Time and time again, baking has been one of the most prominent factors in my life, saving me from depression I thought I had no way out of, and being a welcome distraction from the financial troubles of my youth. I would like to one day open my own bakery, as I have fond memories of cooking for my family and it was something that always brought us together. And through baking, I was able to find an outlet of creativity and a relief from the trials and tribulations that I faced growing up. Throughout my life, I’ve lived with and through financial hardship, the Covid-19 pandemic, and anxiety and depression. Each of these circumstances have molded and shaped me into the person I am today, and through baking, I can express how Ive been changed, how I have grown, and how I have overcome every challenge I faced. During my childhood, my family did not have an abundance of money. At the time, I didn't realize it. My mother went to school full time and worked a full time job, while my father worked hard as well. At one time he had four different jobs he worked at the same time. They made due with their situation and gave me the best they could. My parents often had to leave me in the care of friends and family members while they worked. Even with the many jobs and responsibilities they held, they often struggled to afford food that was entirely healthy. I often ate packaged soup and canned goods, and it would be on rare occasions that we would get to eat something with real nutritional value. Before we went grocery shopping every week, we'd sit at the dining room table and cut out coupons from the newspapers my family got in the mail and online. We'd fill an organized pouch with them and then head to a Publix, Aldi, or Bravo supermarket (sometimes multiple locations), and get the best deals we could find. We would often end up spending only $75 on $100-$200 worth of groceries for a family of four. And when we could not go grocery shopping, my parents would bake cookies with me, using whatever ingredients we had in the pantry. We made zucchini bread, simple peanut butter cookies, and a household favorite, pumpkin cheesecake using frozen pumpkin from our halloween pumpkin carving and graham crackers we somehow never seemed to run out of. This instilled in me a familiarity in saving, budgeting, and making informed, well thought decisions, as well as a need for creativity and being resourceful in everything that I do. I was able to maintain honor roll grades throughout elementary and middle school. I was in 7th grade when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US in 2020. That is when I began to suffer from anxiety, stress, and depression. Prior to the pandemic, I had similar issues that started to arise when I began middle school, and with the lockdown, they were amplified to a point that I began to harm myself. Due to this, my grades suffered and dropped to dangerous lows. However, I while my family tried to find a counselor for me, I took a different approach, and I took up baking once more. I made cookies, cakes, muffins, and scones that were enjoyed by both me and my family. I began to see an improvement in my mental health through baking and soon found that I had the ability to push through and endure trying times.

Time and time again, baking has been one of the most prominent factors in my life, saving me from depression I thought I had no way out of, and being a welcome distraction from the financial troubles of my youth. I would like to one day open my own bakery, as I have fond memories of cooking for my family and it was something that always brought us together. And through baking, I was able to find an outlet of creativity and a relief from the trials and tribulations that I faced growing up. Throughout my life, I’ve lived with and through financial hardship, the Covid-19 pandemic, and anxiety and depression. Each of these circumstances have molded and shaped me into the person I am today, and through baking, I can express how Ive been changed, how I have grown, and how I have overcome every challenge I faced. During my childhood, my family did not have an abundance of money. At the time, I didn't realize it. My mother went to school full time and worked a full time job, while my father worked hard as well. At one time he had four different jobs he worked at the same time. They made due with their situation and gave me the best they could. My parents often had to leave me in the care of friends and family members while they worked. Even with the many jobs and responsibilities they held, they often struggled to afford food that was entirely healthy. I often ate packaged soup and canned goods, and it would be on rare occasions that we would get to eat something with real nutritional value. Before we went grocery shopping every week, we'd sit at the dining room table and cut out coupons from the newspapers my family got in the mail and online. We'd fill an organized pouch with them and then head to a Publix, Aldi, or Bravo supermarket (sometimes multiple locations), and get the best deals we could find. We would often end up spending only $75 on $100-$200 worth of groceries for a family of four. And when we could not go grocery shopping, my parents would bake cookies with me, using whatever ingredients we had in the pantry. We made zucchini bread, simple peanut butter cookies, and a household favorite, pumpkin cheesecake using frozen pumpkin from our halloween pumpkin carving and graham crackers we somehow never seemed to run out of. This instilled in me a familiarity in saving, budgeting, and making informed, well thought decisions, as well as a need for creativity and being resourceful in everything that I do. I was able to maintain honor roll grades throughout elementary and middle school. I was in 7th grade when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US in 2020. That is when I began to suffer from anxiety, stress, and depression. Prior to the pandemic, I had similar issues that started to arise when I began middle school, and with the lockdown, they were amplified to a point that I began to harm myself. Due to this, my grades suffered and dropped to dangerous lows. However, I while my family tried to find a counselor for me, I took a different approach, and I took up baking once more. I made cookies, cakes, muffins, and scones that were enjoyed by both me and my family. I began to see an improvement in my mental health through baking and soon found that I had the ability to push through and endure trying times.

Jack Terry’s story inspires me to push through even the worst of situations, and to give back to my community with the life skills I acquired through such times. I have overcome and trudged through challenges and changes that impacted both who I am and how I live. I have overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, financial struggles, and overwhelming familial shifts. However, I found solace in my passions and hobbies, such as cooking, art, and animal studies. Each of these has made and changed me into the person I am today. I would like to one day open my own restaurant, as I have fond memories of cooking for my family and it was something that always brought us together. This scholarship will help me to further my goal by allowing me to pursue my passion for the culinary arts, and to teach people how to cook for themselves, while saving money for other essentials, just as my own parents taught me. During my childhood, my family did not have an abundance of money. At the time, I didn't realize it. My mother went to school full time and worked a full time job, while my father worked hard as well. At one time he had four different jobs he worked at the same time. They made due with their situation and gave me the best they could. My parents often had to leave me in the care of friends and family members while they worked. We also weren’t able to afford food that was entirely healthy. I often ate packaged soup and canned goods, and it would be on rare occasions that we would get to eat something with real nutritional value. Before we went grocery shopping every week, we'd sit at the dining room table and cut out coupons from the newspapers my family got in the mail and online. We'd fill an organized pouch with them and then head to a Publix, Aldi, or Bravo supermarket (sometimes multiple locations), and get the best deals we could find. We would often end up spending only $75 on $100-$200 worth of groceries for a family of four. This instilled in me a familiarity in saving, budgeting, and making informed, well thought decisions. I was able to maintain honor roll grades throughout elementary and middle school. I was in 7th grade when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US in 2020. That is when I began to suffer from anxiety, stress, and depression. Prior to the pandemic, I had similar issues that started to arise when I began middle school. My grades suffered and dropped to dangerous lows. However, I found myself able to get by and was able to pass 7th grade. In 8th grade I spent half the year in virtual school, but found that my anxiety was making it hard for me to focus. I asked my parents if I could resume in-person schooling the remainder of the school year. With that shift, I was able to find my way and successfully finish middle school. I learned that I had the perseverance to push through hard times.

I have overcome and trudged through challenges and changes that impacted both who I am and how I live. I have overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, financial struggles, and overwhelming familial shifts. However, I found solace in my passions and hobbies, such as baking, art, and animal studies. Each of these has made and changed me into the person I am today. I would like to one day open my own bakery, as I have fond memories of baking for my family and it was something that always brought us together. This scholarship will help me to further my goal by allowing me to pursue my passion for baking and helping me to get the degree that will allow me to thrive without needing to make the sacrifices that my parents made for me. My hope is to be able to support myself by doing something I am passionate about and fulfills me.. During my childhood, my family did not have an abundance of money. At the time, I didn't realize it. My mother went to school full time and worked a full time job, while my father worked hard as well. At one time he had four different jobs he worked at the same time. They made due with their situation and gave me the best they could. My parents often had to leave me in the care of friends and family members while they worked. We also weren’t able to afford food that was entirely healthy. I often ate packaged soup and canned goods, and it would be on rare occasions that we would get to eat something with real nutritional value. Before we went grocery shopping every week, we'd sit at the dining room table and cut out coupons from the newspapers my family got in the mail and online. We'd fill an organized pouch with them and then head to a Publix, Aldi, or Bravo supermarket (sometimes multiple locations), and get the best deals we could find. This instilled in me a familiarity in saving, budgeting, and making informed, well thought decisions. I was able to maintain honor roll grades throughout elementary and middle school. I was in 7th grade when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US in 2020. That is when I began to suffer from anxiety, stress, and depression. Prior to the pandemic, I had similar issues that started to arise when I began middle school. My grades suffered and dropped to dangerous lows. However, I found myself able to get by and was able to pass 7th grade. In 8th grade I spent half the year in virtual school, but found that my anxiety was making it hard for me to focus. I asked my parents if I could resume in-person schooling the remainder of the school year. With that shift, I was able to find my way and successfully finish middle school. I learned that I had the perseverance to push through hard times.

In my life, I have overcome and persevered through challenges and changes that have impacted both who I am and how I live. I have overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, financial struggles, and overwhelming familial shifts; in contrast, I found solace in my passions and hobbies—baking, art, and animal studies—which have shaped me into who I am today. I want to open and run my own bakery, as I have always found that baking for my family was one of the highlights of our time together. This scholarship will help me pursue my passion for baking and obtain the degree I need to thrive without making the sacrifices my parents made for me. That is what my family and I want; to live and thrive. I maintained honor roll grades throughout elementary and middle school. When Covid-19 hit the US in 2020, in the middle of my 7th grade year, I experienced anxiety, stress, and depression. Prior to then, I had similar issues that arose when I began middle school. This made my grades suffer and drop to dangerous lows. However, I managed to pass 7th grade despite my struggles. In 8th grade, I spent half the year in online school, but my anxiety hindered my progress; ultimately, I asked my parents to switch back to in-person schooling. With that shift, I was able to find my way and successfully finish middle school, giving me the perseverance to push through hard times. During my childhood, my family did not have an abundance of money, though at the time, I didn't realize it. My mother went to school full-time and worked a full-time job, and my father worked hard as well. At one point, he had four separate jobs. Still, they made due with their situation and gave me the best they could. I often considered my father's friend to be my uncle, and my parents had to leave me with family members like her brother or sister. We also struggled to afford entirely healthy food. I often ate packaged soup and canned goods, and it would be on rare occasions that we would get to eat something with real nutritional value. Before we went grocery shopping every week, we'd sit at the dining room table and cut out coupons from the newspapers my family received in the mail and online. We'd fill an organized pouch with them and then head to a Publix, Aldi, or Bravo supermarket (sometimes multiple locations), and get the best deals we could find. This instilled in me a familiarity and habit of saving, budgeting, and making informed, well-thought-out decisions.