If I could have everyone in the world read just one book, that book would be 'Max: Best Friend. Hero. Marine.' by Jennifer Li Shotz. 'Max: Best Friend. Hero. Marine' or 'Max' for short follows the life of a military war dog after losing his handler and is based on a true story. Max served as a military war dog during Operation Enduring Freedom with his handler Kyle Wilcott. During their tour together, the pair - and their unit - were ambushed and Kyle did not survive. After Kyle's death, Max was diagnosed with PTSD and came to live with his handler's family. The book follows Max's life as he adjusts to civilian life and copes with the grief of losing his handler and best friend. This civilian life includes meeting new friends and finding out the truth behind someone who was close to Kyle. Everyone should read this book because it shows that every person and animal who serves in the military is affected. Animals also need time to heal and cope with their new reality. Many may not see why this is important, however, animals - just like humans - feel emotions. Military service dogs create such a close bond with their handler that when the handler dies, the dog is heartbroken to the point that they may not be able to serve anymore. In Max's case, his grief and PTSD from losing his handler left him unfit to serve. Unfortunately, many dogs that become unfit to serve and don't find a home, end up getting put down. These dogs are put down because their PTSD causes them to become violent and dangerous to those around them.

Anxiety and depression have been a struggle for me for most of my life. The anxiety came during the last years of elementary school. The depression came later. During my sophomore of high school, I felt that my mental health was deteriorating. I went to a teacher for help. They brought me to the school psychiatrist where I found out that I had clinical anxiety and mild depression. The psychiatrist gave me ways to cope with my declining mental health and it worked. Well, it did until I moved across the Atlantic Ocean and away from my friends that summer. Being a military kid gave me the opportunity to live in Europe from 6th grade through 10th grade. Moving back to the U.S. was very hard on me. I continued to excel in school, however, it was very hard for me to make any really good friends. Every afternoon after school for the first month, I would go home and cry. I missed the friends I had made in Europe and I missed my then-boyfriend. After about two weeks of crying and just feeling depressed in general, I decided to indulge in the free mental health services that my high school offered by referring myself to therapy. Thankfully, therapy helped me and after a year, I was discharged. During that year, I made so many friends, including one of my best friends (who is actually now my fiance ironically enough). However, the journey did not stop there. Little did I know, having these illnesses and getting treated for them was going to come back and bite me in the butt. During my senior year of high school, I was nominated for and was a recipient of a full-ride Air Force ROTC scholarship known as the J-100. This scholarship allowed me to complete any degree at the school I wanted to go to while also completing the Air Force ROTC program as a cadet. This path would lead me to commission and serve as an officer for the U.S. Air Force. In order to activate my scholarship, I needed to be medically qualified to join the military. Getting medically qualified can be a long process. During my screening, the issue of my mental health came up. I told the doctor that I was doing okay and that those issues had been resolved. To confirm, the doctor recommended that the board ask for a psychological appointment to see if those issues had indeed been resolved. The board did not listen and automatically denied me the waivers I needed to get my scholarship activated and to commission, effectively medically disqualifying me from any branch of the U.S. military. When I arrived on campus back in August, I approached my NCO about the subject. He told me my options, either drop the program and lose my scholarship, appeal the denial of waivers, or stay in the program as a participant instead of a cadet and still lose my scholarship. I decided to appeal. In October, I found out the board saw my appeal and again denied me the opportunity to get waivers. At that point, I lost the scholarship I needed to get through school as well as the opportunity to join the military. I'm still in school, however, I am no longer able to pursue my dream of joining the Air Force. Now I am planning on graduating and working for an aerospace company in Colorado. My mental illness may have changed the course I was on, but I think I like this course better.

Hello, my name is Crystalena Ambrus. I am currently a freshman attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott studying Aerospace Engineering while also minoring in math. I am the oldest of 3 kids and also an Air Force brat. Prescott, Arizona is the sixth place I have lived. My dream career after college was to be commissioned as an Officer in the U.S. Air Force. At the beginning of my senior year of high school, I was nominated for the J-100 scholarship. The J-100 is an Air Force ROTC scholarship that pays for full tuition and allots $10,000 towards housing each year. Only 100 seniors in AFJROTC are selected for the scholarship. Out of over 400 cadets, I was chosen as a back-up for the scholarship. After the selection and acceptance process was over, I was selected to also receive the scholarship. Once I received the news that I was selected to get the J-100, I immediately started the process of getting the scholarship activated. Part of the activation process is getting medically qualified. This past April, I found out that I had been put under waiver review due to some health conditions that came up during the screening. In May, I was told that AFROTC was not going to give me the waivers I needed to become medically qualified and activate my scholarship. At that point, I lost all hope of being able to achieve my career goals and immediately started looking at a Plan B for my future. Upon arriving at Embry-Riddle for the Fall 2023 semester, I talked to my NCO about what steps I needed to take to try and get medically qualified so I could activate my scholarship. We decided to appeal the waiver denial. In October, I heard back from my NCO. My appeal was again denied. At that point, I lost my scholarship. My next course of action was to run back and forth between the financial aid office and the cashier's office to figure out how I was going to pay for this semester. This semester and Spring 2024 are figured out. In order for me to stay, my parents had to pay the school $1900 to start a payment plan. After that, I don't know how I am going to pay. This scholarship will help me and my family because it will take the stress of financial strain off of me and my parents. Next year, not only will I be in college along with my parents, but my sister will also be starting her freshman year. My parents and my sister shouldn't have to worry about how were are going to be able to pay a total of $80,000 worth of tuition between the four of us. Getting this scholarship will help me pay for most of the first semester of my sophomore year.