Most kids growing up feared the boogeyman, spiders, and the dark. Not me, though. I feared green bottles - but not Sprite or Ginger Ale. What scared me was that green Jameson whiskey bottle. For as long as I can remember, I knew that bottle well: a shiny red bottle cap with the yellow ship in the front of the logo. It seems silly to fear such a mundane object, but I know the control it has on my father. I also knew what it meant when I saw the empty bottles on the kitchen table. Something awful was going to happen tonight. My father and I have never had the soundest relationship. I can't say it's all his fault; we are two very different people. Despite that, I love him, and he's my father. However, it's so incredibly challenging to love a bipolar alcoholic. One moment he says he loves me, and soon after he's punching holes in the wall because I dropped a glass. No matter how I strived to fix these mistakes and be perfect, the only thing that made him happy was alcohol. He always needed more no matter how much I begged him to stop. For years, I've tried to comprehend what was so special about the bottle and why my father was so attached to it. I've endured a lot because of my father. I've cried, screamed, been abused, seen my father collapse, called the ambulance because he was unresponsive, and seen him point a gun to his head and threaten to kill himself. I couldn't rely on him and most certainly couldn't trust him with anything important; he picked me up from school drunk before for crying out loud. I hate him for everything he's put me through and it's so hard to forgive someone who keeps breaking their promises of being sober. Why was it such a complicated decision to choose me over an inanimate object? It wasn't until we shipped him off to rehab that I found my answer. He has a disease. Someone from the facility explained to my family how large dosages of alcohol change the chemicals of your brain and wire it differently, making my dad constantly crave alcohol. While this doesn't excuse the trauma I now have, it explains that he is also going through an impossible battle with himself. I then realized that I could still be mad at him while supporting him on his journey to becoming sober. Although it's been a long struggle, I can proudly say my father is over one year sober from alcohol. I feel that today, I'm no longer ashamed of his disease and know that I'm my own person. His decisions don't define me or how I choose to react. All I can do is support him and work on healing myself. I may not be at a point where I am ready to forgive him fully, but I hope to be able to, with time. It's unfortunate that my family and I had to endure this, but I know now that I'm a stronger person because of it and I can now help advise others in similar situations The Jameson Whiskey bottle will always be out there. It's always a reminder that all it takes is one sip to undo all his progress. Instead of remaining fearful, I listen to my mother's voice. "Worry about the things you can control." I take this phrase with me as I go to college in hopes of clearing up my anxiety and staying focused on achieving my academic goals.

One of my favorite pastimes is walking with my mom on the Worcester Walkline. When work had ended, we would walk the bridge over the river and watch the birds, listen to the trees sway, and laugh. It was special to me that the city dedicated this area to preserve the wildlife. When I walk this path today, I can't help but feel a little sad. I'm frustrated when I see used trash, tires, plastic bottles, and rubbish throughout the water and land. This experience has opened my eyes to my passion for the environment and brought my attention to the issues people struggle with due to pollution, food and water insufficiency, and climate change. Instead of staying frustrated, I choose to do something about it. I'm going to college to study a sustainable form of engineering that solves complex problems in a way that does not tarnish the environment. Through this education, I feel I'm developing skills I can use to lessen the weight people deal with due to environmental problems. For example, I joined the school's Engineers Without Borders club and became involved in the chapter's Uganda Project. Through this project, I have been able to learn more about different lifestyles and the social and environmental issues existing in another country. Our mission for the project is to help a small school by installing a sustainable irrigation system to water the crops they use to feed the children through the dry season. The group and I have put in hours of research, data retrieval, meetings, trip assessments, and more into the project. Being exposed to the fact that the school is having issues feeding its students is eye-opening and makes me appreciate the things I have access to. I've never realized how much effort it takes to establish systems, such as running water, that I take for granted. We can communicate with the school leaders and receive pictures of the students, and it warms my heart to know that I'm able to contribute to their success and help them obtain a form of security. Working with the school has shown me that people of all cultures and areas struggle with climate issues. I'll never begin to understand what it is like to have their struggles, but learning and helping them through theirs is so valuable. In the near future, after we finish designing the system, I will have a chance to fly out to the school and help implement the system. Once there, I will work with engineers and school representatives to put the plan in motion. I'm excited to see the progress and hope that the school children will be properly nourished so they can focus on learning. In the future with my education, I want to do similar projects. Using engineering to combat serious environmental issues and help people excites me. Specifically, I plan to use my education to reevaluate current mechanical systems and implement sustainable tactics into the designs to reduce pollution in areas severely affected. It's important to use my privileges to help those who don't have the same. I hold the same passion for protecting these communities, similar to what I do towards the Worcester Walkline. There's a lot of room for environmental safety and growth, but I'm confident I have the determination to contribute. Thank you for this opportunity.

When hearing the tragic story of Richard and Rebecca's passing, I immediately felt sorrow that their lives had ended because of second-hand substance abuse. It's not right that others get hurt and even lose their lives because of people's irresponsible decisions. This type of carelessness when using substances has tormented my family for years. As someone who lives with an alcoholic father, I am familiar with many of the emotional and physical turmoil that alcohol can unfairly have on others. At a young age, I took on emotional burdens as I watched my father almost drink himself to death and threaten to shoot himself multiple times. Throughout my entire education, I felt like I had to take on the responsibility of holding my family together. I spent countless hours trying to do everything possible for my family so that the rest of us could try and live a normal life despite all of the issues we had going on at home. School was always a top priority, but it often became difficult trying to focus on tomorrow's test when I had just sent my father off to rehab the night prior. I hate what alcohol has done to my family, but I choose to see myself as a survivor- I have learned to be perseverant, determined, have courage, and fight for my family and our success. While my educational journey was rocky, I've always excelled in STEM. I'm someone who deeply cares about the future of our environment. Specifically, I'm interested in studying engineering from a sustainable perspective. I feel that the STEM field needs to focus more on its external impact on other life forms when solving problems and develop more sustainable solutions that can guarantee the safety of our environment. In college, I'm taking courses that teach engineering through a project-based learning style as one of my majors that introduces sustainability and applies it to real-world problems. This type of learning excites me because it gives me the experience I need to enter the engineering field and use those skills to develop more sustainable versions of many mechanical systems existing in society. My past experiences have developed the sense of perseverance and courage someone needs to strive to make these crucial changes to the STEM field. My goal is to help reestablish the harmony between humans and living species so that we can coexist in a non-destructive way. Working towards these goals is extremely exciting, but the high costs of this education are overwhelming. Both of my parents work service jobs as a 911 dispatcher and a firefighter to give me this opportunity. My father was injured on his job and can only make a certain amount of money because he is on a fixed disability check. I'm so grateful for everything they have been able to provide, but they can only help financially to a certain degree due to rising costs and raising their three children. On top of being a full-time student, I will have to get an on-campus job and an off-campus job to help pay for my education. Receiving this scholarship would mean the world to me and would lessen the large financial burden I am experiencing in trying to reach these goals. I'm incredibly grateful for this opportunity and value the work this foundation has done to remember Richard and Rebecca Whiddon. Through immense effort, I can proudly say I have helped my dad reach one year sober and that my efforts were not in vain. I hope to help many others through the STEM field and start the change for sustainability.

1. Mechanical Engineering 2. As someone who has strived to be politically informed, I've always been aware of many environmental issues across the world. I often read articles, watch documentaries, and research climate policies. In doing so, I've learned that many fail to take action on serious problems such as climate change, ocean pollution, and deforestation. Not only is this heartbreaking, but it is irresponsible that companies do not consider how their actions affect the various ecosystems worldwide. This lack of justice has caused me to become interested in the sources of pollution in the world and the approaches scientists are taking to combat it. I believe that through mechanical engineering, I can help be a part of the shift to renewable energy and apply alternative energy sources to some of our everyday machines. 3. Recently, I organized a fundraiser for UMass Memorial's Children's Hospital. This project required me to be very adaptable, as not every plan I intended worked out. Getting money from sponsors was very difficult, and I often had to change how I presented myself and get creative when pitching my plans to companies. Additionally, I had to think outside the box about ways to raise money that would bring in money. Often, many places I wanted to host a fundraiser would not comply as my pitches were too elaborate or complicated, so I had to review my plans and create more refined and straightforward ideas. I decided to host a mini-golf fundraiser, and being adaptive within the plan helped me make 3,000 dollars for the hospital. This summer, I attended Boys State, hosted by the American Legion. At this camp, I was put into a town with other attendees, and we had to tackle complex political problems varying from environmental issues to financial issues. Here, I learned to gain new perspectives from diverse groups of people and be creative when solving problems that could have multiple answers to them. This experience gave me skills I can utilize in my engineering classes at my high school! Lastly, as a Special Olympics student liaison, I have to work with others to think outside the box and invent safe and fun games for all athletes. It is important that all athletes can participate in the games, so it takes a lot of trial and error to develop a new idea that is easily accessible and works well. I often work to be creative when suggesting new game ideas and problem solve based on my restrictions. For example, when constructing an obstacle course as one of the events, I need to place the obstacles at a certain distance, use materials that are not harmful to anyone, and manipulate the course so that all can run through it and enjoy the day. 4. I plan to attend college and develop a strong background in mechanical engineering that is needed to research renewable energy. Through college, I want to undergo an internship with an organization that focuses on green energy and sustainability to help me gain knowledge in the field and hopefully create some efficient and environmentally safe machines. I'm interested in exploring fuel cells and how to apply similar systems to larger machines. I was accepted into Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and will commit there; at RPI, I can take all courses necessary to develop a strong engineering background and knowledge to solve some of these complex environmental problems. 5. Linda Colby, a strong activist in my community, would recommend me for this scholarship. As someone who is constantly donating her time to the community, Linda Colby has seen the effort I put into helping others and ensuring that my community succeeds. Whether I am volunteering at the food pantry or organizing a fundraiser for the local children's hospital, Linda Colby can speak to my true character and my work ethic. She believes I am kind-hearted and strives to indulge in diverse academic backgrounds. She knows that when I have a goal in mind, nothing will prevent me from finding a way to reach the level of achievement that I hope to obtain. I've worked closely with Linda Colby this summer, helping my high school transition to a new building. We have bonded over our ability to stay motivated and adapt to the different struggles that came along the way. She would recommend me for this scholarship because she knows how passionate I am about sustainability and believes that I have the perfect work ethic needed to obtain such high goals due to my numerous leadership positions and previously shown dedication to my community.