I have always been someone with a heart to listen. I think being the middle child of five is to thank for that. My dad was also a middle child and we bonded over our ability to listen, understand, and mediate between our family members, while simultaneously being in the background of life. Growing up I always knew I wanted my career to emphasize helping people, I just did not know where my place was yet. During my first year of college, I began working in a Physical Therapy clinic. I loved to help people get their strength back and find confidence again. After about a year I found that personal training was the next step for me. I got a job at LA Fitness and I was beyond happy helping my clients. I have always been an active person so this career path seemed perfect for me. I started playing volleyball when I was eight years old and by the time I was sixteen, I was playing on the Varsity team. My dad and I would always train and work out together, he was the core reason I loved fitness. While working at LA Fitness, I finally felt I was on the right path. I was creating workout plans, making connections, and most importantly to me; I felt I was truly helping people. But that is when my life changed forever. On May 11th, of 2024 I lost my dad to a hit-and-run driver while he was out cycling. After that, I could no longer bear working in the fitness industry. I had to completely stop working and grasp the grief I was faced with. As a Christian, I have an understanding that my dad is now in a better place. He used to say that he felt closest to God when he was cycling. But grief is still heavy and it stays with you forever. I began attending grief counseling about six months after losing my dad. In my first session with my counselor, she told me I would make a great counselor. I was confused by her comment because I was so lost at this point in my life. I just wanted her to fix my problems and move on. As I look back at this moment I knew my heart was simply too blind to see that God had already set me on a path. After several sessions with my counselor she told me something that completely opened my eyes, she said “I am the GPS, you are the driver. I can’t move for you, I just show you a better way when you can't see it yourself.” That is when I knew I needed to become a counselor just like her. My greatest desire is to help people. I want to use what the world meant for evil in my life as what God meant for good. The loss of my dad is not the end of my love for helping people, but it is the fire that started the burning in my heart to help those who are grieving. My favorite verse in the Bible has always been John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” I have kept this verse close to my heart but I never understood why it was my favorite until I lost my dad. I now know it is because I too was made to weep with those who weep. Ultimately, my goal is to honor God with everything I do and show others that despite facing the greatest grief there is even greater joy waiting for them.

The person whose story changed mine was my dad. For a few years of his life, he lived homeless in California. He used to tell me stories of him panhandling and eating a meal a day if he could afford it. Growing up, my dad always had a heart for the homeless. He would always put together “homeless bags” filled with essentials: socks, toothbrushes, water, first-aid supplies, and snacks. He taught me how to listen and talk to those in need. In 2024, my dad was tragically hit and killed by a hit-and-run driver while he was cycling. The driver’s excuse for not stopping was that he thought he had hit a homeless person. This excuse broke my heart in so many ways. My father was an amazing man who stopped to help every homeless person he saw. Those who are homeless are valuable people who deserve to be loved, cared for, and stopped for. Now it is my duty to put “homeless bags” together in honor of my dad. Too often do I see homeless people being ignored and alone in my community. I think it is an honor to help those in need. Right now, all I can do is make bags to hand out, but I desire so deeply to do more. I want to be financially able to feed, clothe, and even house the homeless. In honor of my dad, I am becoming a grief counselor to support those who are grieving and in need. When I graduate, I want to use my resources to help the homeless. I would love to start a nonprofit that reaches people experiencing homelessness throughout my community in Fort Worth, Texas. I am excited to see where God leads me and how he uses me to give back Attached is a picture I found after my dad passed away. His mom had made a book full of pictures through his life. This picture is him finally returning home to Texas and his parents welcoming him back with open arms. Seeing him with a beard and a ponytail always makes me laugh.

The Jim Maxwell Memorial Scholarship uniquely encourages students to share their faith in God. Receiving this scholarship would let me pursue my calling to grief counseling without financial strain on my husband and I. I want to faithfully follow where Christ is leading me. I have been a Christian my entire life. I always thought I had a strong faith, but on May 11th, 2024, I faced the greatest challenge of my life. I lost my father tragically to a hit-and-run driver, while he was cycling. My father was an avid cyclist and always said he felt closest to God when he rode. The moment I found out he had been killed, my entire life felt like it shattered. He was my best friend, my protection, and my spiritual leader. Despite facing such a great evil, I never lost faith in God. Since losing my father, my faith has only grown. I saw the deepest grief and trauma in myself and my family. In the weeks after my father’s death, I had to feed my mother because she couldn’t feed herself. Those nights broke my heart. She was so broken, she doubted God, and was extremely angry with him. There were many times that I felt the Holy Spirit speak through me to my mother—an experience I had never had before. In those dark moments, I know God used me to comfort both her and myself. When my father was hit, he was left on the side of the road. Tall weeds grew all along the side of that road; they reached nearly four feet tall. But the one patch where my dad lay grew beautiful purple flowers. Of all of the spots on this road, he lay in the flowers. A month later, my mother told me a story. A few months before my father died, she was discussing what to plant in her garden with him. My father had told her that the purple flowers she chose were beautiful and that he had never seen them before. Those very flowers that he laid in when he died were now growing all over my mother’s garden. They bloomed tall and bright. Her garden overflowed with them; they engulfed every other flower she had planted. That was the first miracle I had ever seen. In that moment, I knew God was with us and that my father was resting with him in Heaven. Evil will never overcome the Goodness and the Glory of God. Because of the tragedy of losing my father, I began attending grief counseling. I had never been to therapy before, and I was quite nervous. In my second session with my therapist, she told me I would make a wonderful counselor. I was greatly upset by this. I did not want to hear that; I wanted my grief to be fixed by her, not to find a job. But I kept going back. Slowly, my heart softened, and it felt like scales had fallen from my eyes. One day, she described her job to me, saying, “I am the GPS, you are the driver. I can’t fix anyone’s grief, my job is just to sit with them in it.” My favorite verse in the Bible has always been, “Jesus wept” John 11:35. Christ sits by us in our grief. I am called to do the same. I want to become a grief counselor to honor my father and use what the enemy meant for evil in my life to share the Goodness of God.

My life changed forever on May 11, 2024. Early that morning, I got a call from my mom to come home. When I arrived, I found my mom and siblings outside, weeping. My dad had gone cycling that morning and was found on the side of the road. He was hit by a hit-and-run driver and was pronounced dead on the scene. Never in my life could I have imagined a more horrific thing to happen to my sweet father. My family was shattered. We could hardly believe the reality we were facing. The challenges we would have to overcome, the grief we had to bear, and the trauma that would follow. My dad was the sole provider for my family, supporting my stay-at-home mom and siblings for 25 years. I am the middle of five children and lost my dad when I was just 19 years old. My dad was my best friend. Every single seat at his funeral was taken. He was deeply loved by his family, cycling group, coworkers, bosses, church, and friends. His intelligence and creativity blew the minds of everyone he met. August 14th, 2025, over a year after he was killed, the man who killed him was sentenced to 15 years in prison. My family and I, through the heaviest grief, fought for justice for my dad. The day of the trial was the hardest day since losing my dad. The weight of being in the same room as the man who killed my father crushed me. My dad always protected me from all the evil of this world, but now I was faced with it head-on. My dad always had an unwavering faith; nothing could weaken it. My prayer is that one day the man who killed my dad can experience the freedom found in Jesus. I know my dad would have that same prayer. Despite only getting 19 short years with my dad, I hope to imitate him closely for the rest of my life. His curiosity, drive, love, intelligence, and strength, I hope to reflect it all. He supported me and was deeply interested in all of my hobbies and career. Before he died, I had become a personal trainer, something I had worked towards for years, and he had been right beside me throughout. I couldn’t bear returning to that career since I lost him. But I know, despite the many challenges of life, God has a good plan. After losing my dad, I began attending grief therapy. I had never been to therapy, and I was certain it was a waste of my time. I thought, “It won’t bring my dad back, so what’s the point?” But I was mistaken, it did help. It didn’t bring him back, but it opened my eyes. I was able to open up about my grief. My therapist pointed me back to God when I couldn’t find him. She listened, and so did I. Early on, she told me that I should consider becoming a counselor. One day, she said, “I can’t fix anyone’s grief; my job is just to sit with them through it. I am the GPS, you are the driver.” From that moment on, I knew this was where God wanted me. I know the grief and I have a heart to listen and sit alongside those grieving. My dad would be beyond proud to see me pursuing my degree in counseling. My deepest desire is to live a life honoring my dad’s life and using his story to uplift the broken-hearted.

My life changed forever on May 11, 2024. Early that morning, I got a call from my mom to come home. When I arrived, I found my mom and siblings outside, weeping. My dad had gone cycling that morning and was found on the side of the road. He was hit by a hit-and-run driver and was pronounced dead on the scene. Never in my life could I have imagined a more horrific thing to happen to my sweet father. My family was shattered. We could hardly believe the reality we were facing. The challenges we would have to overcome, the grief we had to bear, and the trauma that would follow. My dad was the sole provider for my family, supporting my stay-at-home mom and siblings for 25 years. I am the middle of five children and lost my dad when I was just 19 years old. My dad was my best friend. Every single seat at his funeral was taken. He was deeply loved by his family, cycling group, coworkers, bosses, church, and friends. His intelligence and creativity blew the minds of everyone he met. August 14th, 2025, over a year after he was killed, the man who killed him was sentenced to 15 years in prison. My family and I, through the heaviest grief, fought for justice for my dad. The day of the trial was the hardest day since losing my dad. The weight of being in the same room as the man who killed my father crushed me. My dad always protected me from all the evil of this world, but now I was faced with it head-on. My dad always had an unwavering faith; nothing could weaken it. My prayer is that one day the man who killed my dad can experience the freedom found in Jesus. I know my dad would have that same prayer. Despite only getting 19 short years with my dad, I hope to imitate him closely for the rest of my life. His curiosity, drive, love, intelligence, and strength, I hope to reflect it all. He supported me and was deeply interested in all of my hobbies and career. Before he died, I had become a personal trainer, something I had worked towards for years, and he had been right beside me throughout. I couldn’t bear returning to that career since I lost him. But I know, despite the many challenges of life, God has a good plan. After losing my dad, I began attending grief therapy. I had never been to therapy, and I was certain it was a waste of my time. I thought, “It won’t bring my dad back, so what’s the point?” But I was mistaken, it did help. It didn’t bring him back, but it opened my eyes. I was able to open up about my grief. My therapist pointed me back to God when I couldn’t find him. She listened, and so did I. Early on, she told me that I should consider becoming a counselor. One day, she said, “I can’t fix anyone’s grief; my job is just to sit with them through it. I am the GPS, you are the driver.” From that moment on, I knew this was where God wanted me. I know the grief and I have a heart to listen and sit alongside those grieving. My dad would be beyond proud to see me pursuing my degree in counseling. My deepest desire is to live a life honoring my dad’s life and using his story to uplift the broken-hearted.