly in the direction of the world outside of my country. I cannot describe it, but I know within my soul that God has it for me to follow Him overseas one day. My next step is completing my theology and teaching degree at Lee University. God has not yet revealed to me what exactly I will do immediately following my graduation, but I would like to work with a missions board like the IMB, or the one connected to Lee, Church of God World Missions. My desired outcome is far more important. I want to graduate school with the knowledge and the training to be an effective missionary on the field. I want to be able to spread the Gospel with confidence, and with the wisdom of missionaries that came before me. My major not only prepares me for missions, but also as a teacher of English as a foreign language. I want to be able to teach with the love and authority of Christ. I want my students to feel His love through my teaching, and I want to be able to be an effective teacher of both the Word and English wherever I go. My desired outcome is to be the best, most educated agent for the Lord as I can be.

I am a student who admires Kalia's life and legacy. The kind of drive that propels you forward into sports, higher education, and eventually the military is one not commonly found. In reading about her involvements and life plans, it is clear to see that she was a person with an incredible amount of ambition, but still humbled herself and stayed grounded with her family. That is not an easy thing to do. One thing Kalia and I have in common is our involvement in community alongside academic excellence. I was a straight-A student in high school, and continue to work hard to be so in university. Like Kalia, I hold an on-campus job as a teacher's assistant (TA), while also being involved as a volunteer teacher for my university's adult English as a second language (ESL) program. One of the things I have been commended on is my strong work ethic. This past semester, I was even awarded the teaching English as a second language (TESOL) goat - who is our mascot - for my dedication to the program. They even mentioned the time I came to teach while I was still concussed! Something I had to laugh at when reading about Kalia's life was that she used to dance with her niece, Aubrey. If we had ever had the chance to meet, I believe that is something she and I would have shared fond memories over. I have two little cousins, Kaylee and Katelyn, whom I have been very lucky to have grown up close to. I would visit them every year in the summer, and we would spend our days swimming in the pool at my aunt and uncle's house, or dancing away inside. The game Just Dance was our favorite. We would all dress up in funny costumes and dance the day away. Another thing Kalia and I have in common is our commitment to our sport. I actually used to run track! It was a wonderful window into the world of sports that I am incredibly grateful to have had. However, soon after my first track season, I discovered judo. Running track taught me the hard work and determination that it takes to keep putting one foot in front of the other no matter what, but judo taught me how to put one foot in front of the other with more intention and forethought than I'd ever known before. In sparring with my fellow judokas, I learned the complex relationship of good sportsmanship and competition. In my first few days on the mat, I found the strength to push myself beyond my physical limit, farther than I had in track. Looking back on my sports experience, I see Kalia's sheer determination for track. I see the level of dedication it must have taken to get a full-ride scholarship. Unfortunately, judo is not a sport I could have gotten a scholarship for, so I do not know what it must have taken to get there, but reflecting on my judo experience, and what it took for me to climb the belt ranks alone, I can see how dedicated and ambitious she was to have gotten there. Earning this scholarship would be an incredible honor. It would not only mean I would have to go into less financial debt in my future in order to finish college, but it would also mean I had been bestowed the honor of carrying on Kalia's legacy and the memory of her determination, dedication, humility, and love for her community, family, and sport with me as I complete my education.

As a gifted student, I always had drive. I had this deep, intense drive to do more, do better, learn more, and reach higher. However, I did not know what more to do, what to learn about, or where to reach. I often asked myself the question, "Where am I going?" I had this excitement to keep learning, but I never knew what to learn about. The things that I thought I was interested in seemed terribly boring after a while. Ultimately, I felt like I had no purpose. When faith entered my life, so did everything I was missing; direction, purpose, passion. When I began to take an active role in my faith, trusting in God and learning more about the Word, I began to see clearly where I was going. I had a direction I had never even dreamed of before. I saw myself as a teacher, but more than that, I saw myself as a missionary, teaching the Gospel to communities around the world. Faith plays the role of purpose and direction in my life. My faith in God is what drives me forward. It has driven me to study and find passion for things I never thought of before. It has driven me to realize that I can do something that I love, which is to teach English, even with the call God has given me to the mission field. My faith has shown me that I can do the things that I love, and it has revealed to me a deep-seated love for things I never thought I could. After accepting my call to missions, I all but gave up on higher education. I figured I did not need it. If I was called to spread the Gospel, what education would I even need? Still, my parents encouraged me to go. More education means more effectiveness. When I found out that in order to become a long term missionary, a degree was often required, I gave in. I thought that the only reason I was pursuing education was to satisfy a requirement for the job God called me to. I never imagined it could be anything more. My major includes training both as a missionary and as a teacher of English as a second language. I had always loved languages, so I figured it would be a good major to pursue something I enjoyed and could use on the field. Now, after having taken a few linguistics classes and a few theology classes, I realize that what really pushes me to pursue higher education is passion. A passion that has only been instilled within me by faith, for both missions and teaching. I love these two things more than I could ever express, and getting to put them into action one day excites me more than anything. I truly, deeply love missions - a field I was pushed to by faith - and teaching English as a second language (TESOL) - a field I gravitated towards because of my passion for language. In the end, I wouldn't have either of these things without my faith. I would not have discovered my true depth of love for being an educator, or for the world of Christian mission without faith. Without faith, I would not be in college, or even on the perfect path for my life.

When I graduate with a college degree, I hope to accomplish two things. The first, and most important thing for me to accomplish, is to spread the Gospel as far and as wide across the globe as I can. I hope to cast a ray of hope for the hopeless by the name of Jesus Christ. I hope to shine His light as far into the corners of darkness as I possibly can. I hope to do whatever I can to be able to follow the calling to the mission field that God has placed on my heart. The second thing that I hope to accomplish is to contribute a great deal of research to the world of teaching English as a second language (TESOL). As I understand it now, there is very little research done in the field of TESOL for teachers in the United States to be able to follow a curriculum that has been tested and heavily researched upon. Teachers, especially of adult English as a second language (ESL) classrooms, have to rely on their own expertise, and curricula that has not been nearly as researched as it could be. I hope to contribute as much as I can to putting an end to that problem. In my career, I aspire to be a teacher that reflects only Christ. I want to be an empathetic and understanding, but structured and firm teacher. Although I won't always be teaching about the Gospel, I want to emulate Christ in the way that I teach. I want to look to Jesus' ministry, and be a teacher like Him. I want to be a teacher that encourages curiosity and sparks interest. I want to be a teacher who teaches her students how to think for themselves, and see through what is wrong and deceitful. I want to teach my students to grow. I don't want them to just grow as people, but also as communicators and linguists. I want them to grow as individuals, and I want them to see the love within me that Christ has given me. Even if I don't get the chance to plainly share Christ with them, I want them to be able to see that something is different without me having to say anything. I want to teach my students to grow in such a way that they begin to question and explore on their own, just the way that Jesus taught his disciples to grow through questioning the world around them as well. Receiving this scholarship would allow me to continue my training, both as a missionary and as an ESL teacher. It will allow me to get the hands on training that my school provides me both on the field and in the classroom. It will allow me to continue at my school, teaching in a real ESL classroom as I learn, and sending me into the community, to a mission field we often ignore, to gain more experience as an agent of the Gospel. This scholarship will allow me to continue gaining education in a place that is set apart, so that I can achieve my goals in leading a classroom that is set apart. I will have the confidence in knowing that I was well prepared not just for the classroom in another country, but also the mission field in another country. My future plans are to finish my college education, then go out into the world as an English teacher. I am not sure what country I will find myself in yet, but I do know that I have specifically been called to North Africa and the Middle East. I plan to aim for one of the countries in that region, and to follow the direction God gives me in both teaching English, and planting churches there. I want to work earnestly in building relationships with the people and students there, reflecting the values of Christ, and showing His love before I can even speak about it. I want to spend as much time as I possibly can there before I come home to teach English in the United States. After coming home to the United States, I want to use what I have learned in teaching English across the world to build a thoroughly researched, well developed ESL curriculum that can be used across the board by teachers. I want to develop a better way of teaching ESL that helps both students and teachers to be able to get the most out of their classroom. I want to help in standardizing TESOL, so that teachers of adult students or otherwise don't have to constantly change and build their own curriculum. By allowing me to complete my training as a missionary and a teacher, this scholarship will help me to be able to have the time to research and spend extra time learning more about the world of missions and TESOL. It will allow me to continue on in my research and hands on learning. It will allow me to have the time to utilize the research resources that are available to me while I am in school to begin making strides towards my future goals. It will allow me to continue spending time in my community around my school, impacting my local mission field before I move on to the global stage. It will also allow me to do the research necessary for building an ESL curriculum, while still being able to teach and learn in real time. Most of all, this scholarship will help me to be able to continue growing in my faith as I move through college. By spending time in a school that places a great deal of importance on the spiritual life of its students, my professors are able to pour into my faith a great deal more than professors at other schools may be. By spending time researching with and learning from them, my faith is supported and uplifted. I am able to listen to their advice and learn from their wisdom that comes from experience. Their investment in me as a student allows me to be able to carry their words of wisdom with me as I strive towards the things I hope to accomplish. Their support helps me to be able to continue down my path confidently, and will allow me to be able to look back to their wisdom and suggestion later on in my life, when I need it the most. Through this scholarship helping me to continue my education, I will be able to utilize the people God has placed in my path in this place to propel me and my faith farther than I could even imagine in writing this essay.

I was very lucky to have a mother who raised me to seek the Lord. Unfortunately, my early life was dominated by fear and anger at the hands of her ex-husband, my biological father. Circumstance drove me away from trusting in the Lord, and into the hands of worldly things. I often felt like I was empty and purposeless. I would lie on my floor at night crying out to the high heavens for something, anything more than the meaningless and painful life I felt like I was living. Above all, I was angry at God for putting my little sister and I in a situation where we were abused by our biological father with nothing any one of us could reasonably do about it. The night I came to really know Jesus, I was at a church camp. I had gone to church camps my whole life, so I knew the drill. Run around and exhaust yourself all day, then come to worship at night just to break down and have a "spiritual breakthrough". I was tired of the whole charade. However, this year, I had been paying attention to the people around me. The students who exuded a happiness, a lightness that caught my attention. It was something I wanted. I wanted to be rid of my burden and hatred for the world around me, and be able to be happy like the people around me were. I don't remember what exactly he said, but something the camp pastor spoke about that night really hit me, and I was paying extra special attention to the people around me. What was it that they had that I didn't? I thought it was a happy home life, but I had heard stories from others that week enough to know that that wasn't necessarily the case. In singing a song I'd known almost my entire life, I really heard the words for the first time. "It's Your breath in our lungs," we all sang. I knew this song like the back of my hand, but this time I realized that it was exactly the case. For the first time, I really understood that it was the Lord's breath in our lungs, and it was the Lord I needed to become light like the people around me. It was that night I called out to the Lord and asked for Him to come into my life and save me from my misery. I felt the anger and hatred lift from me immediately, I felt light, and like my vision was suddenly crystal clear. Jesus swooped in and gave me exactly what I had been looking for. I still had a long journey out of hatred, and many of the worldly things that plagued me at the time, but I knew from then on that I was covered. Over time, things became easier and more clear to me. The more mature I grow in my faith, the more I understand myself and the world around me and am able to let go of the things that stop me from being able to love the people around me. Since the moment I accepted Christ, I've heard His call for me to go to the mission field. I accepted it a few years later, and along with a better spiritual understanding of my own passions, God has placed me in the perfect place for me, with the perfect career path for the kind of person I am. I am studying to be both a missionary and a teacher of English as a second language. I want to be able to go into all the corners of the world that God sends me, and to bring the Gospel, and the wonders of language and cross-cultural communication with me. I want to one day be able to live up to some of the things missionaries of the past have done, by doing translation work alongside spreading the Gospel. Receiving this scholarship would allow me to stay in university, where I am learning how to be both an effective missionary and teacher of English. This scholarship would help me to continue learning to teach English piece by piece, in a university that provides me the opportunity to put what I am learning into practice in an adult English as a second language (ESL) classroom, and that simultaneously allows me to prepare for the mission field by teaching me more about theology and the methods of successful missionaries of the past. I get to learn from people who spent real time on the mission field, and real time in ESL classrooms, and am encouraged to continue building on my education myself by spending my own time in the community and at the head of a classroom. My future plans are to spend as much time as possible in the different communities around the world that I find myself in nurturing linguistic curiosity in students, encouraging them to learn how to communicate with others in different ways. That is my passion. More importantly than that, however, I plan to present faith to each and every one of those students in whatever way I can. Whether I find myself in a country where I need to hide in order to continue spreading the Gospel, or a country where I can do it freely, I will follow the path my Lord has set before me and do my absolute best to follow His voice and direction in spreading His word to the world. Roughly a year ago now, I was given a small piece of clarity for my future by the Holy Spirit. I had spent years asking God where He wanted me to go, and He finally set my sights on North Africa and the Middle East. It would be a lie to say that I am not scared to go here after I graduate college, but I am doing my best to prepare myself to be in such a place. I spend each day in my classes thinking about how to best apply what I am being taught to places like this, where the Gospel is a dangerous thing. I take care to remember the stories I am told and that I research of the Holy Spirit moving powerfully in these places. This scholarship would allow me to continue in university, and would allow me to get the fullest level of education to support my future endeavors. By allowing me to continue at Lee University, this scholarship would allow me to be as prepared as possible to be able to spread the Word in one of the most dangerous places in the world to do so. This scholarship will help me to be an effective English teacher in that part of the world, teaching young children to be curious for themselves, and to think for themselves as communicators, and members of their society. This scholarship will allow me to provide for students a helping hand that I was not given when I was in misery as a student. I will be able to have the training and confidence to reach out to children that are broken and hurting, and for the sake of the Lord, be able to do something about it, even if that is just showing them the light of the Lord.

In order to save up enough money to pay for university, I worked full time throughout my senior year of high school. I was a restaurant employee who had a number of different jobs I performed in the restaurant. I did everything from hosting and bussing tables to food running and running takeaway. One of the first things you learn about restaurant life when you work there, are the biggest days of the year. For our location, that was Mother's Day, and Valentine's Day. The first time I worked Valentine's Day, I had only recently been trained in a very specialized position. I was in charge of handling all of the takeaway orders coming out of the kitchen. It also meant, I was the first person the takeaway team looked to when there was something wrong or it needed help. I felt drastically out of my league. If there is one thing my parents raised me with, it is the value of hard work. It is something I always took with me into my professional work. I try my best to demonstrate confidence and put my all into everything I do. This Valentine's Day was no different. The volume we faced that day was like nothing else. In the kitchen, I often felt as if I were working at lighting speed to package orders, and although I had someone to help me, a moment of rest was hard to come by. Our front team, handling the distribution and placing of orders was also struggling to keep up. We had two members of the team who were recent hires, and although I had placed them in charge of things they were confident with, they still struggled. Even though I was almost completely swamped with orders, I was able to offer struggling members of the team a moment of help when they needed, and I made sure to keep others in the loop, so that they could help our newer members as well. For that day, we recorded the highest number of takeaway sales that that restaurant has ever done. Our team had the lowest ratio of complaints and mistakes in the history of that location, and the day ended with a resounding success. That Valentine's Day, I built the team around each person's strength. Members that excelled in customer service and complaints were in charge of taking phone calls. Members that were detail oriented and logical were in charge of double checking each order's items. The list goes on. Part of being a leader, however, is taking time for the little things, and being confident in your own work. I was confident in my ability to handle orders coming out of the kitchen, even when things were building up. Because of that, I was able to take moments here and there for members that were struggling and didn't know what to do. And over all, I put all of my effort into the day. I plan to use these leadership skills to the best of my ability in my future as an English teacher to students who don't speak English. I will play to each student's strengths, using hands on activities for the kinesthetic learners, and reading exercises for the reading learners. I will take time for students' concerns and struggles, and with my confidence in the English language and teaching the English language that I will gain through my education, I will address each one to the best of my ability. Most of all, I will put all of my effort into each student I have the joy of teaching.

All my life, I've seen how financial need bars us from opportunity. My own mother was unable to finish college because of her limited finances. She spent much of my early life working 3+ jobs at a time just to keep my younger sister and I afloat. We grew up in my grandparents' household, and even after she married my adoptive father, we didn't see our first house until I was almost 12 years old. My mother's first and most dearly held passion was dance. In my early life, one of her jobs that she kept until we inevitably had to move after her marriage was that of a dance teacher. It was the only job she truly enjoyed. She had me enrolled in other classes so that she could keep me nearby while she taught (something that only lasted until I was old enough to stay home alone due to financial reasons. One year, I was placed in her class. As her daughter, watching my mother teach a dance class instilled something in me that I will never forget. The deep-seated desire to do something with my life that I truly loved, like she loved dance. Not only that, but I wanted to be a source of support for others, like she was to her students. She was a teacher that commanded respect, not because she wanted it, but because the way she taught her students - with empathy, respect, and passion - earned it. Growing up, I quickly learned that one of my unique talents is language acquisition. Not only can I pick up foreign languages with ease, I can also teach them effectively to others. Some of the languages I've studied in my free time include German, Korean, Egyptian Arabic, American Sign Language, Mandarin, and several others. I've been able to become very skilled in the usage of German and Korean in particular. Some of my friends have stuck with me long enough to become conversational in German and Korean through my studies and teaching to them. I chose a major that included Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language (TESOL), which will prepare me to be able to teach English in any classroom full of students who know nothing of the English language. Through this program, I've already been given the opportunity to teach a classroom of adult English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. Students came from Spanish, French, Arabic, and Ukrainian speaking backgrounds. With the lessons of my mother's teaching in mind, I use my passion for language acquisition and a global mindset to create a classroom that is a comfortable, conducive learning environment. I want to always remember that students come from a variety of backgrounds, and a variety of cultures. I want to see how the English language, once a roadblock for many students, can become a form of connection between people. In the limited TESOL experience I already have, I've seen how students from two completely different parts of the world can use English to become good friends and support systems for each other. I believe there is no greater joy than in seeing how language can bind us together as a global community. I will use my talents for teaching and language to give others the opportunity to use the language I teach them to bond with one another. It doesn't matter if my students are from all different corners of the world. If the English I teach them, and the respect I have for them as people can bring them together, then I consider that a job well done.

Growing up on the seesaw between parents puts an interesting twist on the ideas of "adversity". During the time I spent with one parent, I would be told things like, "It's not something that will make you enough money. You'll never be happy." During my time with the other parent, I would be told that I could do anything, but only if I made good enough grades in school. As I grew older, I realized some dark truths about one side of the situation, and watching the parent I was with most of the time get remarried only brought out the nastier side of the other parent. The other parent began to treat my younger sibling and I worse and worse, until we were all trapped in a years-long legal battle over custody of my sibling and I. This legal battle lasted, and all of the court records date back to about ten years. Many kids who grow up in proper households stay in one location for a long time. A lot of friends I met growing up, and recently in high school thought of school bullies or drama with their significant others to be their greatest source of "adversity". I certainly had my own run-ins with the typical school experience. In middle and high school, I was bullied. In high school, I had to console my best friend while he went through a messy break-up. Despite these things, I never really considered them "adversity". Once the adoption went through, I discovered a whole new set of problems. Were most kids really ashamed of being adopted? Why was a name change so difficult? Much of my early life revolves totally around my family situation, and the things I did as a result of such. However, a lot of that spilled into my school life as well. There were many days when I was unable to concentrate on schoolwork, and when I just felt so far away from the world that I felt no one could pull me back. I didn't know what I was, who I was, or even where I was going many days. Looking back upon that time now, I see how my teachers responded to my condition. I remember how many chose to look the other direction when I clearly was reaching out for help. I remember how when I did speak to teachers, I was often told one thing while something else entirely was done. But I also remember the teachers who really did care. I remember the German teacher that taught me how to be passionate about the things I loved. I remember the English teacher that helped me learn to ground myself. I remember the school counselor who really did what she said she would when I came to her in tears. My career as a student has been deeply impacted by the adversity I faced outside of school walls, and deeply impacted by those teachers who really cared, and taught me things that I would absolutely take beyond those ugly school walls. I realize now that adversity takes all kinds of forms, and really, everyone goes through adversity in different ways in their lives. Because of those teachers, I plan to go to college in order to become a teacher who can take my lessons beyond just this country, and beyond school walls. I want to impact the lives of kids like me who really just need someone to have their backs while they face their own forms of adversity.