Looking back on my journey, I see how the theme "Start Small, Dream Big" has defined every step of my path. What began as a casual conversation and a spark of curiosity has grown into my new role as managing partner of The Ridge Event Venue. I have always been passionate about business, but more than that, I am driven by the opportunity to create a place where people celebrate love, milestones, and memories that last a lifetime. The Ridge was never just about constructing a venue; it was about building something from the ground up that reflects my vision, hard work, and purpose. Starting small taught me patience, discipline, and the value of believing in an idea long before others can see its potential. My first step was having faith in myself when the vision existed only in my heart and mind. I had to trust my instincts, commit to the vision, and silence the doubt that often follows ambitious dreams. This vision pushes me every day to step outside my comfort zone, to take risks even when I am unsure, and to lean on mentors in this profession. Dreaming big is what turned a simple idea into something real in my life, and it reminds me that this journey is not just about building a business, but about building purpose, creating a lasting impact, and proving to myself that believing in my own potential can change my future. Balancing the launch of this venture while completing my education has been both challenging and deeply rewarding. Throughout my business courses, I have applied my classroom assignments into real world applications by developing business plans, marketing strategies, and financial strategies directly for The Ridge. The Entrepreneur program at UNCG impacted the early growth of my company. I consider myself a nontraditional student, having earned my Associate in Arts degree before graduating high school and then completing my degree at UNCG in just a year and a half. My educational journey has been intentional, accelerated, and focused on preparing me to lead, innovate, and build something meaningful. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities I have been given, yet I know that the most important work is still ahead. This scholarship would not only help relieve the financial burden that accompanies both higher education and entrepreneurship, but it would also serve as an investment in a vision that is actively taking shape. I am fully committed to the success of this venture to impact others in my community. This scholarship represents belief in students who dare to dream big, who work relentlessly to turn ideas into reality, and who strive to make a lasting difference in their communities.

Dreams of having an impact on people seem to explain why I want to be an entrepreneur. My dad is an entrepreneur and I have grown up wanting to build something from scratch and see the vision of my company come to light. I want to own my own wedding venue and event center. I am in the process of working with a civil engineer and general contractor to start building on land we have purchased. It is so exciting to have this opportunity and I can't wait to start making a difference in someone's wedding or event. I want to provide an atmosphere of joy and spread that to whoever I get to work with in the future. I believe that everything I have experienced in my education journey has impacted my educational and personal growth. I have been very open to trying new things, developing leadership skills and staying active in extracurricular activities while exceeding my expectations in academics. Without these opportunities offered to me in the education system, I feel like I would not be where I am today. In my junior year, I was offered to take the Career and College Promise program and take college classes through Oak Grove High School. The Career and College Promise program at Davidson Davie Community College has allowed me to excel in academics as well as participate actively in my high school clubs, and extracurricular activities, volunteer and be active in sports. I was able to graduate high school and college with a AA degree to jump-start getting my BS degree in Entrepreneurship beginning in August. I am very driven and motivated to work toward this career goal. Over the past few years, I have increased my leadership skills by coaching and teaching swim lessons. Swim is a passion of mine and I feel blessed to be able to share those life skills with others. I work with a range of people from 10 months to my oldest swimmer 60 years old. It has been a rewarding experience to get to see the growth in their skills and I hope I have made an impact in their life as they have mine. I have gained so much from this opportunity including communication, organization in scheduling, working with kids and teaching. My career goal is to own an event venue shortly. Growing up, I watched my dad build a successful business and I have those same aspirations. My event venue will service corporate events, weddings, parties, and other events, and eventually have unique overnight accommodations. I feel like the Entrepreneurship degree will help me learn business fundamentals for me to be successful. I am very driven and motivated to work toward this career goal. I have big dreams that I will be working towards and this scholarship would give me the financial means to support my academic goals!

I believe that everything I have experienced in my education journey has impacted my educational and personal growth. I have been very open to trying new things, developing leadership skills and staying active in extracurricular activities while exceeding my expectations in academics. Without these opportunities offered to me in the education system, I feel like I would not be where I am today. I decided to take the Career and College Promise program through Oak Grove High School. I graduated in May 2023 with my Associates in Arts degree prior to graduating from high school. I was able to transfer my AA degree to UNCG majoring in Entrepreneurship. The CCP program at Davidson Davie Community College has given me the opportunity to excel in academics as well as participate actively in my high school in clubs, volunteer opportunities, extracurricular activities and sports. I have enjoyed giving back to my community by volunteering at a Nursing home, being a volunteer Cotillion assistant and summer swim coach as well as serving at Operation Christmas Child. It is my hope that other students get to benefit from these opportunities. My career goal is to own an event venue in the near future. Growing up, I have watched my dad build a successful business and I have those same aspirations. My event venue will service corporate events, weddings, parties, other events, and eventually have unique overnight accommodations. This month we are seeking full zoning approvals to start my venture. I am very driven and motivated to work toward this career goal. Coaching, volunteering, being a captain in sports, and working as a Cotillion assistant have all been instrumental in enhancing my leadership skills. I feel like this degree will help me expand on those learning opportunities and give me the skills needed to become a successful Entrepreneur. I have worked extremely hard in high school aligning my classes and college courses to be ready to start the Entrepreneurship program Fall semester of 2023. My teachers and coaches invested in my growth as a person inside and outside of the classroom. Over the past few years, I have increased my leadership skills by coaching and teaching swim lessons. Swim is a passion of mine and I feel blessed to be able to share those life skills with others. I work with a range of people from 10 months to my oldest swimmer 60 years old. It has been a rewarding experience to get to see the growth in their skills and I hope I have made an impact in their life as they have mine. I have gained so much from this opportunity including communication, organization in scheduling, working with kids and teaching. What started out with a few kids then turned into my summer job. I learned that everyone is unique and learns in different ways. I gained so much from this experience and plan on continuing that this summer to stay actively involved in my community and impacting others. In the end, I feel like I was impacted by these experiences just as much as the kids I helped learn how to swim. In closing, I feel like exploring interests and growing using your strengths are essential to growth as a person. These opportunities while in high school has shaped me as a student and I feel like it will benefit me in years to come looking back at all the challenges and successes. Thank you for your consideration for this scholarship to help me achieve my future career goals!

I believe that everything I have experienced in my education journey has impacted my educational and personal growth. I have been very open to trying new things, developing leadership skills and staying active in extracurricular activities while exceeding my expectations in academics. Without these opportunities offered to me in the education system, I feel like I would not be where I am today. I decided to take the Career and College Promise program through Oak Grove High School. I graduated in May 2023 with my Associates in Arts degree prior to graduating from high school. I was able to transfer my AA degree to UNCG majoring in Entrepreneurship. The CCP program at Davidson Davie Community College has given me the opportunity to excel in academics as well as participate actively in my high school in clubs, volunteer opportunities, extracurricular activities and sports. I have enjoyed giving back to my community by volunteering at a Nursing home, being a volunteer Cotillion assistant and summer swim coach as well as serving at Operation Christmas Child. It is my hope that other students get to benefit from these opportunities to volunteer and serve our community. My career goal is to own an event venue in the near future. Growing up, I have watched my dad build a successful business and I have those same aspirations. My event venue will service corporate events, weddings, parties, other events, and eventually have unique overnight accommodations. I want to impact others and be a part of something bigger by making a difference serving my community. I feel like this degree will help me expand on those learning opportunities and give me the skills needed to become a successful Entrepreneur. I have worked extremely hard in high school aligning my classes and college courses to be ready to start the Entrepreneurship program Fall semester of 2023. I had some teachers and coaches that helped me overcome challenges, developed my leadership skills and personal growth. They invested in my growth as a person inside and outside of the classroom. Over the past few years, I have increased my leadership skills by coaching and teaching swim lessons. Swim is a passion of mine and I feel blessed to be able to share those life skills with others. I work with a range of people from 10 months to my oldest swimmer 60 years old. It has been a rewarding experience to get to see the growth in their skills and I hope I have made an impact in their life as they have mine. I have gained so much from this opportunity including communication, organization in scheduling, working with kids and teaching. What started out with a few kids then turned into my summer job. I learned that everyone is unique and learns in different ways. I gained so much from this experience and plan on continuing that this summer to stay actively involved in my community and impacting others. In the end, I feel like I was impacted by these experiences just as much as the kids I helped learn how to swim. In closing, I feel like exploring interests and growing using your strengths are essential to growth as a person. These opportunities while in high school has shaped me as a student and I feel like it will benefit me in years to come looking back at all the challenges and successes. Personally, I found a college that will help me reach my career goals. Thank you for your consideration for this scholarship to help me achieve my future goals at the UNCG!

I believe that everything I have experienced in my education journey has impacted my educational and personal growth. I have been very open to trying new things, developing leadership skills and staying active in extracurricular activities while exceeding my expectations in academics. Without these opportunities offered to me in the education system, I feel like I would not be where I am today. I decided to take the Career and College Promise program through Oak Grove High School. I graduated in May 2023 with my Associates in Arts degree prior to graduating from high school. I was able to transfer my AA degree to UNCG majoring in Entrepreneurship. The CCP program at Davidson Davie Community College has given me the opportunity to excel in academics as well as participate actively in my high school in clubs, volunteer opportunities, extracurricular activities and sports. I have enjoyed giving back to my community by volunteering at a Nursing home, being a volunteer Cotillion assistant and summer swim coach as well as serving at Operation Christmas Child. It is my hope that other students get to benefit from these opportunities. My career goal is to own an event venue in the near future. Growing up, I have watched my dad build a successful business and I have those same aspirations. My event venue will service corporate events, weddings, parties, other events, and eventually have unique overnight accommodations. This month we are seeking full zoning approvals to start my venture. I am very driven and motivated to work toward this career goal. I feel like this degree will help me expand on those learning opportunities and give me the skills needed to become a successful Entrepreneur. I have worked extremely hard in high school aligning my classes and college courses to be ready to start the Entrepreneurship program Fall semester of 2023. I had some teachers and coaches that helped me overcome challenges, developed my leadership skills and personal growth. They invested in my growth as a person inside and outside of the classroom. Over the past few years, I have increased my leadership skills by coaching and teaching swim lessons. Swim is a passion of mine and I feel blessed to be able to share those life skills with others. I work with a range of people from 10 months to my oldest swimmer 60 years old. It has been a rewarding experience to get to see the growth in their skills and I hope I have made an impact in their life as they have mine. I have gained so much from this opportunity including communication, organization in scheduling, working with kids and teaching. What started out with a few kids then turned into my summer job. I learned that everyone is unique and learns in different ways. I gained so much from this experience and plan on continuing that this summer to stay actively involved in my community and impacting others. In the end, I feel like I was impacted by these experiences just as much as the kids I helped learn how to swim. In closing, I feel like exploring interests and growing using your strengths are essential to growth as a person. These opportunities while in high school has shaped me as a student and I feel like it will benefit me in years to come looking back at all the challenges and successes. Personally, I found a college that will help me reach my career goals. Thank you for your consideration for this scholarship to help me achieve my future goals at the UNCG!

I believe that everything I have experienced in my education journey has impacted my educational and personal growth. I have been very open to trying new things, developing leadership skills and staying active in extracurricular activities while exceeding my expectations in academics. Without these opportunities offered to me in the education system, I feel like I would not be where I am today. In my junior year, I was offered to take the Career and College Promise program through Oak Grove High School. The college courses were in 8-week sessions so I was able to double up in my junior and senior years. I graduated in May 2023 before actually graduating from high school with my Associate in Arts 2-year degree that transferred to University of North Carolina-Greensboro where I began August 2023 majoring in Entrepreneurship. The Career and College Promise program at Davidson Davie Community College has allowed me to excel in academics as well as participate actively in my high school in clubs, extracurricular activities and sports. I hope that other students get to benefit from these opportunities and find out what their future holds for them. My career goal is to own an event venue in the near future. I have always wanted to be a business owner. Growing up, I watched my dad build a successful business and I have those same aspirations. I like the idea of building a business from the ground up. My event venue will service corporate events, weddings, parties, and other events, and eventually have unique overnight accommodations. Currently, I am in the process of purchasing land to start my venture. I feel like the Entrepreneurship degree will help me learn the business fundamentals for me to be successful. I am very driven and motivated to work toward this career goal. Over the past few years, I have increased my leadership skills by coaching and teaching swim lessons. Swim is a passion of mine and I feel blessed to be able to share those life skills with others. I work with a range of people from 10 months to my oldest swimmer 60 years old. It has been a rewarding experience to get to see the growth in their skills and I hope I have made an impact in their life as they have mine. I have gained so much from this opportunity including communication, organization in scheduling, working with kids and teaching. In the end, I feel like I was impacted by these experiences just as much as the kids I helped learn how to swim. I feel like this degree will help me expand on those learning opportunities and give me the skills needed to become a successful Entrepreneur. I have worked extremely hard in high school aligning my classes and college courses to start the Entrepreneurship program Fall semester of 2023. In the end, I feel like I was impacted by these experiences just as much as the kids I helped learn how to swim. Thank you for your consideration for this scholarship to help me achieve my future goals at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro!

Dreams of having an impact on people seem to explain why I want to be an entrepreneur. My dad is an entrepreneur and I have grown up wanting to build something from scratch and see the vision of my company come to light. I want to own my own wedding venue and event center. I am in the process of working with a civil engineer and general contractor to start building on land we have purchased. It is so exciting to have this opportunity and I can't wait to start making a difference in someone's wedding or event. I want to provide an atmosphere of joy and spread that to whoever I get to work with in the future. I believe that everything I have experienced in my education journey has impacted my educational and personal growth. I have been very open to trying new things, developing leadership skills and staying active in extracurricular activities while exceeding my expectations in academics. Without these opportunities offered to me in the education system, I feel like I would not be where I am today. In my junior year, I was offered to take the Career and College Promise program and take college classes through Oak Grove High School. The Career and College Promise program at Davidson Davie Community College has allowed me to excel in academics as well as participate actively in my high school clubs, and extracurricular activities, volunteer and be active in sports. I was able to graduate high school and college with a AA degree to jump-start getting my BS degree in Entrepreneurship beginning in August. I am very driven and motivated to work toward this career goal. Over the past few years, I have increased my leadership skills by coaching and teaching swim lessons. Swim is a passion of mine and I feel blessed to be able to share those life skills with others. I work with a range of people from 10 months to my oldest swimmer 60 years old. It has been a rewarding experience to get to see the growth in their skills and I hope I have made an impact in their life as they have mine. I have gained so much from this opportunity including communication, organization in scheduling, working with kids and teaching. My career goal is to own an event venue shortly. Growing up, I watched my dad build a successful business and I have those same aspirations. My event venue will service corporate events, weddings, parties, and other events, and eventually have unique overnight accommodations. I feel like the Entrepreneurship degree will help me learn business fundamentals for me to be successful. I am very driven and motivated to work toward this career goal. I have big dreams that I will be working towards and this scholarship would give me the financial means to support my academic goals!

I believe that everything I have experienced in my education journey has impacted my educational and personal growth. I have been very open to trying new things, developing leadership skills and staying active in extracurricular activities while exceeding my expectations in academics. Without these opportunities offered to me in the education system, I feel like I would not be where I am today. In my junior year, I was offered to take the Career and College Promise program through Oak Grove High School. This involved taking high school and college courses at the same time. The college courses were in 8-week sessions so I was able to double up in my junior and senior years. I am excited to be able to graduate in May 2023 before actually graduating from high school with my Associate in Arts 2-year degree that will transfer to UNCG where I will be attending beginning August 2023 majoring in Entrepreneurship. I will enter college as a junior based on transfer credits and be able to go ahead and start classes in the College of Business. The Career and College Promise program at Davidson Davie Community College has allowed me to excel in academics as well as participate actively in my high school in clubs, extracurricular activities and sports. I hope that other students get to benefit from these opportunities and find out what their future holds for them. My career goal is to own an event venue in the near future. I have always wanted to be a business owner. Growing up, I watched my dad build a successful business and I have those same aspirations. I like the idea of building a business from the ground up. My event venue will service corporate events, weddings, parties, and other events, and eventually have unique overnight accommodations. I feel like the Entrepreneurship degree will help me learn the business fundamentals for me to be successful. I am very driven and motivated to work toward this career goal. Over the past few years, I have increased my leadership skills by coaching and teaching swim lessons. Swim is a passion of mine and I feel blessed to be able to share those life skills with others. I went out of my comfort zone and decided to teach swim lessons in my neighborhood. What started with a few kids then turned into my summer job. A summer full of talking with parents, kids of all ages and teenagers. I learned that everyone is unique and learns in different ways. You have to adjust to varying learning styles. I gained a lot from this experience and plan on continuing to stay actively involved in my community and impact others. In the end, I feel like I was impacted by these experiences just as much as the kids I helped learn how to swim. It has been a rewarding experience to get to see the growth in their skills and I hope I have made an impact in their life as they have mine. I have gained so much from this opportunity including communication, organization skills in scheduling, working with kids and teaching. I feel like this degree will help me expand on those learning opportunities and give me the skills needed to become a successful Entrepreneur. I have worked extremely hard in high school aligning my classes and college courses to be ready to start the Entrepreneurship program Fall semester of As a future Entrepreneur, I look forward to making an impact on my community! Thank you for your consideration of this scholarship to help me achieve my future goals!

THE RIDGE My career goal is to own an event venue in the near future. I have always wanted to be a business owner. Growing up, I watched my dad build a successful business and I have those same aspirations. I like the idea of building a business from the ground up. My event venue will service corporate events, weddings, parties, other events, and eventually have unique overnight accommodations. Currently, I am in the process of purchasing land to start my venture. I feel like the Entrepreneurship degree will help me learn the business fundamentals for me to be successful. I am very driven and motivated to work toward this career goal. With my parent's guidance, I am starting my wedding and event venue in Winston-Salem. It will officially be my business formed out of my aspirations of watching my dad build other successful businesses. I have always loved to take on projects and this is my chance to reach my goals with my future career. I believe that everything I have experienced in my education journey has impacted my educational and personal growth in becoming an entrepreneur. I have been very open to trying new things, developing leadership skills and staying active in extracurricular activities while exceeding my expectations in academics. Without these opportunities offered to me in the education system, I feel like I would not be where I am today. I have taken a variety of courses to figure out what I want to do in the future. Some of these included: Chorus, Band, Entrepreneurship, Microsoft Word/PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, and Fitness. These courses granted me the opportunity to explore things I enjoyed doing. In my junior year, I was offered to take the Career and College Promise program through Oak Grove High School. This involved taking high school and college courses at the same time. The college courses were in 8-week sessions so I was able to double up in my junior and senior years. Some of the college courses gave me a chance to explore Art, Music, Accounting, Economics, Psychology, Health/Wellness and other business-related courses that have allowed me personal growth in my education. I am excited to be able to graduate in May 2023 before actually graduating from high school with my Associate in Arts 2-year degree that will transfer to the University of North Carolina-Greensboro where I will be attending beginning August 2023 majoring in Entrepreneurship. I will enter college as a junior based on transfer credits and be able to go ahead and start classes in the College of Business. The Career and College Promise program at Davidson Davie Community College has allowed me to excel in academics as well as participate actively in my high school in clubs, extracurricular activities and sports. I hope that other students get to benefit from these opportunities and find out what their future holds for them. The benefits that I have received by taking college courses are that they will automatically transfer, I get more classes each session and I feel like I get an early glimpse of what to expect with college classes. The possibilities of what I can achieve by getting this scholarship to pursue my career goal of becoming an entrepreneur are endless. I appreciate your consideration for helping me follow my dreams and become a successful business owner of The Ridge!