My name is Emma Hendrickson and I am very excited to be going to Montana State University in the fall to study Business Accounting to pursue my dream of becoming a Certified Public Accountant. I'm from Dillon, Montana and love my small town community. Even as a child I loved to serve others. My brother and I loved playing music at retirement homes and at our church. After finishing my school work, I would use my free time to help my mom make meals and cookies for those going through a rough time. As I grew up I helped others with Math, taught music lessons and watched kids so mothers could study the Bible with their full attention. The desire to serve others comes natural to me which makes it enjoyable as well. I'm very involved with my church, leading worship, preparing food, watching kids and serving at the youth group that my family started. Coordinating volunteers, choosing community projects and assessing budgets were some of the roles I fulfilled while serving in leadership roles with my 4h club. I also had the privilege of leading the student body for my local Homeschool co-op where I served as the Student Council President for two years. In this capacity I created our group's first ever yearbook, Field Day, logo competition, Talent Show and Back to School BBQ. I understand that servant leadership and giving back to my community are important not just in my high-school years, but going forward into college and the business world. The last three years has helped solidify my resolve to learn as much as possible from seasoned professionals at Montana State University. After earning an internship as an office assistant for a small business, I realized how valuable a knowledgeable accountant is. Hearing first hand from many small business owners how they have to travel to find quality financial advice, tax assistance and even simple bookkeeping help is what sparked my interest in the accounting world. These discussions led me to want to further pursue the idea of being an accountant. During my senior year, I took multiple dual enrolment courses, but I specifically loved the accounting class I took. This class confirmed my desire to study accounting over engineering and I applied to study at MSU. Like Susan, I want to be able to volunteer my time and talents, but also serve my community with my professional knowledge. I'm very thankful for this opportunity and I hope to have a legacy like Susan's one day.

When I was first pitched the idea of joining the Cross Country team, I was really averse to the idea because I didn’t consider myself to be a runner. Running three plus miles on purpose was definitely not appealing to me. After much convincing from the coaches and my brother who had already committed to the team, I joined, albeit wearily. It only took two races for me to decide that I could run a 5k and not die in the process. I quickly found out that I actually enjoy the process of striving, hurting and overcoming! I got my first “runner’s high” during a High School race and finally understood why people trained and practiced for this. It wasn’t just to be in shape, or to get through the workout, but it was for the feeling that comes from running side by side with people and sharing a passion with the people around you. As a member of my local cross country team really developed my view on running as not just a personal experience, but something you can do with others. This was one of my favorite aspects of being part of the cross country team. Improving my time each race and becoming a better runner was important to me, but so was cheering on my teammates. Seeing my friend get eighth place in our All-Conference meet was my favorite memory from my last season. Watching the boys try and beat each other in races, seeing other people get a new personal best and seeing how much our coaches loved this sport really made me love Cross Country. Cross Country taught me about being a good teammate, but it also taught me about overcoming challenges of my own. My mantra started out as “I can do anything for 30 minutes” to, “I can do anything for 24 minutes” to, “I can, I must, I will.” This mentality has helped me to know what I am capable of and made me into a more resilient person. The skills that are needed to prepare physically and mentally for a tough race are very applicable to life in general and have served me well as I face down a daunting Pre-Calculus exam or put the finishing touches on a research paper. The fortitude that is required to reach the summit on a trail run is similar to what is needed to stay focused and positive at work when I am overwhelmed or struggling with a co-worker. What I learned from Cross Country reflect the values that I have as a Christian and as a member of a community bigger than that of just runners. My desire is to always maintain a culture of working hard, supporting others and wanting everyone around me to thrive as well. Running has given me many opportunities to push my own boundaries, to show respect to my others and to be a good companion and listener.

My name is Emma Hendrickson, and I have done my best to serve the Lord and my community through the gifts that He has given me. A few times a month, I serve on my church’s worship team and play piano on Sunday mornings. Every week, I play piano or guitar for Youth Group and lead small groups. I also teach 8 kids instruments every week. Music teachers are a big need in my small town and I have come to really enjoy teaching. My mom and I also cook meals for people in the community every week. I’m planning on going to college this fall and this money would help me be able to pay for my college and give me the ability to drive back to my home town on weekends to continue serving my church. The following video is one of my youth group and includes me playing the piano and the picture is of my brother and I playing music at a nursing home. Thank you for this opportunity!